ALWAYS READ THE FREAKING CONTRACT
by peekodemeeko12
Summary: The story is inspired by Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou; Jackie was living in NY when the new bill to allow Extraspecies to live in the USA was passed. With the glanced over contract signed, Jackie is now the Host of a quickly growing number of Extraspecies. What can possibly go wrong taking care of predatory Extraspecies that can easily kill her? :D Cowritten by chaos-dark-lord.
1. Chapter 1

This series is a collaboration between myself and chaos-dark-lord so a shout out to her too and check out her stuff! :D

* * *

Jackie nervously slouched in the uncomfortably new leather chair as the woman dressed in a sharp black dress suit quietly reviewed her survey answers. The woman was Ms. Smith, the advisor and director for the brand new Extraspecies introduction program in USA. And for some reason out of all the people in the country she had to take interest in Jackie's Penske's application.

She took the survey as a joke in the first place and when the check of acceptance came in the mail she just about passed out. One million dollars just to take in a single Extraspecies for a year or two would be fine but she really didn't want to, so she tried to mail it back but it was too late. Jackie couldn't find the nerve to turn this woman down when she showed up at the workshop and told her to come to her office for a more thorough examination of her home for Extraspecies. Apparently there were quite a few that wanted to come and live with her in the big city and experience the life here for themselves and since she had a big building at her disposition she was a good candidate.

"So uh, Ms. Smith, how many Extraspecies did you say wanted to come around to the big city for a bit?" Jackie asked, curious and wanting to reaffirm the fact Ms. Smith already sent out her information to agencies all over the world.

"A great deal of them, actually. Some prefer to slowly immerse themselves into human society and others prefer a challenge. Over 80 Extraspecies expressed interest in moving to a large city in this country." Ms. Smith said with a faint smile as Jackie's face paled, remembering the answers she put on the survey. Oh boy. "So, let us see … oh my, you believe you could house 4 or more Extraspecies at once? That's quite a feat," she said with a smile, seeming impressed by Jackie's confidence; or holding in a laugh from her ignorance, "what is your living space like?"

"The upstairs apartment is my house while the lower part is the garage for the cars I work on. It's connected to a larger building that my parents used to rent out to people but it can be used to renovate and accommodate whoever comes and lives with me," Jackie explained.

This program sounded weird and like a complete joke. Having some sort of Extraspecies people coming to live with people here in the USA? She couldn't believe this actually made it through congress what with the political uproar about this and all but this program is government issued. Besides, she had the room and they had the money. All she would be doing is serving as their host for some time until the end of the contract is up and they'll move back to … to … , "what country did you say these … were from?" Jackie asked, unable to put the word people to it.

"Not important," Ms. Smith said with a smile, "now, you should be expecting the Extraspecies to arrive sporadically over the next number of weeks while we organize who will be coming to reside with you."

"Hey now, I don't want a lot-,"

"And for each one you'll get 1,000,000 to renovate their living quarters and use the rest on your cute little shop."

"I'm in," Jackie immediately stated. Taking care of some fluffy Extraspecies shouldn't be too hard, "so what am I in for? A puppy? A cat? Maybe a sheep?" Jackie asked as the woman laughed under her breath.

"You will see tonight. Haven't you looked at the renovated spaces we've done?" She said with a smile as she leaned back in her chair with an amused air.

"Not really. I've been busy in the shop and I figured it'd be nice to have a surprise." Jackie said with a shrug, not too concerned with what her first Extraspecies would be. She highly doubted they'd entrust anything too rare or dangerous to her since this was her first time being a host for an Extraspecies and a lone woman at that.

"Well then, you may want to limit your business and hours for the sake of being a proper host to the Extraspecies coming to live with you. It would be in your best interest not to treat them like tenants or pets for they are neither. Also remember that any damage they receive, physically or mentally, will be your fault and responsibility," she lowered her glasses to look Jackie straight in the eyes, "if they get hurt, at the very start you'll be going straight to jail," said with a smile as Jackie's face paled, "and so, with that, you are free to return to your home. We will bring the first Extraspecies tonight at midnight so as to not cause distress among your neighbors here."

"That's fine. There aren't many neighbors here anyway," Jackie said with a shrug and a grin. It's awesome that they did all the work with contractors and stuff with the new building to make the rooms larger and put in systems to support the probably large Extraspecies.

"I've noticed. Is there a reason for that?" She asked with a sharp gaze.

"Not that I know of," of course she knew why, "but there shouldn't be any trouble." Jackie reassured. There was always the problem of gang-related activity but most of them were just punks. None of the big hitters have moved into her neighborhood yet.

"Good. It would be catastrophic is an incident occurred with an Extraspecies with the deal being so strained as it is. Now please, enjoy the rest of your day and we will meet again tonight. Jose will lead you out." She said, motioning towards the door. Jackie twisted around, jumping slightly as she saw a tall and fluffy bunny Extraspecies step inside with a smile, opening the door for her. Phew~ she'd better get used to seeing Extraspecies if she was going to be hosting them.

"Sounds good. See ya," Jackie said with a smile, waving goodbye. Yes! She could finally get those new tools she's been wanting with the leftover money from the renovations. And all she had to do was take care of some Extraspecies. It wouldn't be so hard.

* * *

Later that night a knock on the door made her heart jump with somewhat excitement. Oh good, they're here! She had to admit she was very curious about her new tenant moving in. The money was great to have and if the Extraspecies was nice then that would be a pretty big plus. She walked over to the door and opened it, seeing Ms. Smith standing there with a smile. Before Jackie could look down the stairs to see her Extraspecies Ms. Smith stepped inside, blocking her view.

"Good evening, Ms. Jackie. This is Dumisa and he will be staying with you for next year. His information is all placed here in this packet including his meal plans and preferences. His meals for the next two weeks are already in the industrial fridges and ready to go once they thaw. As she handed a pretty thick packet to Jackie, she spoke with the calmest smile as can be. "And here, these are ready to go antivenom injections you must immediately inject yourself if something awful happens."

Jackie flinched slightly from the weight of it before looking up at her in confusion.

"V-Venom?" Jackie repeated as bright yellow eyes locked with hers from the darkness. Jackie's eyes widened as she saw his upper torso covered with a white button up shirt float into the air before she saw his olive green scales that completely engulfed his lower half.

" … he's a snake." Jackie stated before poking her head out the door and gapping at how large he was. Almost two flights of stairs were covered in his startlingly long and thin body, showing her just how long his body was. Holy-! This guy was huge!

"Yes, Dumisa is of the Lamia family. Males are very difficult to come by and your space opened up just in time to accommodate his large size. And according to your survey you filled out you were indifferent to what Extraspecies came to live with you. Hence, Dumisa was chosen as the first runner up." She reminded Jackie with a smile as Dumisa poked his head in, his bright eyes eagerly taking in his new environment. Jackie jolted as his black tongue flickered out of his darker than average lips and vanished just as quickly before his eyes rolled down to Jackie.

"So this is my host?" He asked as he leaned down, working his way into the door and inadvertently pushing Ms. Smith aside on the balcony of the outside stairs as he leaned in and came within a couple inches of Jackie's face, "interesting," he stated, flickering his eyes over her body before looking around again, "this space is rather small. You said there would be ample space," he said as he looked back to Ms. Smith who adjusted herself while kicking his scaly body with her high heeled foot but he hardly reacted. Her pissed off expression sent a shiver down Jackie's spine. Scary lady.

"Yes she is and your space is in a connecting building. Follow me. After you get accommodated you can get acquainted all you'd like with your new host." She said with a forced and pissed off smile before crawling inside past his body and into Jackie's house.

"Hold on, hey, Ms. Smith," Jackie started but Ms. Smith lightly smacked her on the head with a smile that quickly turned frightening. Jackie jerked her head back, startled before Ms. Smith walked ahead of her without a look back. Jackie had no idea the Extraspecies would be a venomous snake coming to live with her but she couldn't kick him out; he was too big to kick and she had already spent a good deal of the money ordering parts in for her shop. However, determined to see this through Jackie hurried after Ms. Smith and took a shortcut through the kitchen and cut her off, forcing Ms. Smith to stop and acknowledge her.

"Yes dear?" She said with a glint in her eyes, challenging Jackie once again while Dumisa looked around her living room, uninterested in their little battle for alpha female in this territory.

"This is, uh, my first time being a Host. Isn't there some kind of instructional video for me to watch other than the more general ones you've sent me?" Jackie asked while trying to put up a 'civil' face. Jackie was mad at her but she had to hold her tongue for now.

"No, there isn't. But you could check the extra documentation links we sent to you a while ago. You should just try to be a good host." Ms Smith vaguely waved her hand and tried to continue on her way. Jackie once more stood in her way.

"And what does being a good host for a giant snake means?" They couldn't find a better place for this extremely dangerous and venomous snake so they decide to dump him on a first timer? She was still waiting for someone to jump out of nowhere with cameras and scream 'you've been punked!' but since that hasn't happened yet she assumed this was all legitimate. Their intense standoff lasted for a good few seconds before the woman let out a sigh and smiled.

"It means that you can show him to his new room. Good day," Ms Smith said as she hopped over Dumisa's body and headed right the door with surprising speed, "just remember that you are a host and should make him feel at home. And if he complains and wished to move to another place, you will have to return all the investment done in his accommodations."

Jackie stared after her before flickering her gaze up to Dumisa. Well, she was stuck with him one way or another. Might as well be nice.

"So, Dumisa?" She said, watching his gaze flicker over to her as a cool smile pulled his lips up, "so uh, what kind of snake are you?" She curious asked, taking a better look at rounded eyes.

"You are in possession of my papers, are you not?" He asked with a slightly raised eyebrow before slithering around and having a curious look around in the kitchen now, flicking his tongue out and tasting the air.

"And you can't tell me yourself what you are?" Jackie said with an annoyed huff before opening the front page to see a big picture of a posed snake with a black mouth and big letters reading BLACK MAMBA. Jackie's eyes grew wide, startled at having such a dangerous snake coming to live with her for her first Extraspecies. She didn't know much about snakes but she sure as hell knew what a black mamba was. And now she knew what the antivenom was for.

"Your heart is racing, Ms. Host," he teased as his tongue flickered into her ear. Jackie nearly leapt out of her socks as she slapped a hand over her ear and jumped back, smacking against the wall. "Do all humans startle so easily?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a deeply amused smile. For the first time, he looked Jackie up and down to examine her figure. He didn't seem impressed.

"Uh, not really. Come on, your room is over here." Jackie said, walking past him and into the wide hallway. He followed her with his slitted eyes before he actually deemed to follow after her. The sound of his scaly stomach against the wood made her stomach churn from the sound. It reminded her of almost every horror movie ever. Jackie stopped in front of two large wooden double doors before opening them, looking into the room and seeing a very nice set up. A massive bath was to the far left with beautifully ornate tiled flooring with the other half being a thick carpet.

"So this will be my den? Not too bad but still quite small to what they promised me," Dumisa miffed, slithering past Jackie and down the few steps as he set his things down and once more tasted the air with his bifid tongue. He turned to Jackie and started to coil move around her, "and so you are the prey they promised as a host in the contract? I might be tempted to bite you if you aren't good at satisfying me. And I warn you, not even most lamias can. Maybe a human will, mmhh?" He smirked smugly and got his rings closer to Jackie.

"Yeah, well, uh, I'll be right back." Jackie awkwardly said before jumping over his tail and leaving his room and quickly trotting over to her cellphone. She immediately dialed Ms. Smith's number and got ready to rip her a new one. She never said anything about a massive venomous snake! The least she could have done was give her a warning.

"I trust Dumisa is exploring his environment properly, yes?" Ms. Smith said the moment she picked up the phone, not even bothering with a greeting.

"A giant, venomous snake? Seriously!?" Jackie hissed in a whisper, glancing down the hall to make sure he didn't hear. She didn't want him to take it personally but seriously? Again, this was her first time being a host!

"As serious as your contract, Ms. Penske," Ms. Smith calmly said with just the barest hint of amusement in her tone.

"You know what? Where the hell do you get off giving a first time host someone so dangerous?" Jackie angrily snapped back.

"Humans are the dangerous ones for Extraspecies, Ms. Penske. If he is acting defensively then you did something to cause it," the coordinator clearly was on Dumisa's side, a fact Jackie did not like at all, "I should remind you that if he or any other of the Extraspecies you'll get are in any ways forced to defend themselves, you will be accounted for it."

"What?! This is my first time as a host and you give me a predator let alone a venomous one!?" Jackie whispered into the phone with every bit of annoyed anger dripping from her words as she could manage.

"You are bound by the contract you signed, Ms. Penske. If you don't fulfill your part, you will be subjected to the section 13," Ms. Smith answered in a deadly tone before hanging up.

"Hello? Hello? Did you just hang up on me?!" Jackie shouted at the phone, tightening her grip with a glare. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with her?! Jackie growled and hung up, tossing her cellphone aside in her annoyance. Well this was just great.

Jackie glanced down the hallway at Dumisa's room, shifting her jaw in thought. Well … he was there, the money was paid and there was no going back at this point. Might as well go see where this took her. With a deep breath she turned and headed towards his room, trying to organize some conversation topics in her head. After all, this wasn't his fault and since she had no choice she might as well get to know him better.

Jackie first knocked before stepping inside, looking around the dark room before feeling around for a light switch but before she could find it a deep, menacing hiss filled the room as she froze, startled by the threatening sound. Is that-

Before she could think of what that was a fast force snapped against her gut, making her scream as Dumisa rammed his shoulder into her gut. The doors burst open from the force as hhe tumbled around on the hall, slamming Jackie against the ground and dazing her as he hissed, showing off the black inside of his mouth. Her heart nearly stopped, unable to think of anything to do or say as she stared into the bottomless black pit of his mouth, interrupted only by his pearly white canine fangs. Being so close she could see a faint ring of gold around his pupil, giving his gaze the most deadly of appearances. His eyes darted around her wide eyed gaze and frozen stiff expression, hearing her heart racing fast and hard in her fright before he frowned in annoyance.

"You would enter a predator's room without announcing yourself first? Rather foolish, host. It makes me think you've never met a predator Extraspecies before." He lightly laughed, keeping her pinned against the wooden boards as he leaned down, sniffing her and flickering his tongue out.

"H-Holy crap," Jackie deeply exhaled, falling limp against the ground and rolling her head back as she tried to get past her complete and utter shock. Not even five minutes and he already almost made her pee herself in her fright. Dumisa stared at her neck, seeming surprised at her sudden submission before deep laughter rolled off his tongue.

"Submitting to your alpha so quickly? That is a wise thing to do." He sadistically laugh as she felt a cold and slimy tongue drag up the center of her neck. Jackie jolted and tensed up, frozen in surprise as his tongue flicked off her chin and back into his mouth before he widely grinned, "you ought to taste delicious with so much adrenaline pumping through your blood, host."

" … Dumisa, get off, you're being creepy." Jackie bluntly stated as she tried to work a leg under him and push herself free but a small shimmy of his hips nestled his core between her legs, trapping her against the ground with his heavy weight. Jackie grunted from his heavy body crushing her hips and ribs, unable to speak from the crushing force he probably didn't think twice about.

"Creepy? The only creepy one here is the weak little human that submitted so fast that I haven't even begun to portray my true skills; or is it that you are so dazed by me that you decided to get the contract fulfilled the very same night I appear? I wouldn't blame you and I do admit I am interested in a night with a human female," he teased, grabbing her head and sniffing her hair, "the scent of humans is very pungent and strange. However, I am not adverse to it." He muttered, burying his face into her clean hair and taking a deeper whiff before licking her hair and rather licking the texture of her hair strands against his slick tongue, "although, to be honest, I didn't think my charms would seduce a human so quickly as it does to lamia. I impress myself." He chuckled but Jackie couldn't tell if he seemed pleased or disappointed.

"OH-kay, that's enough. Dumisa, get off." Jackie growled, pushing against his shoulders, "y-your weight is starting to hurt," Jackie groaned as he wryly grinned, placing more weight on her before she glared at him, "so get off you fat lug!" She shouted, shoving against his shoulders hard. Dumisa swayed back with a puckered expression before fiercely glaring, immediately retaliating with a hiss and shoved her back against the ground, making her head spin from the hard slam.

"Do not push me, human," he ordered with a hiss, "or is it that you wanna get on top?" He looked her intently, flickering his tail back and forth with a wry smile, "if you behave well then I might let you after I'm pleased first."

"That's host to you, Dumisa," Jackie groaned, rubbing the back of her head. How was she supposed to defuse the situation with this snake? … ah, "you wanted to come here to the big city, didn't you? Why would you choose New York of all places?"

Dumisa paused, taken off guard by her sudden question. With a crooked grin he leaned back, relieving her of his weight as he ran a hand through his hair in a rather cool manner before his collected bright eyes locked with hers.

"Yes, I did request to be around many humans. I figured what better way to learn other than coming to one of the world's most famous cities? And since the programs are barely starting here there won't be many lamia around to bother me. I have grown quite bored of them." He said with a smile, completely at ease now despite the almost bone crushing shover earlier. If he followed through on that push he probably could have broken her shoulders. Jackie tried to move back and get out from underneath of him but a thick cord snapped around her ankle, startling her to see his ambidextrous tail holding her firm and not allowing her to slip away.

"Then don't you think it would be beneficial to you if you began learning about humans and not push them around? This program is to learn how to integrate yourselves into human society." Jackie pointed out, thankful this was somehow able to sidetrack him.

"I don't see why not," he miffed, seeming baffled by her suggestion. "Especially when I'm your chosen alpha."

"Well humans don't exactly like being pushed around like that and we don't really have alphas." Jackie explained, trying to pull her ankle free but he pulled back with greater force and slipped further over her with a wicked smile, tilting his head in amusement.

"And how would you like me to push you? I might be considerate and let you choose a couple positions." He offered with a wry grin, acting as if he was doing her a favor. Jackie stared at him with a blank expression at his words, getting genuinely creeped out by him. Yeah, uh no, nope. This isn't going to continue.

"Alright Dumisa, what are you talking about because this, this right here, is getting straight up weird." Jackie stated in a hard tone as she stared at him, ready to cut the crap and get down to knowing what he was talking about. From everything he was saying she could only assume most of it was sexual - which she was positive about - but she wanted to hear him confirm it and, if he did, then she would continue to play dumb. Getting into a relationship with an Extraspecies was absolutely forbidden, she knew that much from what she read of the contract.

He moved back and rolled his eyes, "I'm obviously talking about the contract and your duties, host," he stretched, purposefully showing off his wired body and figure while trying not so hard to be discreet about it, "and since you interrupted me when I was barely settling in, you will have to start your duties by polishing my scales," he leaned back and up towering over her so she could see how bright his deep olive green scales were.

" … seriously?" Jackie said, hardly able to believe this guy, "do you think I'm your servant? I'm a host, not a slave, you imbecile." Jackie firmly stated, making her position firm as she stood up and looked him right in the eyes, "say please and I will polish your scales for you. How does that sound?" Jackie said with narrowed eyes, showing that she won't stand for being pushed around so easily. Well, tried to at least.

He looked at her very surprised and a bit dumbfounded at her sudden gusto. He snickered, catching her attention before bursting out into laughter, "very well, host! I'll say 'please' this time since you desire me to plead so much … there, I said that word already, so start and do be careful. I like my scales to be very shiny."

"Get back in your room and get your polish out. I'll start on your scales when I come back." Jackie said, starting down the hallway to grab a towel to use from the closet.

Dumisa deeply laughed as he returned to his room, opening his luggage and taking out his container of grade A scale polish. This woman was going to be fun. She was trying so hard to now show him that she was being seduced by his charms but he knew what he was doing. He may not understand human culture well but females were one of the many things he was an expert on. His long ear twitched, hearing her hoof feet plod heavily against the ground before grinning. By the end of this day he was going to have her groaning beneath him. After all, who could resist the charms of a lamia?

Jackie let out a deep sigh as she carried the cheap towels to his room. This guy was here for hardly 10 minutes and he's already a handful. Just what did she really get herself into signing up for this Extraspecies program?

It started in Japan about 3 years ago. Apparently all Extraspecies had some sort of agreement about remaining hidden from humanity but as time passed it became progressively more difficult for them to do that. So, instead, they simply decided to come out all at once before anything ugly happened and they chose Japan because the nippon country was one of the closest countries regarding their pure population yet held a good regard for mythical creatures; plus the country has an important international voice.

Not long after, in fact not even a year later, most latin american countries opened up their arms to them without regulations while the Europeans lasted a bit longer, debating if there should be or not regulations and which. The Extraspecies had not flocked immediately since most only wanted to be known, respected and left alone. However, many others wanted to join the new wave of integration, thus agencies around the world started creating the programs to facilitate such integration and to protect the minority of individuals that joined them.

Of course there had been problems, initially there were trophy hunters wanting to get them as big prey, some armies had immediately allowed them to join or even forced them to, companies wanted to gain anything from them, from learning about the underwater construction of the merfolk to experiment how their bodies functioned. That was also why the programs were needed and has expanded rapidly over those past few years where most countries now, more or less, accepted Extraspecies with the exception of USA, Iran, North Korea and Turkmenistan. Right now, USA was the only country in all of America that was still in the transition period and it was getting ugly in politics. Congress only recently signed off on the Interspecies Exchange Bill that allowed them to live in the country for a certain period of time and that was just by the skin of its teeth that it passed. A lot of people don't like the idea of Extraspecies coming here and they'd be trouble for sure but, hey, to hell with them. It's the land of the free and she was free to do as she pleased even if this was bound to get her a lot of unnecessary attention.

"Hey, Dumisa you ready?" Jackie asked, knocking on the door and poking her head in. She'd have to remember to announce herself before going into anyone's room. She stopped short, seeing him lounging rather flippantly on his bed, sliding a cool gaze in her direction as he rolled onto his side, resting a his chin in his hand and softly smiling in her direction. His shirt was parted perfectly where she could see his muscular chest and easily six pack on his stomach. For such a lazy snake he was well built.

Jackie stared at his chest, curious to see how the scales quickly fed into the skin around his waist but hitched higher up on his sides. His hands and arms were more scaly than human but his stomach and pecs had softer human-like skin. She was sure his back was probably more scaly too especially along the spine but she wasn't about to ask to look at it. It was seriously crazy how human-like the Extraspecies were while looking so animalistic too. It was no wonder why the government hid them for so long but now that they're out, they're out for good. She stared at him, noticing his hand sliding down his hip slightly as he raised an eyebrow, seeming to like being looked at. A warning from Ms. Smith would have been nice about him being such an overly obvious flirt. But, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

"Alright host. Because I am in a rather pleasant mood I'll allow you to touch my body as well as look at myself to your own pleasure. So, Ms. Host, please start with my tip and then work up on me." He said with a short flicker of his tongue as his tail held the large tub of polish startlingly well for her to take.

"I'll be honest, Dumisa," Jackie said, taking the tub and setting it on the ground before glancing over the instructions. So basically just rubbing it on before wiping it off with the towel will do, "I'm surprised you're able to use your tail like this." Jackie said, sliding a finger along the slim tail before it lightly coiled around her finger and held a startlingly tight grip.

"Most lamia are as such. Though the subspecies vary within the lamia family and our animal cousins have restrictive movement, us lamia's structures are different from theirs. We Extraspecies lamia have perfect control of our bodies and muscles," he said as he slid his long tail up her arm, keeping a firm grip before pushing the tip against her cheek, "I'm sure you will find these skills as amusing as they are arousing." He hummed as he drew his tail across her lips before trying to slip it inside her mouth. Jackie's hand shot up, snatching his tail roughly and feeling his muscles suddenly contract around her arm as he let out a faint groan.

"I get it, I don't need a demonstration." Jackie said, unraveling his weakened tail and keeping a firm grip on it.

"A surprisingly firm hand for someone who has such tiny fingers," Dumisa murmured as he let out a faint hum, laying on his stomach while staring at her, "well go on, Ms. Host. I don't like to be kept waiting."

"You'll wait for as long as you need to." Jackie said with a firm frown, pinching the tip of his tail as she gathered some of the waxy polish onto her free hand. He twitched as she slid her hand over his tail, covering his scales with the polish in an up and down fashion before rubbing it off in a downward motion with the towel. Dumisa squirmed and groaned, rolling around on the bed and kneading the sheets between his claws while a faint pink coloration gathered on his cheeks. " … something wrong?" Jackie asked, pinching the tip of his tail harder as she wiped off the excess polish.

"You failed to tell me you've done this sort of thing before, Ms. Host. I trust you that you won't disappoint me in the future." He said with a crooked smile, moving towards her before Jackie sharply bent his tail and watched him jerk forward, and push himself up from the bed frame with a sudden gasp. His tail wrapped around her fist, lightly squeezing it as she spread more polish on his tail and slowly worked her way up. This was getting really weirdly perverted and she honestly had no idea why.

Jackie pulled on his tail rather abruptly forcing him to stretch a little bit so she can get all the nooks and crannies in his scales. His spine curled in response as he grunted and fell back against the bed, wriggling his hips back and forth as she picked up the pace to finish as soon as she could. This was getting too weird for her liking and he was acting like he liked this a little too much.

After almost an hour of squirming she managed to finish his entire body up to his waist, now starting on his hand and arm. She got a better look at his fingers, seeing the claws extending almost a half inch from his fingertips and how smooth and soft his arm was despite the scales. Jackie jumped, startled as his hand slid up her leg while his eyes locked on target.

"Did I startle you, Ms. Host? You should be grateful I'm curious about your human body. I haven't seen bare human legs before and they feel curious." He said, sliding his hand around her calf and giving a light squeeze before Jackie quickly finished his one arm and began working on the other. She stumbled a bit, falling over his hips before he pulled her over him so she straddled his hips. "Don't be so shy, Ms. Host. Feel me at your leisure as I plan to do the same to you." He said, using his polished hand to curl around her thigh and slid over her smooth skin. This was a bad day to wear shorts and a tank top, that's for sure.

"You've never seen human legs before? Was your uh, village that far from humans?" Jackie said, a little annoyed at how touchy he was being before quickly finishing up his other arm and began working on his sides and ribs. This was now a race to the finish before he decided he wanted to go further up the leg.

"Humans in Africa know not to come near our villages. They are free to wander about our territory but the humans know the point they should not cross. I've never gotten the chance to venture far enough to see a human there though I hear those humans have darker skin than you do, Ms. Host." He said, lifting her leg and forcing her to fall back against his body. She opened her mouth to scold him but paused, seeing genuine curiosity behind those slit eyes of his.

"They were that far away?" Jackie said, shifting so her legs laid across his lap, safely closed and allowing her to reach his ribs and take a peek at his back. Huh, so she was right about him having a scalier back but his shoulder blades had less scales.

"No. I wasn't allowed to venture far from the city. Male lamia are so rare to come by that even some species of lamia believe there are no males in existence. So for natural purposes I am kept close to home," he explained as he slid his fingers over her legs, memorizing every curve and plush spot, "humans are so soft that it's amazing you don't break all the time," he heavily sighed, hunching over a bit as she put his long hair up into a bun and polished his back.

"That sounds really boring to me to be honest." Jackie admitted, finishing up his shoulders before locking her gaze onto his ears. They were fairly long and pointed in a slightly downward position and it surprised her that he had ears at all since normal snakes don't have ears. Jackie slid her hands up his back and shoulders, feeling him shudder a bit in surprise before she rolled her palms over the back of his scaly neck and rubbed his ears. They had a hard exterior but were surprisingly pliable as she gently tugged on them and pushed against the tips. He let out a hum and leaned forward, brushing her legs off his lap before laying down on his belly and letting out a tired sigh.

"Hm~ don't stop, Ms. Host. That feels good." He hummed, pleased as Jackie lightly rubbed his ear some more. She slid her hands over his neck, finding the smooth scales fun to pet before she pushed her thumbs into his neck and continued to stroke him in a massaging motion. He hummed and turned his neck, letting her have better access as she grinned at the little win. At least this was bound to get her on his good side. Hopefully the happier he was the less grabby he'd be. Dumisa rolled onto his back and tipped his head back, exposing his neck and letting her rub his scaly jaws and ears while his smiled at the treatment.

"It feels that good?" Jackie teased, lightly pinching and pulling on his ear as he let out a slight groan and pressed his forehead against her knee in response before rolling over. The rest of his long body shifted and moved onto the large futon with the tip of his tail coiling around her shoulders. Jackie stiffened up a bit, staying cautious as she felt his tail lightly beginning to squeeze. "Hey, Dumisa, don't wrap your tail around my neck."

"Ms. Host, I'm tired. Since you've shown me something pleasurable I'll allow you to lay with me tonight." He said, suddenly sitting up and hugging her shoulders before pulling her onto the bed with him.

"Wait, what?" Jackie said, trying to lean back but his grasp remained firm and unmoving. She flinched as she felt a heavier weight slide over her as the rest of his body began to pile on top of her to absorb as much of her natural body heat as he possibly could from her. "GACK! No! Stop! You're going to crush me!" Jackie rasped out as she struggled to worm out of his grip but he only rolled over so he was on top of her, worsening the pressure of his weight before he paused.

"Ah yes, that's right. You're plush body will squish right under mine, wouldn't it?" He said with a bored expression before letting out a sigh, "though you don't deserve to sleep right beside me I suppose I'll allow your warm body to do so for tonight. I'm being awfully caring tonight so don't expect me to grant you the same privileges starting tomorrow morning." He murmured, falling to the side. Before Jackie could scramble away he locked his arms around her waist and held her head against his chest while his body tightly coiled around her body. Her arms pinned to her sides as she gaped, hardly able to believe this was actually going down right now. He was serious about sleeping with her? She jolted as his lips pressed against his shoulders, his mouth parting as she felt a light bite that didn't include his fangs. She remained stiff as he repeated the motion, mouthing her hot skin with his cool mouth.

"Wait, wait what the hell! I polished your scales so why are you biting?!" Jackie shouted, holding still and trying not to provoke a bite out of him. If he bit her she was dead without the antivenom … which back in the kitchen. Jackie's face paled as he mouthed her shoulder, moving up to the base of her neck all the while humming.

"Your warm skin feels good against my mouth. Almost as much as your skills do to my body," he noted, lightly squeezing her body and making her tense up.

"D-Dumisa, stop constricting me. And what skills?" Jackie asked, trying to keep calm despite the dire situation. He could easily bite her, suffocate her or snap her in half in whatever order he wanted to like this.

"You're hands. They are startlingly skilled for someone with such tiny, soft weak hands." He said, lightly squeezing her body in the constriction before kissing her neck and sliding his hands up the sides of her neck, making her stiffen up and try to move away from this unsettling position.

"Dumisa, what are you doing?" Jackie asked, getting freaked out about why he was touching her so much.

"You're warm and I am cold blooded," he simply answered before smirking, "you didn't think I held interest in you as a woman, did you? The only interest I hold is that you are warm blooded and a human. Other than that nothing else matters," he said with a lazy yawn off to the side, "now hold still, heat bag, I am tired," he hugged her against his body and let out a tired breath, rubbing her shoulder in his palm while keeping her head in the crook of his neck.

"Dumisa are you trying to go to sleep?" Jackie asked, dumbfounded with what was happening. This was definitely happening right now and she did not like it one bit. But what the hell was she supposed to do? He was easily much stronger than she was and escaping his snake body would be next to impossible. At least the fact that he didn't want anything sexual was a relief.

"My heat lamp is too far away and you're a convenient heat bag. Much warmer than any lamia." He muttered, hugging her against himself before rolling slightly and completely constricting around her body to the point only her shoulders and head was free. He tapped his head against her forehead before laying down, letting out a brief, tired breath before closing his eyes.

...

"Dumisa, you're seriously going to try and sleep right now?" Jackie asked, glancing over at the clock. It was definitely late but he had a heat lamp for when he gets cold.

"If you keep squirming and moving I'm going to bite you and cuddle up to your hot corpse for the rest of the night instead of feeling your breathing." He hissed in annoyance, silencing Jackie in her shock before falling quiet. Jackie held still and kept quiet, trying to think of strategies on how to avoid things like this in the future.

 _Note to self … never get close to a lamia around bedtime._

* * *

And thus concludes the first chapter of Jackie's soon to be new hectic life! Let me know what you think of this in the _**REVIEWS**_ and after _**10 REVIEWS**_ I will release the next chapter. I apologize for not having updated in some time but I haven't been able to write for some time before the idea of Musume came to me.


	2. Chapter 2

Jackie sleepily murmured as something cool and slick dragged up her neck. The motion made her eyes groggily crack open, briefly confused before Dumisa's grasp tightened around her waist. Her head snapped down, seeing his mouth engulfing her shoulder while he sleepily unhinged his jaws and engulfed more of her shoulder. Jackie's mouth popped open, startled and unable to utter a word in response.

… was he really trying to swallow her in his sleep? Now that's freaky. Jackie opened her mouth to speak but the pressure around her ribs made it impossible. His tail gently tightened, making her acutely aware that he had a grasp around her neck. He pulled his mouth back, keeping his lips and teeth pressed against her skin.

"Such a tease, host … ," Dumisa muttered in his sleep, not even aware he just tried to swallow her. He muttered something incomprehensible, mouthing her shoulder and neck while continuing to squeeze the life out of her. Her breath came in fast and light, wheezing as she tried to feed enough oxygen to her dying brain. T-This is dangerous!

"D-Du-mi-s-sa." She barely rasped out before he let out a light laugh, cracking his eyes open in a cool manner. He rolled over slightly so he was over her, staring down at his prey with a frighteningly toothy grin.

"How does it feel to have the life sucked out of you, host? Would you rather I swallow your greedy little self whole so you'll be inside me, up until the point you dissolve? But then you'd be flowing through my veins and be with me for some time … I would say that's a fate unworthy of a weak human, so I'll instead bite you," he said, leaning in and softly drawing the tip of his nose over her cheekbone, rolling his slitted eye open and staring right into hers hardly an inch away, "to watch you slowly succumb to my venom, watching your body slowly choke itself to death while having my face be the last thing you ever do see before the sweet embrace of darkness … yes, I think the kiss of death is enough for you, human. Be honored." He said with a wry grin before leaning down, inhaling a ghostly breath before sinking his fangs into her shoulder.

"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH STAHP BITING MEEEEEEEEE!" Jackie screamed as she woke up with a sudden jolt, breathing fast and hard as she struggled to move. What the hell? Was that just a nightmare? A light squeeze around her shoulders made her stiffen up a bit before looking up at the black haired snake entangling her and preventing any sort of escape. His annoyed glare and pissed off frown cut her to the core as she shrunk back slightly.

"Quiet, heat pack," Dumisa hissed as his arms tightened around her waist and held her against his chest. Her eyes widened before narrowing, feeling his heavy weight crushing her pelvis along with his tail coiled around her legs. She was still trapped but at least her upper half was free now.

"You have your own heat lamp so why don't you go use that?" Jackie growled as she tried to push his chest away. His scaly ribs pressed back against her palms as he deeply laughed, leaning down and parting his lips into a vicious inky smile as a warning for her to stop struggling.

"Your face is warm and ripe with embarrassment. Did you have a naughty dream about me?" He snickered, lingering his mouth dangerously over her forehead before his tongue flicked out, tapping against her forehead. She froze, too shocked to move as his tongue slid up her skin for a satisfying lick before tickling her with a few fast flickers.

"Stop, that's enough. You're going to squeeze the life out of my legs." She growled as she wriggled in his grasp and managed to free a leg. He let out an amused snicker as his grip tightened around her waist and he leaned all his weight onto her shoulders to force her against the bed.

"A heat pack doesn't need her legs." He teased with a toothy white grin as his body tensed up, squeezing her remaining leg and making her let out a pained grunt before she glared at him. He toothily grinned, waiting for her angry retort. Rather than scolding him she stared at his shirt, trying to think of a way to turn this around. Vain and narcissistic. Ew, her only option was to pet his ego but at least she'd be free.

" … Dumisa, how many shirts do you own?" Jackie asked, gently tugging on his current shirt and seeing some small holes in it. He definitely didn't seem like the kind to wear ragged clothing. He paused, pulled up short once again before frowning.

"Not many. Since I do not often wear clothes I only own about three." He said, uncoiling her from his grasp and spilling her stiff body onto the bed as he slithered over to his small suitcase, opening it and pulling out two more garments that were more dress-like and full of colors and African patterns. She honestly had a hard time seeing him in those. He looked more like a button down classy kind of shirt.

"That's it?" Jackie asked, surprised as she stared at his meager clothing.

"They are of the finest quality. I doubt a commoner such as yourself would understand."

"And compared to your 'commoners' how is my standard of living?" Jackie said, making Dumisa fall silent before he shot her a narrowed glare. Uh oh, tactical retreat. "Anyway, how about this, Dumisa. You want to go walk- _slither_ around the city a bit, right? Why don't I take you to some outlets and we can buy you some new shirts?" Jackie suggested as he stared at her, seeming confused. After some silence Jackie slipped off the bed nice and slow, trying not to make any sudden movements. "So uh, let's do that today. It's nice and early so there won't be too many people on the streets and it'll be good to get you some new shirts. So uh, be ready in thirty minutes, got it?" Jackie said before making her escape out the door and heading for her room to get ready. Driving would be much easier than trying to take the subway, that's for sure. Hopefully the pedo van Ms. Smith gave her would be big enough to fit Dumisa inside somewhat comfortably.

* * *

It really wasn't big enough.

Dumisa's whole body took up the entire back of the van while his upper torso was between the driver's seat and the passenger seat, taking in the sights of the city and people walking for the whole 2 hour drive up. There wasn't nearly as much complaining as she thought there would be; he mostly asked questions and pointed things out, one of the most common ones being was why the dogs had leashes on them.

"Well, that's because the dog is their pet and so they don't run into the street and get hit by a car or run off, so we humans normally keep them on leashes." Jackie explained.

"Oh look, that woman has a kid on a leash too? Does that means humans regard their young as pets? How proper." He miffed, not seeming disgusted but actually nostalgic for some reasons Jackie wasn't going to ask about.

"It's so they don't get lost in the crowd. Should I get you a leash too?" Jackie teased, testing her limits before glancing over at him as they came to a stop at a light.

"If it helps to keep my host at the distance I prefer, then I will put it on your neck instead." He countered with every bit of seriousness he could.

"Well, that's not going to happen." Jackie said as she pulled up to one of the pay-and-park lots near the shop outlets. Dumisa watched intently as she took a took a ticket from the machine and parked in the handicap spot before putting up a sign on the mirror and putting the ticket in the overhead.

"What was the ticket for?" He asked, baffled by the piece of paper the machine spit out. He knew humans relied much on the work of machines but he never realized just how many machines were all around humans at all times. It was mindboggling. No wonder the human race were growing so fat and lazy.

"To say I am parking here. I pay on the way out at the machine out front. I'll show you when we leave." Jackie said, parking and putting everything in her purse before hopping out. She walked to the back and opened the door, jumping out of the way fast as half of Dumisa's body spilled out and onto the hard rock. Surprisingly he wasn't as tangled up in himself as she thought he was as he fluidly turned around and raised himself up a little higher, looking around his new environment surprisingly cautiously. He squirmed a little bit, looking at the rest of his body moving over the pavement.

"Your roads feel strange on my scales." Dumisa admitted, slipping entirely out of the back as he stared at the hard ground. Jackie locked up the back of the van as he poked and dragged his claws over the pavement, seeming uneasy by it's texture.

"I guess they would compared to sand and grass. Do Lamia not make roads?" Jackie asked as she started heading for the outlets with Dumisa easily keeping pace.

"No, we do not. Most extraspecies don't force nature to do unnatural things for our own convenience. I suppose I've always admired humans for trying so hard to carve the very landscape to their selfish liking. I find it amusing." Dumisa admitted with a wry grin as they crossed the street into the outlet section.

"Yeah, well I guess we're all about convenience," Jackie admitted with a shrug, "well, what kind of clothes would you like? I think some nice button downs would look the best." Jackie said, glancing at the store fronts and trying to decide where to take him first.

"It's interesting how you think you know my preferences. Please, by all means, try to find something suitable to my taste, hm?" He said with a cocky grin and raised eyebrow as Jackie rolled her eyes and made a motion for him to follow.

"Yeah, yeah fine." Jackie sighed, looking at one all men's shop in particular. Those have some pretty good displays.

"A question, Ms. Host. Why did you choose this place over others? We drove past some rather interesting stores on the way here." Dumisa asked, in the mood to test his new host a little bit.

"I chose this place because it wouldn't be nearly as crowded and gives us a better chance to socialize." But the reason it's not crowded is because these stores are for the higher end people of New York but anything less than this and Dumisa might have thrown a temper tantrum.

"I see … so here I am free to speak to whomever I please? You won't get jealous?" He teased, casting his slitted eyes around the street in search of a victim.

"Well, more or less and it depends if they want to talk to you back. Let's go check out this store." Jackie suggested, heading up the stairs for the store before pausing. He's silent. That's not good why is he silent?

"Eek-!" Someone screamed, startling Jackie as she whipped around to see Dumisa having encircled three teens before leaning in and gently curling his finger under her jaw. The girl stiffened up with eyes widened as she looked him in the face before he gently smiled.

"Why do you scream in fright when you see me? Because when I see the three of you I find myself getting rather excited." Dumisa purred, sliding his tail around and up the girl's leg before gently squeezing.

"W-W-What-What are-," the tallest girl to the side stammered as Dumisa held both of the outer girls by the hips, massaging them through their short skirts.

… I knew he was bad but _this_ bad?

"You tease me by wearing such attire. Are you trying to seduce me?" He asked, glancing at the two girls on the outer sides and finding them too flustered to speak before locking eyes with the one in the center. With a toothy grin he leaned in to the one in the center who was blushing the hardest. Jackie watched, completely in shock at his actions before noticing the number of people who stopped to watch the scene with a few of them pulling out cell phones. Wait, wait this could be bad, very, very bad!

"Your beating heart _is_ rather alluring, young one. I suppose I could succumb and take you in but would the three of you be able to take me, I wonder?" He murmured into her ear in a low and seductive voice before flickering his tongue into her ear. The girl set a hand on her head as she fell back against the other two, taken out of commission through the steam almost visibly pumping out of her ears.

"Hey hey hey, _Dumisa_! Stop that, you're going to get us in trouble." Jackie growled, lightly grabbing his arm as the girls took the opportunity to escape. Those people were definitely calling for the police or someone that will give them trouble. Dumisa watched them go before letting out a disappointed sigh.

"You interrupted me, Ms. Host. I was socializing just as you suggested. Or were are you mad with jealousy?" He asked with a playfully raised eyebrow as sirens sounded from the distance, making Jackie's face pale. Five minutes, _five minutes_ into taking him out for shopping and already the police were called. This sucked. Jackie opened her purse, making sure she had all the necessary paperwork for the 7th time before letting out a heavy sigh. This would be her first test dealing with the police concerning Dumisa. It was stressful.

"Oh? Are you sure that you can't join me tonight, miss?" Dumisa's voice interrupted her thoughts as she froze, "because I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind if I steal you away for only a single night."

"B-Bu-But I can't," the woman stammered with a blush back as Jackie turned around, finding Dumisa already at it again.

"Dumisa! Really?!" Jackie shouted as he turned towards her, flickering his tail back and forth.

"What's this? Jealousy?" He said with a grin as the woman ducked under his arm and made her escape, all the while giggling.

"You there! Stop right there!" An authoritative voice shouted, making Jackie jump before she looked back and saw a pair of officers heading their way. Ugh, and so it begins. Jackie whipped her hand out, catching Dumisa's wrist before he could make an escape again and go harass someone else.

"Hm? You're going to keep me all to yourself now? I knew humans were selfish but I never imagined they would be so possessive." He teased, leaning in and flickering his tongue and to tickle her cheek.

"Y-You're not allowed to go anywhere until we get this resolved." Jackie said in a firm voice, making sure to keep holding on to him while the police caught up to them.

"What are you doing with an Extraspecies, young lady? There are no hosts in this section of the city," one of the officers informed her with a suspicious voice, the second cop having a hand on his gun while Dumisa sat there with annoyance plastered on his face.

"I am a host, officer McCalin, and this is Dumisa. I drove here," Jackie said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some paperwork before handing it to the officer. Her heart was racing a little bit, slightly scared but she knew she was in her legal right. They weren't allowed to kick her off the sidewalk for having Dumisa with her. Now if they mention the harassment that might be a different story so she hoped they wouldn't ask her that.

"So this officer is so low in the hierarchy that he wasn't even informed about the programs?" Dumisa said with a snarky smile and raised eyebrow as Jackie cast him a small side glance. If this prick is going to try and get her in trouble … well, she'd be in trouble because there's nothing she could do about it.

"Dumisa, come on, be nice." Jackie said, lightly squeezing his wrist as the officer glanced up at him but otherwise continued to read the proper documentation. His brow furrowed, seeming a little confused as he flipped through the pages. She wondered if this was his first time seeing a host on the streets.

"Papers seem to be in order but where is your permit card?" He asked, making Jackie's heart skip a beat.

"I-I don't have the card but I have the paper for it in the small packet. The card should be coming in the next week." Jackie honestly told him with some stumbling along the way. Officer McCalin stared at her for a few minutes before pulling out a small booklet labeled 'Hosts and Extraspecies' on it. Jackie let out a stiff sigh, getting comfortable where she was. She was right, this was their first time encountering a host and an Extraspecies. Since Extraspecies are so new most cops probably haven't even learned all the proper protocols just yet. Which she couldn't blame them; Extraspecies were rare as it is and to have one suddenly show up has to be a bit baffling.

"Its obvious this human doesn't even know procedures if he wasn't deemed important enough to even know about the contracts. I am bored, host. Let's continue elsewhere and if he has any problems he can contact Ms. Smith."

"You're not going anywhere, ma'am." The second officer, Officer Robert, said towards the snake before turning his gaze quickly to Jackie instead. Whoa boy~

"Officer it would be really great if we could get on with our day. Would you like to confirm all of this by contacting my coordinator?" Jackie asked, slipping out her phone and showing him the screen with Ms. Smith's face on it and her number. Both officers looked at one another, exchanging a quiet agreement before looking back at her.

"We might as well." Officer Robert said, taking the phone from Jackie and calling her. A familiar tone started up a ruckus as Jackie looked past the officers, seeing Ms. Smith already heading towards them with a venomous smile on her lips. Beside her was a startling sight; he was a large, bulky tiger Extraspecies who didn't seem concerned over the scene but more interested in the storefronts nearby showing off their great selection. The officer held the phone to his ear, oblivious to the approaching woman.

"Do so and let's see how white your skin can turn when you get chewed," Dumisa said with a snarky laugh, not seeming to have noticed Ms. Smith yet.

"Dumisa, come on stop trying to get us in trouble," Jackie said, not letting him pull his hand away.

"Why should I, host? It's these lowly, unimportant humans who are bothering us." Dumisa miffed as he rolled his eyes.

"Extraspecies or not I can and _will_ arrest you if you continue to run your mouth like that." Officer Robert snapped at him. He sniffed at the threat before letting out a loud laugh, seeing Ms. Smith stepping up behind the officers.

"I dare you to try it. You'll be in violation of code blue in the 76th section." Ms. Smith said, walking through the officers and up to Jackie before she ended the call.

"Having trouble already, sweetie?" She asked with a surprisingly pleasant smile. For some reason the nice smile made Jackie suspicious. She's planning something.

"I expected it, really." Jackie admitted with a sheepish shrug before Ms. Smith smiled and turned to the officers.

"My name is Ms. Smith and you may tell your chief of police to call me directly if there are any concerns with an Extraspecies. As of right now, Dumisa has done nothing to cause police involvement and if he had, he would not be within your jurisdiction." She said, pulling out her business card and holding it out to the officers. Officer McCalin with Jackie's paperwork took the card as Ms. Smith slipped the paperwork from his hand and gave it back to Jackie. "Well now, seeing as business is settled now we will take our leave." She said as the tiger walked around them, making the second officer jump in surprise at the tiger's size as he walked over to Jackie.

"Uh, thank you for helping us out." Jackie said, grateful for her sudden appearance.

"Next time there is a problem just contact my office and we will take care of the rest." Ms. Smith said with a smile before glancing over at the tiger with a smile, "did you find a store you wanted to go look at, Jaska?"

"The bookstore. Otherwise, niet."

"That's no good, Jaska. You already have plenty of books where you're going and you need to get some good, clean clothes not those ratty shirts you have." She retorted, sounding like a lightly scolding mother.

"Read them all," he said, remaining serious and annoyed.

"I would suggest then to have a bonfire with them but I don't think your heart could take it." She lightly laughed before noticing Jackie's stares towards the tiger.

"Are you a host too, Ms. Smith?" Jackie asked, curious as Ms. Smith lightly laughed.

"Just a coordinator, I'm afraid. Jaska here needs some new clothes before I introduce him to his host tonight." She said with a smile.

"Yeah? And who is his host?" Jackie asked, having a chilling feeling that Jaska was going to be her next Extraspecies.

"Its under dispute now and I'll know by tonight. I have other business to take care of so ta ta." She said with a smile before turning to leave.

"Wait, wait you're just going to leave him here?" Jackie asked, puzzled as she looked up at the tall tiger and he looked down at her, seeming annoyed as his tail flickered around.

"No, I'm not. Go put your hosting abilities to use and get Jaska here some nice clothing. You still have plenty of leftover money from Dumisa, don't you?" She said with a wink before walking away.

"Wait, wait but he's not my- Jaska, wait where are you going? Hey! Ms. Smith, don't just-UGH!" Jackie shouted in exasperation. So, what she didn't feel like shopping with Jaska so she just dumped the tiger on her? Was she even allowed to do that? Of course she was, she's the freaking coordinator!

Jaska was already moving to the closest suit store which happened to be the most expensive too, "come, snake host. We finish clothe shop fast and then go to bookstore, da?"

He entered the store so casually Jackie couldn't help but think he's done this before he went straight to the counter. He then pointed to some clothes, "give 5 of each, different colors. Is for me, make adjustments," he looked at the Jackie, "she pay and we come back when we done in bookstore."

"Well hold on, then. I'm also here for clothes and they need to take your measurements, kitty cat." Dumisa reminded him with a snarky laugh before slithering into the store and using surprising precision to maneuver through the racks available as he looked over his choices with a smile.

"Well, a-alright then." The elderly man behind the counter said as he shuffled around and got out a small, old school string of tape measuring, "step over here and I'll take your measurements." He said in a slow voice, turning almost painfully slow before taking about ten seconds with each foot step. Jackie held back a laugh and light patted Jaska's furry and muscular arm as he looked at the slow elderly gentleman with impatience that was noticeable by the swinging of his long tail.

"Relax, relax Jaska. After this we can go to the bookstore or whatever," before making Ms. Smith reimburse her for everyone this tiger of hers buys, "take your time. Dumisa will probably be a while anyway." Jackie said as she turned before being blindsided by a massive pile of button down shirts. She staggered from the weight, looking up and seeing Dumisa's tail before it poked her nose.

"Hurry up, host. I want to try these strange shirts on." He said before his tail wrapped around her waist and, like a leash, dragged her over to the fitting room and away from Jaska as he slowly followed the old man into the corner of the store where they fit the suits.

"Dumisa, don't carry me like that!" Jackie complained as other customers looked at them with strange disdain and annoyance before Dumisa slipped his human half into the handicapped room. Jackie bulked as he pushed her through the curtains, taking the shirts from her and setting them aside before leaning towards her with a devious smile.

"Help me get dressed, host. I am unaccustomed to wearing such strange attire." He said with a wry smile before he leaned back and slowly peeled off his shirt. Jackie turned to flee but his bunched up body left no usable escape route for her. Stupid freaking snake.

"You ditching your duties host? I won't allow it," he dragged her by the waist with his tail, "now behold my beautiful self and serve me properly," he removed his clothes and then began showing off his chest muscles while using Jackie to hold the clothes he wanted to try on before looking at himself in the mirror. After what felt like hours of him trying everything on he tossed everything into a pile.

"What, are those all rejects?" Jackie sarcastically asked.

"Pay for these at the counter. I'll be sunning myself outside of the store." He said as he left the dressing room. Jackie stared at the pile in shock, staring at it before looking back at the curtain in annoyance. Stupid, vain and selfish. That's exactly what he is. And for some reason she had a feeling her next Extraspecies wouldn't have a much better temperament. She huffed and picked up all the clothes, staggering to the side before walking up to the counter and setting all the clothes down. Her lower back ached as she looked over to the fitting section, seeing Jaska trembling with the expression of cold blooded murder on his face as the man very, very slowly began measuring the height of his leg.

After paying for the clothes Jackie looked back over, seeing the man just reach the tip of Jaska's hip before excruciatingly slowly writing down the measurement in unreadable letters. Oh boy. Jackie took her bags and quickly left the store, finding Dumisa lounging on the sidewalk and soaking in the sun just like he said he'd do.

"Watch your things, Dumisa. I'll be back out in a bit."

"Take your time. The sun feels nice." Dumisa said with a toothy and serene smile despite the weird looks everyone was giving him.

"Yeah, you enjoy that sun. Just don't trip anyone." Jackie said as she quickly went back inside to find the man just finishing up writing the first or maybe second measurement down.

"You need anything, Jaska?" Jackie asked, seeing the man writing down more measurements.

"Make it able to stretch and watch out for tail. Use cool fabric." He said towards the elderly man, ignoring Jackie entirely.

"There we are, all done." He said, shakingly putting his pencil in his suit jacket and the notepad on the small stool. "Give me an address and I will send the suits to you unless you want to pick them up later?" He asked, looking to Jaska.

Jaska looked at Jackie coming in, "hey little gurl, give address to man."

"I don't see … yeah, yeah alright, fine." Jackie sighed, figuring since it's going to be on her credit card then her address would have to be on it to, "tell Ms. Smith to text me the address you want me to forward it to later." Jackie said, writing down her information for the man before going to the register to pay. Jaska walked past her and towards the door before Jackie grabbed his arm. "Hold on, Jaska. Wait for me I still need to pay and the bookstore is down a block or two." Jackie said as she swiped her credit card.

"Then find me in bookstore," he continued his pace in the direction where he really wanted to go, dragging Jackie along with him. Jackie narrowed her eyes before jumping in front of him, making him come to a stop. The fiery annoyance in his eyes flared as he growled lowly, making the other customers retreat a small ways.

"And you'll wait for me so I can pay for whatever books you want." Jackie promised, trying to make him hold still for at least a little longer.

"Ah, ma'am, your credit card." The older gentleman said as she reached back, taking it from him and still holding onto Jaska's arm as he reluctantly held still.

"Thanks."

"We will call you when the suits are on their way. Have a good day." He said with a wrinkly smile before Jaska literally picked Jackie right off her feet and carried her out the door with him now that the transaction was finished. Jackie looked over to Dumisa, finding him fast asleep on the sidewalk with some kids poking at his scales and giggling.

"Hey!" Jackie barked, making the kids jump before running away in a fit of laughter before Jaska set her down and growled.

"We now go to bookstore. Leave snake to sleep in sun." He said with a low snarl.

"Hold your horses, jeez!" Jackie huffed before walking over to Dumisa and shaking his shoulder to wake him. "Come on, you can sleep when we get home or some more in front of the bookstore but for now we need to get some books for Jaska and you."

"Books?" Dumisa grumbled as Jackie picked up his bags.

"Yeah, come on." Jackie said, looking back and finding Jaska already two blocks away. Honestly, can't he wait?! Jackie hurried after him as Dumisa sluggishly followed, taking his time as Jackie walked between them, keeping an eye on both of them until Jaska ducked into a nearby bookstore. Almost immediately 5 people left the store with a quickened pace before Jackie reached it, arms aching from carrying Dumisa's heavy bags. This is seriously ridiculous.

"You're such a slave driver, Ms. Host." Dumisa complained, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and nearly dragging her down to the ground with him before she slipped free, letting him lay on his clothing backs for a pillow before leaving him there.

"Don't go anywhere, Dumisa." Jackie ordered before slipping into the store and finding Jaska in the new arrivals section.

He grabbed a book and read the epilogue at the back or the preface at the front, then either left it aside or set if back in place. He did so with many books on various sections. Initially he had made some comments in some language that Jackie suspected was Russian from the deep accent and the earlier word 'niet'. He then merely kept choosing books in silence. It was taking him longer than what the old guy had taken for measuring him. However, Jackie clearly saw his excitement. His tail swayed aside and he looked like a big curious kitten with each new book he picked.

"I wouldn't peg you to be a big reader to be honest." Jackie said with a small laugh. She just couldn't see a guy this big sitting down and enjoying a book. But then she imagined a fireplace and a glass of wine in a fancy room surrounded by books. Huh, that scene was oddly fitting for him.

"Why that?" He barely paid her attention as he grabbed some mystery novel.

"I don't know, a big and bulky guy like you would more likely be at the gym or a sports game than here in a bookstore." Jackie lightly teased with a grin, glancing out the window and seeing Dumisa laying perfectly contently over his bags for a lazy nap.

"You judging book by cover? Typical human," he dismissed, "mind needs exercise more than body and I get plenty of exercise when working with Smith."

"Aren't you doing the same by calling me a 'typical human'?" Jackie countered with a smile before pausing, "you work with Ms. Smith? What do you do?" She asked, wondering what kind of exercising he could be doing at her office over than taking calls. At the which, imagining him in a tiny cubicle with a tiny desk and chair nearly made her lose in in laughter but she held it in.

He let out a small growl, "I read first pages. Humans don't. No comments."

"Well, I don't think you've read enough of my first pages to put me in the category of a 'typical human' yourself." She said with a faint smile, "where are you from? Your accent is different." Jackie said, wanting to guess Russia but wanting to hear it from him.

"I am Siberian tiger. Where you think I'm from?"

"I would have guessed somewhere from out there. What made you join the program?" She asked, finding talking with him interesting. It was never boring talking to an Extraspecies and it's interesting to know where they've been and what they've done before the program. In Dumisa's case she really didn't want to ask but she was curious about Jaska. Not to mention his accent was really nice to listen to.

"Uncouth to ask but not tell first. Personal stuff is personal, host." He said with a straight face and with a conversational ending tone. Jackie nervously nodded and looked elsewhere, pausing as she found a book on advanced engineering. She picked out the book and flipped through the pages, a little disappointed. She already knew all this stuff.

"Well, let me know when you're ready to purchase." Jackie said, putting the book back before heading over to the waiting section with small chairs.

About an hour later he walked over to her with a pile of books bigger and heavier than Dumisa's clothing load. Jackie felt her wallet softly cry as she swiped the card, not daring to look at the amount she owed before paying it off and leaving the store with him. Thankfully the owner gave him a big box to carry everything in so he didn't have to carry it all with him.

Jackie walked out by Dumisa and paused, looking around and trying to see where Ms. Smith was before calling her up.

"Hey, Ms. Smith, we're done shopping. Where do you want to pick Jaska up at?"

"Hm~ nowhere. I'm already four hours out. Mind watching him for me until I come by tonight with your new Extraspecies?" She lazily yawned.

"Did you just wake up from a nap? I thought you had business!" Jackie snapped at her.

"Very important business. Just, I don't know, just take him with you back to your apartment and hold on to him until tonight. Night." She said with a tired yawn before hanging up, leaving Jackie twitching in her seething annoyance.

How the hell was she supposed to fit them both into the car?

* * *

"Alright, we're here. Give me a minute to open the back." Jackie said, quickly jumping out of the driver's seat. Jackie was surprised that Jaska decided to sit in the back with Dumisa and leave his books in the passenger seat for the ride back to her apartment. Twice Jaska and Dumisa got into a fight that almost knocked the van right onto its side. She quickly unlatched the back of the van before diving to safety as Dumisa's body spilled out of the van. With a hard kick, Jaska emptied the car of Dumisa as he groaned, hissed in Jaska stepped out over his body and got his things from the back. "Dumisa, get your clothes and go put them in your room." Jackie said.

"Why, just I carry it? You are the host, and after forcing me to endure your horrible driving skills, carrying my stuff is the least you can do"

"It's your crap so _you_ carry it." Jackie snapped back as she went up the wide twisting stairs and opened the door for both Jaska and Dumisa. Jaska bumped Jackie aside as he lumbered past her, almost making her snap at him before noticing his fur was in a wild disarray. And for some reason Jackie felt like Ms. Smith would blame _her_ for his appearance like that. "Jaska, go sit in the living room. I'm going to brush you." Jackie said as she went over to her closet and pulled out a spare hair brush with the longer bristles. Her hair was a monster in the morning so she bought this for especially bad days.

Jaska growled with a raised eyebrow -"You wanna try petting the kitty? I need not."

"So the cat has his fur tangled? Serves him well. Too bad fur gets so messy unlike scales" Dumisa miffed with a sly smirk before slithering off to his room to arrange his clothing to his liking. Jackie rolled her eyes at his comment before stepping into the living room with the large brush.

"Sit down on the ground so I can start on your head and shoulders. Take off your shirt too; I'm sure it's worse underneath from the sweat." Jackie said, pushing the coffee table out of the way before sitting on the couch and waiting for her patient.

"Want to enjoy show? I no mere kitten." He said with a toothy grin.

"Show?" Jackie asked, baffled. Great, he's a flirt like Dumisa.

Jaska wryly smirked and locked eyes with her, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it aside while sliding on the ground and leaving his broad back and shoulders to rest on the couch in a way that showed his very toned and muscular frame.

"There, now was that so hard?" Jackie teased, sliding her hand gently around to cup his jaw and tilt his head back before brushing the top of his head.

"You want hard? What you want hard?" Jaska stiffened for a second at the first touch of the brush and gave a warning growl. It was an interesting sensation and she was taking care of not pulling any tangles so it was soft and light and felt really nice on his thick fur. Jaska's tail flickered back and forth as the thin bristles combed through his thick fur, dredging up broken under fur with ease and without as much pain as he would have normally expected. Her brushes were brief and fast, getting the job done easily.

"You're purring." Jackie said with a soft laugh near his ear, gently rubbing his jaws as she brushed his neck and shoulders to a satisfyingly fluffy and groomed texture. She slid her fingers up his cheek and gently pinched his ear before gingerly rubbing the soft cartilage.

"You think I no bite?" He asked with a growl and slight smile while he raised eyebrow, amused with her forward nature and surprised that she had gotten him to purr.

"I doubt it," Jackie honestly said as she gently tugged on his ear while brushing his upper back, "besides, it's not every day I get to pet a tiger's ears."

"For good reason," he growled between his purrs that began to rev up. For one, there were not many big felines, no normal felines no extra species, and for second… bastet Extraspecies were too proud to allow humans to pet them like mere cats. If it weren't because Ms. Smith wanted him in the area he would push his temporary 'host' away … even if it felt so good … well, maybe after some minutes.

Without even noticing how, he slid down on the floor completely to allow her to pet him better.

"Flip onto your stomach, Jaska." Jackie said in a low voice, seeing the big kitty actually beginning to drift off to sleep. This was hilarious. He was acting like such a brute earlier but who know some simply brushing could reduce him to a pile of jelly.

Jaska rolled to lay on his stomach and accommodated himself so she could brush all his back.

Jackie stared at his broad back, interested in how his tail connecting to the base of his spine and sloped down, barely sweeping over the ground. She could see some scars running on his skin. With how he was acting earlier she wasn't surprised to see all the scars. And she would bet the opponent had worst ones now. She gently traced the scars with her two fingers, feeling his muscles tense up a bit before a very deep and low based purr thrummed through his chest and actually shook the floor a bit.

Jaska stretched once and then laid down again while enjoying the petting that he would deny felt so good, and ignoring that he was acting like a common cat or had put himself in such vulnerable position.

Jackie smiled and continued to brush out his fur until it was perfectly smooth without a ruffle in side, finishing up with his sides before setting the brush aside. She straddled his lower back, unable to resist any longer from the fluffiness that was right in front of her. She leaned forward, making sure not to sit her weight on him and keep the weight on her knees before combing her fingers down from his shoulder blades to his lower back, scratching his back with her nails. Jaska purred so hard while melting under her hands that Jackie felt the vibration through the floor.

"You've got nice thick fur, Jaska," Jackie commented, enjoying herself as she pet down his neck and between his shoulder blades in an almost massaging manner. Jackie gently rubbed a little more firmly before sliding her hands over his head and neck, gently combing her fingers through his fur as he curved his spine towards her petting with his tail whipping back and forth in a methodical manner.

Very soon, he fell asleep under the attention. Jackie smiled and slowly leaned over him, unable to resist. Ah~ she was so weak. Jackie laid on his thickly muscled back, feeling him twitch slightly but not make her get off. She rubbed her face in his fur a little bit, smelling his cologne and closing her eyes for a little bit. This was amazingly comfortable.

Jackie stood up to leave but then hesitated and continued petting him because who knew if he would ever be around again. So she sat back, taking advantage of the sleeping Jaska and continued to tussle his fur around between her fingers. After about twenty minutes, while still 'sleeping' Jaska grabbed her by the waist into a hug and pulled her down to cuddle in a needy way. Jackie froze, waiting for him to scold her but the only noise he made with the soft purring deep in his chest while he held her against his uncomfortably hot body.

Turns out big bad Jaska is a snuggler. Jackie tried to crawl away but he hugged her tighter almost strangled her before rolling over her and almost crushed her to death with his weight. Jackie grabbed a fistful of his fur and pulled on it, trying to wake him and make him get off. Thankfully he rolled onto his side, continuing to deeply purr while hugging her to his chest.

 _Note to self … NEVER cuddle with a sleeping tiger. They move too much._

"My my, it seems that Jaska's fur got finally brushed and to a satisfactory degree," Ms. Smith said, coming through the door uninvited and without a care, "it's surprising that he didn't bite your hand off, Jackie. He normally doesn't let anyone touch him."

"Please get him off. He's crushing me." Jackie pleaded in her last wheeze of an exhale as Jaska get his grip tight and unrelenting. If this continued he was going to snap her spine. She needed her spine.

"You heard your new host, Jaska. It's not good if you snap your host in half the first night." Ms. Smith said with a calm and dangerous smile before stomping hard on his tail.

Jaska let out a deep growl and opened his eyes orange to see the situation. When he saw it was Ms. Smith, he stopped the growling and lessened his hold but didn't let go completely because he didn't realize that he was hugging the host and not a strangely firm pillow, "you interrupted nap, Smith. Mission, da?" He said while yawning loudly and inadvertently show his fangs too close to Jackie's head. Holy crap.

" … Ms. Smith please stop antagonizing him. You're not the one in his claws." Jackie pleaded with a pale face.

Her voice finished waking the tiger up and he not only let go of her, but pushed her aside and stood up, the embarrassment of having being found cuddling like a kitten too fresh on his recently brushed skin. Jackie stretched on the ground with a small groan, rubbing her aching back as she rolled up to sit.

"So, Ms. Smith, where's my new Extraspecies?" Jackie asked, looking up and around but didn't see anyone else.

"You already cuddled with him," Ms. Smith pointed out, gesturing to him, "this is Jaska Jeloudov, a Siberian Tiger originally from Russia. He is a special case Extraspecies so I will be coming to pick him up on a moment's notice from time to time."

"So, Jaska is the new guy? I didn't expect that." Jackie said, surprised before turning to him, "nice to meet you, new guy." She playfully grinned. Jaska raised an eyebrow, surprised somewhat too and then barely nodded at the coordinator.

"Mission still on?" He asked, piping Jackie's interest. It's the second time he said mission. What does that mean?

"Mission?" Jackie repeated, puzzled as she looked at Ms. Smith for an answer.

"Not your business, host. You know what you need to," Ms. Smith readjusted her glasses, "In fact I'm taking him tomorrow morning and will bring him back in a few days or weeks. This is one of the few times you'll know in advance so be grateful."

"Alright, well, I won't ask about it then." Jackie said with a shrug but still very curious about what 'mission' they were talking about.

"Good. Now I'll be going and return early in the morning for Jaska. Your next extraspecies will come soon, possibly before Jaska comes back," with that she turned around.

"A third one so soon?" Jackie asked, startled by the surprising information.

"We'll meet again soon." She said with a wry smile before letting herself out of the door.

Jackie got up to try and leave but Jaska grabbed her before she could. She stopped, looking back at him in confusion. "What? Something wrong?" She asked, puzzled.

Not moving from the floor or letting her go, he simply handed her the brush, "Smith messed tail fur. Fix it."

* * *

The next chapter will be out soon after this chapter gets _**10 REVIEWS**_. Also, as a word of warning; the manga this is based on is pretty Ecchi and this will be toned down compared to the original for a few reasons. Either way, enjoy the series!


	3. Chapter 3

Rain pelted against Jackie's back as she hunched over, quickening her pace down the sidewalk with trembling fingers. Dumisa, that freaking glutton … he could eat two whole cow and still not be satisfied. Turns out he's been snacking on his food and now there's nothing left for him to eat on his feeding day; which happens to be today. Plus there was the issue that she was wondering if she should have bought extra food for the tiger. Ms. Smith had just come yesterday morning and took him away without explanations and just said that he'd be gone for a while. Jackie mildly wondered if he was actually between homes or better yet, had a job Ms. Smith supervised.

Wind lashed out at her as she tightened her grip, heading up the stairs. She paused at the top step, spying a beat up looking cardboard box in front of her door. Jackie slowed to a stop, staring at it in confusion. She didn't remember ordering anything and there's no way those are Jaska's suits. Just as Jackie was about to kick it aside she heard a small sniffle and cry from inside. Alarmed, she set the food aside and opened the loosely closed box up to find a small toddler, a fox Extraspecies, crying inside; wet and scared as it huddled into the corner of the box.

"What the?" Jackie stated, startled at the find. She looked down into the alley, trying to find a face that was perhaps watching her. How in the world did this little guy get here? The little boy sneezed, catching her attention as she looked back down at him and saw him needily reaching up to her with his arms out, sniffling and sobbing. Poor kid, he's terrified. Jackie stared back before hesitantly reaching into the box and gently picking him up, holding him close as he clung to her and continued to sob. His face felt like ice against her skin as he held tightly onto her for warmth and comfort.

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Jackie said, kicking the box aside before walking into her apartment. With her free arm she hooked it around the bags, dragging it just behind the door before kicking it shut and making sure she had a firm grasp on the little boy.

"Hey, hey, shhhh, it's alright," she said, rubbing his back while setting the meat inside the sink and turning on the hot water to thaw it out faster. Jackie tried to set him down on the counter but he held firm, clearly not intending on letting go anytime soon. She did her best to check for bruises, cuts or injuries but she did not see any. The faint sound of scales slithering across the boards caught her attention as she turned the water on hotter, trying to thaw his food faster.

"What took so long?" Dumisa grumpily asked as he poked his head around the corner, pausing as he saw the little boy in her arms. He made no comment as he slithered into the kitchen, checking on his food himself.

"The buses weren't running and I had to walk." Jackie briefly explained, turning to set her keys on the counter.

"Hm~ were they? Fine. I'll just settle for this," he said, tugging on the fox's shirt and opening his mouth as if to eat him. Jackie's eyes flashed as she flicked his forehead and, when that did not deter him in the least, she pushed against his cheek and forced his head to turn.

"Knock it off, he's already terrified!" Jackie growled as she got on the phone and tried to call Ms. Smith but it went straight to voicemail. Dang it, her phone must be off.

She let out a heavy sigh and carried the child to the bathroom to clean him up. Jackie dried him off as best she could before taking him into her room and prying him off long enough to slip one of her sweatshirts over his head before he clung to her again tightly, refusing to relent.

"Hey, it's fine, alright? You're okay now. Are you hungry?" Jackie asked, gently rubbing his hair and making him nuzzle closer into her shoulder. She held him closer as she walked into the kitchen, checking on Dumisa's meat chunks. They won't be thawed out for at least an hour or two but he would be able to swallow them without a problem in about a half hour if not sooner.

"How rude of you, Ms. Host, to go and kidnap a pup while your older assignment is left starving in your apartment. Is that how you're going to treat your other extraspecies as well?" He asked in a snarky tone and raised eyebrow, lounging his body across her couch as he stared at her.

"Your hardly starving, Dumisa, and no, I didn't kidnap him. Someone left him in a box on the doorstep." Jackie explained, gently parting the kid's lips and seeing his teeth all fully in before he hid his face in her shoulder again. Maybe some softer foods would better. Jackie got a banana off the counter, ripping one off before peeling it and holding it for him. "Come on, aren't you hungry?" Jackie asked but the fox ignored the presented food, continuing to try and hide himself. Looks like he's too scared to eat.

"I could use some, Ms. Host." Dumisa said, making her turn to him in annoyance before he poked his head past her and took a big bite out of the banana, keeping her in place by holding her shoulder.

"Come on, Dumisa. He's so scared and you're just freaking him out," Jackie complained as she tried to push him away but he grabbed her wrist, holding it steady as he peeled the banana sides down further with his teeth.

"As he should be. I'm a full grown predator and he, a tiny fox pup without his mother," he said, taking another decent bite. Jackie glanced down her escape option, finding his ridiculously long body creating a mazes of traps that would make it impossible for her to trespass impossible. Particularly since she was sure he'd try to trip her on purpose.

"That still doesn't mean you can point your fangs at him." Jackie said, pushing the rest of the banana into his mouth. Dumisa bit down with ease, eating the peel and all as he leaned back a bit and swallowed, without chewing, before answering.

"And why not? Because you pity the weak and defenseless? The weak are overcome by the strong. It's the 'Extraspecies' way." He said with a shrug, coiling around her a bit and ensuring there was no escape.

"And the strong are all afraid of spray bottles filled with ice water?" Jackie said, pointing out his supposed weakness.

"Irked, not weak to." He corrected before pressing against her and letting out an unsatisfied groan before hugging her for some extra warmth, "you keep it too cold in here, Ms. Host. It's almost as if you _want_ me to use you as a heat pack." He smirked before Jackie tried to push his face back at the awkward angle.

"Because last time I gave you reign over the thermostat you cranked it up for a 100 degrees." She stated in annoyance, protecting the little pup with her arm while trying to wiggle free of his grasp.

"Only because you had it at a poor 70 degrees. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to freeze me into pressing my skin against yours on a minute to minute basis, hm?" He said with a wry grin, exposing a fang, "all is well, I know how to take a hint." He said before leaning forward, parting his lips to show off his fangs. Jackie's eyes narrowed as she grabbed one of the frozen meat packages and pressed it against his face. His eyes popped open as he threw his head back, clutching his cheek as his body unraveled.

"GYAAH! SO COLD!" He shouted, rubbing his face to get the friction heat going before Jackie made her escape to her room but not before glaring back at him.

"You can feed yourself once the meat thaws." She coldly stated before slamming the door to her room shut and locking it, barricading herself in for the night. Jackie let out a huff as she gently bounced Kit in place and rubbed his back. "Come on, why don't you take a nap while I get some things settled?" She said, leaning over her bed and trying to pry the little fox off but when he grip broke he only cried harder and started shaking, reaching up to her. His cry startled her, making her think she hurt him before he lunged forward and locked his arms around her neck and hugged her close, shivering in fear. "Hey, come on, I still have other stuff to do." Jackie said with a sigh, gently rubbing his ear and trying to make him come off with a gentler approach. The little fox still refused to let go but his sobs slowly turned into soft sniffles.

"Hey, it's alright. Just go to sleep and we'll sort things out in the morning," Jackie said, very softly kissing his forehead as she rubbed his back, "I'm sure you're very tired. Just go to sleep, alright?" Jackie said, looking around her room before picking him up and going over to her bathroom. Little kids always have nightlights on for when it's too dark. She turned on the bathroom light, dimming it down a little bit before turning off the lights to her room. Kit held on tighter, shivering while she gently rubbed his back and continued to say comforting things to the little toddler.

After a little while, the little fox finally fell asleep and she left him on her bed and covered him with the blankets. How the little fox got here in the first place she hadn't the slightest idea. She'd have to wait until she had dealt with Dumisa before coming back and dealing with the little boy. So, very carefully not not make much noise, Jackie stood up and went outside her room.

The moment she closed her door she felt shiver crawl up her spine. Jackie glanced over her shoulder, spying a very pissed off Dumisa standing behind her with narrowed eyes and a red blotch on his face.

"That was very, very cold, _heat pack_." He menacingly hissed as Jackie frowned in annoyance.

"Then you shouldn't be trying to scare him like that," she snapped back in a whisper, walking down the hallway and drawing him away from her room. If he woke up the little boy she'd have to spend a longer time putting him to sleep. Dumisa followed, clearly having lost interest in the little boy already and now had his sights set on a more elusive target.

"And _you_ shouldn't be stealing Extraspecies pups," he said before hugging her from behind, "If it's descendants what you want then I can help," he said while sliding his bifid tongue into her ear and pressing her shoulders with his hands.

"EW!" Jackie shouted before gasping, looking back to her room with wide eyes and listening closely in case she started to hear crying. Thankfully everything was silent until Dumisa deeply and sadistically laughed into her ear.

"You are so easy, host! Careful not to make too much noise. You'll wake the kit." He maliciously teased with a toothy grin. Before Jackie could kick herself free his lower half coiled around her legs, pinning them together before his scaly fingers crawled around the edges of her shirt.

"Hey, get off! Your food is in the other room," Jackie growled in a low voice and turned to glare at him, seeing the twisted smirk on his face and the determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to let go.

"I'm afraid I'm in the mood for some _fresh_ _meat_ ," he whispered into her ear, crawling his fingers up her shirt and lifting it above her belly before rubbing her waist and pecking her on the neck, "why don't you warm me up, heat pack?" He suggested as his hand attempted for the no-no zone. Her hand shot down and grabbed his wrist before he smirked, curling the tip of his tail around her wrists and lifting them high above her head to an almost painful degree.

"Ow! You idiot, that hurts!" Jackie snapped angrily, trying to worm out of his grasp. He wickedly smiled and held her ribs, kissing her collarbone before biting her shirt and craning his head back to rip it a little bit. Her fingers managed to grab his hair, giving a firm yank but he hardly seemed to care as he skimmed his teeth over her neck.

"Let's have some fun, _host_."

The door suddenly flew open, revealing Ms. Smith in the doorway. They both froze, startled to see Ms. Smith there before she silently pulled out a tranq gun and just smiled.

" … feh." Dumisa grunted, getting off of Jackie and grabbing his thawed meat pack from the sink before retreating to his room to eat in peace. Jackie shakily laid on the ground, forever thankful towards Ms. Smith for coming at the best possible time. That was a little scary.

"Wise choice." Ms. Smith said with a grunt as Dumisa went away time being. "It took him longer than I expected to demonstrate his rather ... flippant desires." Ms. Smith held down the tranq gun.

"He's been pretty grabby lately though," Jackie sighed, "any reason for that in particular?" Jackie asked. Before she could get up Ms. Smith walked inside, huffing in annoyance before dropping the paperwork onto her stomach. Jackie bulked, startled as she gripped the papers and her stomach, rolling over and absorbing the startlingly harsh blow. Ow …

"Snakes are known to be one of the more passionate Extraspecies, as I'm sure you have already found. I suggest you keep your legs crossed around him." She smiled as she stepped inside. Behind her was what, or rather who, caught Jackie's attention the most. The Extraspecies was big in muscle tone and very tall; she would dare say bigger than Jaska. His head was a little more flat with an elongated jaw, more animalistic than the others but with a human touch coiled around his bicep in the form of a tribal-like tattoo. What made her stare the most, though, was the metal lower jaw bolted where his normal jaw would be. She could only assume it was there for surgical reasons or something like that.

Ms. Smith then pointed at the newcomer, "here. He's _your_ problem now,"

"So, wait a minute-,"

" _No arguing_ ," she hissed, grabbing Jackie's shirt and further ripping it by mistake. Ms. Smith looked over her disheveled appearance, touching Jackie's face and turning it to either side to check for injuries, "if he hurts you again you know who to call. That is, if you are able to get away next time." She coldly stated, making a chilled shiver crawl down Jackie's spine. Boy is she suddenly in a bad mood.

"Yeah, yeah well-," Jackie started, trying to get the last word in but she held up her finger and pressed it against her lips, making her freeze.

"Not. Another. _Word_ ," she stated in a hard voice before fixing her suit jacket and taking in a deep breath before fixing her sunglasses, "go on, then. I'm sure he's hungry. And here, just in case," she said as she slapped a hand held tranquilizer gun with a case of bullets in her hands before leaving with a quickened pace.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Jackie said, trying to grab her but she was already halfway down the metal stairs. Jackie stared after her, startled at her pissed off state before looking up at Kroc. They both stared at each other silently before Jackie walked past him and picked up the paperwork, brushing herself off. "Uh … so, hey." She sheepishly greeted, unsure what else to say. Well this was awkward. Jackie flipped open the packet, barely catching his name and species;

Name: Kroc

Species: Saltwater Crocodile

Origin: Australia

Jackie stared at the paperwork before looking up at him, having to crane her neck back to look him in the eyes. He's freaking _huge_. Like, jacked huge and being this close to him made her feel tiny in comparison. Jackie's eyes stared at his metal jaws a little bit, deeply curious and noticing he had an underbite with the metal jaws that had about 8 total serrated teeth to simulate actual teeth in their place. Weird.

"So uh, yeah, sorry about that, really. It's not normally that chaotic. Uh, come on, let's get you settled in and then I'll bring you some meat. I have a big chunk of steak that I'm going to thaw next." Jackie suggested. At least Jaska's meat won't go to waste. Hopefully the toddler can stay asleep long enough so she could feed this big guy.

Kroc just stared at her, glancing over her torn shirt before nodding.

" … so yeah, come on, you're room is this way." Jackie said, setting his paperwork to the side and leading him to his room. Jackie said as she stumbled over his thick and scaly tail, walking past him to guide him to his room. Holy crap this guy is freaking HUGE! She just couldn't get over it. He had to at _least_ be eight feet tall and thick in a muscled way. In fact she was sure she could comfortably curl up on his thick back and still not reach the edges of his torso.

"Sounds good, sheila," he said with a nod, walking behind her as she stepped into the larger hall of the apartment building.

"Your room is right across from Dumisa's room; he's a black mamba." Jackie said, feeling a little bad that Dumisa almost crushing the life out of her was Kroc's first impression of both her and Dumisa. Normally he's more well behaved but that had to be a little weird walking in to see.

"Mamba?" He said, sounding mildly interested, "what about my room, sheila?"

"You have a, a pretty big work out area yourself like your requested the interior designers," which she was guilty of using as her own personal gym for a while but now she had to ask his permission, "and there's a pretty big workout pool there too," she said, stopping in front of the door and seeing him gone. "Kroc?"

Hardly seconds later a monstrous crash sounded as Dumisa came flying across the hall and crashed into Kroc's weight set. Jackie jumped and let out a startled shout, eyes wide as she looked inside and saw Dumisa hissing angrily and glaring at Kroc walking out of Dumisa's room.

"You want to fight so badly? _Fine_ ," he hissed loudly, exposing his long fangs and blackened mouth, "I'll leave you _writhing_ in my venom!"

"What the hell happened?!" Jackie demanded, stepping inside Kroc's room as Kroc stepped past her with a fairly neutral expression. His tail lightly tapped against her side and sent her skidding to the ground before he charged headlong and tackled Dumisa right into the heated exercise pool. Dumisa sunk his teeth into his shoulder, going under the surface with the large crocodile Extraspecies.

"KROC! GET OFF HIM! DUMISA, STOP TRYING TO BITE HIM!" Jackie screamed in both rage and fright. Why the hell are they fighting in the first place? "Kroc, you just got here why the hell are you fighting?!" She demanded. She watched as Dumisa writhed and squirmed around while Kroc lifted him right out of the water with a wild grin.

"You're strong, mate, but you can't pierce my scales with those fangs," Kroc grinned as he threw Dumisa right out of the water and onto the ground. Dumisa landed with a small roll before whipping around and slithering across the ground. Jackie stumbled back as he shot passed her, getting some momentum before crashing into Kroc and trying to shove him back into the pool but Kroc grabbed his arms and flipped him right over his shoulder before pinning Dumisa to the ground.

"You're gonna die if you don't fight, mate. Survival of the fittest." Kroc muttered before baring his teeth in his excitement. Dumisa squirmed and hissed, digging his claws into Krock's shoulders and arms but couldn't pierce his thick skin. Jackie's heart skipped a beat. No, no-! She really didn't want to use the tranq gun on Kroc on day one but she had no choice. Jackie scrambled with the tranquilizer gun seeing it already loaded before aiming and firing.

In a flash Kroc whipped around, holding Dumisa up as he stared at Jackie, shocked as the tranquilizer emptied inside him. Her jaws dropped, mortified that Kroc just used Dumisa as a shield and even more so terrified as Kroc peeked out from behind Dumisa's neck and glared at her with deadly jade eyes.

"Ha … trying to tranq me like those freaks in the suits, sheila? You got guts," he said as he tossed Dumisa's slumping body to the side before cracking his knuckles with a pissed off grin.

"Uh, ha, ha ha ... just kidding-," she started before the entire side of the wall blew out from beside her with a single punch. His fishy breath made her nose crunch and stomach curdle as he toothily grinned at her with wild eyes.

"Start running, sheila."

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jackie shrieked as she sprinted down the sidewalk with Kroc not too far behind her. Since when were crocodiles such fast runners?! He had been chasing her for almost 20 minutes now and wasn't slowing a bit. His hard but controlled breathing left a lasting impression as she kept running, feeling herself completely out of breath already and slowing down. She had to get away from him but she had to get out of this area more; Kroc was chasing her deeper and deeper into Mario's gang territory. If she didn't leave soon she'd get noticed by his goons. If they knew she had Extraspecies then there was going to be a _big_ problem.

She whipped around a corner and ran smack into someone's chest. His arm snapped around her immediately with a strong grip on her neck, startling her as she saw Luigi; Mario's brother and second in command along with a few other thugs. Oh, oh no, this is re~ally bad. He stared at her, startled before widely grinning and took on a cool composure. He knew exactly who she was. How could he not? He personally was responsible for a number of disruptions with her business years ago.

"Well aren't you the fast little chihuahua. What are you running from?" He asked with a cheeky grin and raised eyebrow.

"I-I-I-!" Jackie breathed fast and hard before some of his men screamed, making her head whip around and spotting Kroc who had turned the corner and, despite the bodies of flesh in front of him, just trucked right through them with the most frightening glare she's ever seen.

"I'LL F***ING RIP YOUR LEGS OFF, SHEELA!" He angrily shouted. Jackie shrieked and tried to run but Luigi grabbed her arm and held her in front of him, protecting himself from the charging Kroc. Jackie's jaw dropped, horrified as the action did not slow Kroc in the least. That Extraspecies was going to railroad right over her. She sucked in a fast, frightened breath and put her arms up as a pathetic attempt at defense as Luigi tightened his grip and glared at him. Kroc's slit pupils grew more narrow as he slowed to a stop only a few feet from them, locking eyes with Luigi.

"What's this? Getting chased by a rogue Extraspecies, are we? Now that's interesting," he chuckled with a raised eyebrow before leaning down into her ear with a classy smile, "I think we're going to get very reaquainted soon, don't you?" He snickered before Kroc snapped his fingers between their faces, making both of them jump in surprise and turn their attentions back to the hulking menace.

"You think you can take prey from me?" Kroc hissed, eyes on Jackie as she shivered. Whoa boy. The ground lightly shook as Jackie looked down, startled. The ground-?

"From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you have any choice." A deep and rugged tone tantalized as Jackie looked back, stiffening up as she saw a massive Faru Extraspecies step up behind Luigi. His skin was covered in scars and had a large, gold ox ring in his nose but his eyes were full of eager bloodlust. Jackie's eyes widened in shock. H-How? How could Luigi have an Extraspecies? The giant Extraspecies glanced down at her as a feral smirk crossed his lips, "want me to skin the scaly one, boss?"

"No, no my friend! We're all pals here, right, _host?_ " He said with a frightening smirk. Mario and Luigi wouldn't go after her Extraspecies; they're not that dumb. Despite that though she trembled, just imagining what they could do to her Extraspecies if they wanted to. Forget being silent about this; she was going to have to call Ms. Smith about this and let her know about Mario's mob gang. Especially the part about there being an Extraspecies among them.

"And you, what Extraspecies are you?" Luigi asked with a raised eyebrow and smirk. Kroc remained silent, staring at Luigi without deviating his gaze once through the entire conversation. "What, not going to talk, big guy? Too tough for that?" Luigi asked with an even wider smirk.

"Forget the croc. Who's the little pony right here?" The rhino Extraspecies asked, circling around to the side and leaning in. He took a deep breath as Jackie leaned back, deeply unnerved by whatever he was doing.

"This was our gang's old mechanic. We got a better one now."

"He's fat and ugly. I prefer the lass." He said with a grin.

"What, she tickles your fancy, Faru? Then go ahead, be my guest." He said with a laugh before pushing Jackie his way. A scaly arm shot out in front of her, catching her and hugging her against his chest before Kroc twisted around, and in the same movement, he used a devastating hit from his thick and heavy tail to sent both Luigi and the rhino flying through the air.

Jackie watched from the safety of his arms as the two went flying, her jaw dropping in shock as Kroc gently set her feet on the ground.

"Touch my host, mate, and I'll rip your arms off." Kroc threatened with a menacing, low throated hiss that reverberated through Jackie's body as her heart raced. She grappled at Kroc while Faru rolled to his feet, setting Luigi safely aside after having protected him from the worst of the attack.

"K-Kroc, we need to go, now!" Jackie said, grabbing his arm from the awkward position and trying to pull him along with her but he remained steadfast, watching both Luigi and Faru achingly stand up, startled by the attack.

"Where is the crocodile named Ale?" Kroc asked, making Jackie pause.

Ale? Who's Ale? The questioned seemed to put Luigi off his game as he paused, clear confusion on his face before he lightly laughed. "You think I'd tell you?"

"Let's go, host. He doesn't know." Kroc said with a huffing sigh, grabbing Jackie's arm with a shockingly gentle grasp before beginning to walk away.

"You think you can knock me down like that and expect to walk away in one piece?!" Faru thundered in sheer rage, thrusting his horn up into the air while stomping his foot against the ground.

"Luigi, how in the _hell_ did you get an Extraspecies?" Jackie asked, staring the mobster down as her heart raced. There's no way this could be legal.

"Smuggling." Kroc said, studying Faru as he pounded his fists together with a deep set sneer. Kroc reached out and, with startlingly careful care, took her arm and pushed her aside and back behind him.

"Smuggling?" She said, stumbling back and darting her eyes between the two, "wait, wait Kroc you're not seriously going to fight him, are you?"

"Lots of countries smuggle in Extraspecies to do crimes. To Extraspecies, there are no crimes," Kroc explained in his deep Australian accent, standing to his side slightly and hissed in a low pitch as his tail slide across the ground, "so humans like to use us for many things since we have stronger senses that humans do not," he said before glancing back at her with an excited, toothy grin, "and I'm going to trip his head off, not fight."

"Enough talk, tough guy. I'm going to stampede you into the _ground_!" Faru threatened with a savage roar as Luigi backed away with a clearly unhappy expression on his face.

"Kroc, come on, let's get out of here, please!" Jackie begged. Ms. Smith wasn't only going to kill her but she was going to eviscerate Jackie's intestines if she found out what was happening behind the scenes near this neighborhood. Jackie tried walking up to him but stopped short as his heavy tail kept her at bay.

"I'll be fine, Sheela. There's a reason I came to New York." He said, barring his teeth and keeping his eyes on the rhinoceros Extraspecies. Jackie knew that Kroc wasn't going to back down. She's seen those same eyes plenty of times herself on her late brother Jay.

"I'm dead. I'm seriously, literally actually _dead_." Jackie breathed, running her fingers through her hair and backing away to a safe distance. Oh man, Ms. Smith was going to _kill_ her for this!

"You think you predators are so tough? You are _nothing_ compared to me, a rhino from the Savannah!" He heartily laughed as Kroc stayed quiet, watching Faru pace back and forth.

"Where's Ale?" Kroc asked, tensing his hand before curling his fingers into fists. Jackie stared at Kroc, trying to think of who this Ale guy could possible be. From how Kroc was acting she was sure it wouldn't be a happy meeting.

"I'd be more worried about yourself right now, deadman." Faru miffed as he punched his fists together to make a resounding boom with each hit. Kroc stayed quiet, studying the rhino as he walked around to the other side of the street and away from Jackie.

"Heh … I'm going to rip out all your teeth and set them on my own personal mantel, croc. Or should I take that little pony of yours out for a spin?" He said with a dirty smirk as Jackie cringed and gagged in disgust. Extraspecies can seriously be creepy. Just because it's possible for an Extraspecies to mate and have a kid with a human doesn't mean they need to be so freaky about it!

Kroc ignored the rhyno and addressed Luigi again, "you must know. Where is Ale?"

"Don't ignore me, you overgrown lizard!" The rhyno struck his hands and got ready to charge, "you d*** predators always think you are so big and special!"

"We're not," Kroc said, shifting his cool gaze over to Faru, "it's just you herbivores are so meek and pathetic that we predators must look like dragons to you."

"That's it, you piece of African trash!" Faru shouted before stomping his foot on the ground, shaking his heavy head before charging right for Kroc. With a grin Kroc hopped back before lunging at Faru and getting down low. The move startled Faru as Kroc rammed his shoulder into his gut and flipped him right over his shoulder. With a startled shout the rhynoceros smashed through a nearby store front's window. He groaned as Kroc stepped inside, disappearing from view as Luigi and Jackie listened to the mass rampage and destruction going on inside the store.

"So you little chihuahua got a big pet, he?"- Luigi said while hearing what appeared to be a wall being demolished.

"I could say the same about your big bruiser. How the hell do you feed that … guy?" Jackie said, just trying to imagine the costs of feeding the bloke, "you _have_ to wreak havoc on nearby grocery stores in their vegetable department."

"He does like carrots a lot. He actually asked for a job"

"With you?" Jackie said with a raised eyebrow, "considering he could probably bench press a truck I guess you use him for moving cargo."

"He can. A small one … more like a van. And Extraspecies have hard time finding jobs, even more when they are illegals."- Luigi head a staircase crumbling, letting out a long and tired sigh, "these Extraspecies b******s cost more than their worth."

"From what end, overeating or horribly damages to property?" JAckie asked in a flat voice, deciding to ignore his illegal comment. She'd be telling this to Ms. Smith later but for now she was actually holding a decent conversation with the least moral man she loathed with all her guts. But at least even he understands the pains of taking care of Extraspecies.

"They eat all day… herbivores do… they ruminate. and get startled too easy and then run over things like walls"

"At least vegetables are cheaper than prime cut meat. Honestly, carnivores are so picky." Jackie said with a heavy sigh, watching an entire cabinet be thrown out of the store and splinter against the ground.

"You've got more than one?" Luigi watched her with surprise.

"I'm more afraid that I'll be getting more. Expenses here, grooming there, washing here, polishing scales.. brushing teeth there … it's a lot like taking care of toddlers that can kill you very easily." Jackie said with a matter of fact voice, arms folded and nodding.

"Well, carnivores are worth a lot, and they know it. Even as pets they are expensive. So If you wanna get rid of them we can pay well for those"

"You're not getting my Extraspecies, Luigi." Jackie said, turning her gaze to him with a raised eyebrow, "and frankly speaking you're an idiot for thinking I'd let you have any part of it." She firmly stated as a glass table was chucked from the store front, tumbling across the ground and actually breaking the glass of another store.

"We always thought you'd be a crazy cat lady or something. Never took you for liking reptiles," Luigi saw a scaly fist come out of a wall.

"You're right about the crazy part. Not sure about the cats," Jackie said with a shrug as she saw part of the rhino's head burst through the wall, looking pissed before he let out a scream and was dragged back inside.

"Sure? Cats are rare, so they are double the price at least. "

"Luigi, I'm going to be honest with you." Jackie said, turning to him with a firm set of eyes and unwavering dedication, "you would be terrified of my coordinator. She is ruthless and even if she showed half her face to you all, you'd be shaking in your boots. For a woman like that to be able to control and move such a range of Extraspecies-,"

Just then, a new shout came from inside the trashed building.

"You d*** lizard! You call predators are….ahhhhhh!" His voice suddenly cut off as he screamed, startling everyone as he was kicked right out of the storefront and rolled onto his pot belly. Kroc stepped out of the store, shaking the glass from his feet before crouching in front of Faru and staring at him with a cold and deadly gaze.

"Predators don't run their mouths. Predators don't stuff their faces with foods, adding to weight that only slows them down. Predators _hunt_." He said before viciously grinning, "and predators kill."

Kroc struck the rhino to expose his neck. Jackie watched, mouth gapping as Kroc's jaws cracked open, as though preparing to rip his throat out.

"NO! Kroc, don't!" Jackie shouted as Kroc lunged forward to take a bite but Faru's hands shot up, catching his jaws and holding him back rather weakly but just enough to not be slaughtered right then and there.

"Oh my, is he really going to kill him?" Luigi said, seeing surprised and a little disturbed at their animalistic natures.

"Kroc, don't kill him!" Jackie shouted in a plea, scared to death. This was all her fault. If Kroc killed that Extraspecies then Ms. Smith will have both their heads on a platter. "I-If you kill him- NO SPECIAL SEASONED MEAT FOR YOU FOR A WHOLE MONTH!" Jackie screamed, that being the only bribe she could think of off the top of her head. Kroc stopped short, tilting his head as if to make sure he heard right before looking back at her with an expression clearly but silently stating, 'what-are-you-a-moron?' kind of look.

"Get off me, you slimy excuse for a predator!" Faru hissed, shoving against Kroc's shoulders but being unable to move him in the slightest. Kroc's eyes rolled down towards him in a threatening yet thought manner, making him freeze up stiff with fear locked into his gaze.

"You be happy I do like my meat seasoned," Kroc latched his hands onto Faru's large and magnificent horn, ripping him onto his feet. Despite Faru being bigger and heavier than Kroc he whipped around, taking out Faru's feet before flipping him over his shoulder and slamming his heavy body into the ground. Kroc cracked his jaws open before biting his shoulder, making Faru let out a pained shout before grabbing either side of Kroc's head. Jackie watched in amazement as Faru stood up with Kroc's added weight, staggering a bit but otherwise holding them both up. Faru struggled to unhinge Kroc's jaws but without success, instead barely managing to stay on his feet while Kroc sank his teeth in deeper through the thick skinned beast.

"Faru, finish this already!" Luigi shouted in exasperation. With a loud roar Faru latched his fingers under Kroc's metal jaw, ripping him off and throwing him to the ground. Kroc hit the ground before fluidly landing on his feet, crouching down and sliding his tail back and forth.

"You'll pay for that, you African trash-!" He hissed before Kroc charged at him and jumped up, startling everyone as he landed a two foot kick against Faru's chest. The air knocked out of his lungs as Faru tumbled back over the ground, wheezing and struggling to his feet before Kroc walked over and stepped on his head, pinning the growling Faru to the ground before grabbing hold of his horn.

"Once again, I'm Australian, _mate_." He said with a wink before making a firm grip. With a powerful yank he ripped the cracked horn from the earlier throw right off of Faru's face, making him howl and anguish as he clutched his missing mantle piece.

"MY HORN! YOU TOOK MY HORN!" He screamed as Kroc stepped off of him and looking at his new trophy, seeming unimpressed.

"You're lucky I don't take your life." Kroc warned with a vicious hiss that quieted the Faru as he struggled to get up, unable to manage that much. Kroc started towards Jackie before stopping, turning his gaze over to Luigi. The man flinched slightly, glaring back at Kroc before he walked over to him. Luigi's men came to his side, guns at their ready but Luigi lifted a hand, making them stand down as Kroc stood in front of the mafioso. Luigi nervously smiled before his classy grin became more confident.

"You want a job, Mr. Crocodile? It seems I have an open spot after all." He said before Kroc grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him right off the ground to get eye to eye with the man.

"You will leave my host alone. You will leave her house alone. Do what you want with the other Extraspecies; I don't care. And when you see Ale … tell him Kroc is on the hunt." Without warning Kroc dropped Luigi, leaving him where he was and walked over to a pale faced Jackie.

"K-Kroc, wh-what was all that about?" Jackie asked, shakily taking a step back before looking over his body, "a-are you hurt anywhere?" She asked, looking over his back and circling him to try and find any marks from the fight.

"Nah, sheela. Let's go back." He said, gently putting a hand on her back and leading her with him as they started down the sidewalk. Jackie's legs trembled horribly, hardly able to walk right without stumbling a bit. Kroc crouched down without warning, startling her as he picked her up, tucking her like a football into his arm and holding her up with ease. She stayed quiet, surprised at his assistance and decided to accept it without complaint.

" … are you sure you're not hurt?" Jackie asked, looking over his head and shoulders from the new perspective.

"Nah, I'm not hurt, sheela. Just tired." He said with a grin, looking up at her, "you sure know how to show a guy a fun time, sheela."

"Not really. Those thugs will be back. They always do." Jackie said with a stiff sigh before he laughed under his breath.

"I'll be there to rip them apart." He said with a completely straight face that made her skin crawl. Yikes.

"Just make sure you don't do it in the house." Jackie said with a twitchy smile. And she was positive he meant it too.

Kroc chuckled, "sure thing, dont like dirtying my place."

"Right, right … um, Kroc, who is Ale?" Jackie asked, puzzled and eager to change the topic. He asked Luigi where he was a couple of times. "Is he your brother maybe?"

Kroc stopped for a second, making her tightly grip his scaly shoulder before he then continued onwards without answering or looking down at his host, "which way, sheela?"

"Uh, left up ahead." Jackie said, pointing the way as he continued in silence now. She nervously bit her lip, trying to think of how to break the tensions she caused in the air. The silence was worse than his all too real threats against intruders. After a couple minutes of walking she had an idea. Hopefully it worked and didn't make him upset.

"Why did you suddenly go after Dumisa like that earlier in the apartments? I really hope it's not going to be a problem later when and if others come." Jackie said, trying to figure out his reasoning behind that attack and to make sure he knew she did not approve of that kind of behavior.

"He needed a lesson," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

"A lesson? Why?" Jackie asked, surprised by his answer and realizing her shirt was still torn.

"You don't pin down a girl, It's the girl who pins _you_ down," he answered matter of factly

" … oh." Jackie said, unsure how to take that but appreciated the concern at least, "well, next time don't throw him through a wall. You're actually punishing me who needs to pay for it. But thanks for the thought." Jackie said with a smile and light laugh, "I'll definitely have to make some special meat for you later on." Jackie promised.

"I expect it, Sheela." Kroc said with a toothy grin as Jackie stiffly smiled back.

 _Note to self: when Kroc is awnry, give him special seasoned meat._

… _note to note to self: find a special seasoning for meat._

* * *

10 REVIEWS for the next chapter, Chickadees :D


	4. Chapter 4

Kroc lumbered into Jackie's apartment and gently kicked the door closed. No matter how much she asked to walk he simply refused, saying she was too slow when he was the one walking slow in the first place. Claws skittered against the wood floor as the fox toddler ran towards Jackie with an excited smile before noticing Kroc carrying her. His entire expression shifted into fright as he skid across the floor, scampering away at full speed.

"Hey, wait," Jackie said as Kroc set her down. She turned into the living room, spotting the fox dash into a corner and cower under a small blanket with kittens embroidered on it. Jackie heavily sighed and stared at the little boy, having no idea what she should do. Ms. Smith wasn't picking up her phone at all and the poor little guy was scared to death. Kroc leaned over her shoulder, tilting his head as he stared at the trembling blanket before walking over towards him.

"I thought you only had that snake here, no other Extraspecies," Kroc knelt down, hovering over the blanket and staring at the small layer of protection trembling, "where's this pup's mother?"

"There's Dumisa and Jaska; Jaska is off with Ms. Smith somewhere," Jackie explained, watching him gently sweeping his knuckles over the blanket before the fox boy let out a frightened yelp and ducked down lower, trying to be indivisible, "Kroc, stop, you're scaring him," Jackie said, walking up beside him and squeezing past his figure.

Kroc remained unmoving, glancing at Jackie and watching her pick the kit up, blanket and all. He stood up along with her, curiously eyeing the bundled up fox before Jackie walked away from Kroc to try and calm the kid down but Kroc followed, his thoughtful eyes never leaving the little fox boy. Jackie sat on the couch in the middle, wondering if he'd take the hint but he only picked her up, making room before sitting heavily onto the cushions. Jackie's body jumped from the see-saw effect, tightly gripping the little boy as he softly cried into her shoulder.

"Where did he come from?" He asked, leaning over and gently sweeping his finger over the fox boy's back. Jackie let out a sigh, letting him continue to pet the little fox through the blanket. It's not like he was hurting the kid at all.

"I don't know. He was in a box outside the door this afternoon before you came. I barely was able to put him to bed before you got here. I wonder how long he's been up?" Jackie asked herself as Kit snuggle closer to her with small whimpering.

"So Smith didn't bring him?" Kroc said, sounding quite surprised at that.

"No. I have no idea where he came from and didn't get the chance to ask her before she left." Jackie sighed. She gently flipped the blanket down, seeing the little boy sniffling and crying before she gently hugged him close, feeling her inner mother coming out to the sight of the little boy crying. "It's alright, come on, you're safe now." Jackie gently encouraged.

The little fox snuggled against her, burying his face in her chest while hugging the blanket up to his nose and deeply sniffing it. After a couple minutes he stopped crying, only uttering a small whimper or two.

"What's the tyke's name?" Kroc asked, gently rubbing the kid's back as he slowly began to relax despite the presence of a large predator. Jackie glanced at his massive hand, honestly surprised that the same hands that ripped a horn off that rhino Extraspecies could be so gentle towards the little boy.

"I don't even know," Jackie felt him relax more and noticed that she had never seen that blanket and he didn't have it with him when she found him, "he is ridiculously shy. He took to me pretty quickly but I found him freezing in a small box outside." She explained, gently rubbing his ear and watching him huddle closer. Kroc tilted his head, staring at the little boy as he quietly and slowly peeked over at Kroc, catching his gaze before quickly hiding against Jackie again. Kroc let out an amused laugh through his nose and crossed his arms, deep in thought.

"That blanket… it doesn't smell like the snake but it does smell like an Extraspecies different than the kiddo," he said but he wasn't sure; mammals, less even Extraspecies, weren't exactly known for abandoning their young and this kit was healthy, "he is too young. Maybe that blanket smells familiar to him by the way he sniffs it."

"Yeah?" Jackie asked, gently trying to pick up the blanket but the little boy yelped, hanging on tighter with teary eyes as he hid his face in it and burying his nose on it, "well he's very attached to it. It wasn't in the box when I picked him up."

Kroc stared for a little longer, seeing how tense the boy still was before sighing and standing up.

"I'm gonna go explore my room, sheela." He said, walking away and down the hall to the adjacent hotel building. Jackie let out a faint huff before laying down, letting the boy squish himself between her ribs and the couch for more security and comfort, all the while holding tightly onto the little blankie.

Jackie waited for a little while until the fox was completely calm and sleepy before she stood up, taking him with her, "what am I gonna do with you? … I'll have to try Ms. Smith again. Maybe she can find out where your mother is." She said, gently rubbing his stomach as he lightly giggled and snuggled closer. Jackie smiled and walked over to a phone, keeping him in her arms as she dialed Ms. Smith's number but it went straight to voicemail again. "Ugh, what a time to be busy." Jackie huffed, tossing the phone aside and heading for her room. Whatever, she'd just try again in the morning.

* * *

Late that night, Kroc heard some rustling noises from the corridor coming from the direction of host's room. His eyes opened wide, flicking the light to his heat lamp off and listened to the immediate silence before the skittering came about again. The noise was too light to be the human woman so it was most likely the little furry pup. He tried to ignore it for a little bit, feeling his instincts to go and check it out override his desires for sleep. With a grunt he slowly crawled onto all fours, slowly making his way out of his small territory and being careful not to raise the intruder's alarm.

Perhaps it was a burglar? Well, the host wouldn't be too upset if he ate him then. The very thought made his eyes roll in annoyance as he very silently slipped into the corridor and into Jackie's open apartment where he spied a feline outline holding Kit in his little blanket. Kroc's eyes narrowed as he held back the instinct to hiss at the figure. The feline was too close to the kit and if alarmed might decide to quickly take its meal elsewhere. Felines were known to toy and play with their food before eating them and no doubt that's what this feline had in mind as well. Although how he or she got in was beyond him. His eyes widened as a claw reached for the tyke's head. Kroc acted and let out a stern and frightening hiss before launching himself at the cat.

The feline perked and shoved the fox towards the other end of the room and easily jumped away towards the wall to avoid the upcoming mass of Kroc's teeth that snapped shut in thin air. Kroc stood crouched between the feline and the kit, hissing loudly as his tail lashed to the side and sent the couch flying, thunderously crashing into the wall. The figure jumped then on the wall and like a squirrel climbed without problem towards the ceiling before dropping over the crocodile Extraspecies back, scratching at his shirt and trying to gouge his eyes out. Kroc rolled onto the floor, forcing the figure to jump away in direction of the fox pup that was yipping and crying loudly.

Silently Dumisa struck from the darkness, grabbing the feline's arm and neck. He pinned ' _her_ ' to the ground with his sheer mass, hovering his fangs just over her neck as she hissed.

"Go ahead and struggle. It will only make the poison spread faster," he hissed into her ear, keeping her pinned as Kroc collected the little kit, holding him in his arms rather gently just as the light flicked on. They all froze in mid act, catching sight of the most frightening deep set of sleep deprived eyes glaring harshly at them.

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" Jackie demanded in a raging voice before turning her eyes towards Dumisa and the hissing white and ochreous furred woman with a black and dark dusky-grey blotched pattern on her fur that was pinned underneath of him, " … what's going on?" She asked in more confusion as she spied a struggling fox boy it in Kroc's arms. She walked over, gently taking Kit from the thankful Kroc before the crocodile walked over to the young feline and crouched in front of her, almost as though to say 'even if you escape him you got me to deal with, Sheila'.

The feline girl's slitted yellow eyes met Jackie's gaze before the raging feline roared at her. Jackie jolted back, startled at the loud roar before the woman craned her head back to glare at Dumisa, "let go, snake!"

"Only if you wish to have death's last kiss," he suggested, keeping his fangs fixed over her neck while crushing her head against the ground.

The fox yipped even more and louder, now desperate to get off Jackie's arms.

"D-Dumisa! Let her go, you're hurting her!" Jackie said, trying to keep a gentle but firm grasp on the little boy.

"She aimed for the kid," Kroc gruffly said, making Jackie pause in surprise.

"Aimed?"

"I saw her fix a claw to his head, Sheela." Kroc said, wavering his tail back and forth while keeping his jade eyes on the woman.

"OW!" Jackie shouted as Kit's little teeth sank into her arm. He landed with a heavy thud over his blanket, leaving it behind as he dashed straight to the captured feline. Kroc's eyes flashed as he jutted his hand out, gently scooping up the fox and keeping him locked firmly in his arms as he stared at the kid's gaze and followed it back to the cat. The little pup tried to bite his scaly hand, gnawing on his finger to try and bite it off.

"Ow … ," Jackie whined, shaking her hand as she stared at pup reaching for the feline woman, "do you know him?" Jackie asked the feline.

"See what you did?" Half ignoring the question, the cat accusingly growled, "now I need to calm him again," she rolled her eyes but seem agitated as she kept her gaze on the fox boy and seemed agitated about him. She struggled again to get free, "let me go, d*** it."

"Answer the question," Dumisa gave a warning by increasing his force just so slightly but enough for making her grunt, which enticed more desperate cries from the pup.

"Of course I know Kit. I'm the one who brought him here," she struggled a bit more, casting Dumisa a glare, "but now I'm not sure about leaving him here. Now let me free so I can smooch him. Don't you see you're only scaring him?"

"Dumisa, let her go," Jackie said as Dumisa rolled his eyes, lifting himself off the leopard like girl.

Kroc held Kit firm, staring at the feline as she approached with caution. She eyed the large and lumbering scaly crocodile, growling with a warning but that did not deter him in the least. Her tail lashed at the sides and, never deviating her gaze from Kroc's, she extended her arms and Kit immediately tried reaching for her. Reluctantly Kroc give the pup to her and she proceeded to hug the little fox, whom responded immediately by burying his head on her shoulder in the same way he had done with the blanket.

Thinking about it, Kroc walked to pick up the discarded little blanket and noticed the smell matched. Turning around to Jackie he said, "her smell is the same that's been on the fox and the blanket."

Jackie got the blanket and handed it back to the stranger to cover the now way more calm fox, "you were the one who left him here? Why?"

The leopard nuzzled Kit and hugged him while ruffling his hair, "I heard about this place and thought it was a good idea to leave him here. He needs a calm place to stay." The fox cuddled against her while making his own purr-like sounds. Her tail lashed slightly, eyes tightening, "but it seems it ain't as calm. Might not be a good idea to let him here, after all. That crocodile arrived and almost trampled him. Snakey here attacked immediately even with Kit around. Almost trampled over him." Sighing loudly and licking the fox boy's head, she hold him tighter and started walking away.

"Hey, wait where are you taking him?" Jackie asked, walking up behind her and catching her arm, "you can't just come back and take him like this! Where's his mother?" Jackie asked, anxious for the little fox boy.

The long feline tail hit Jackie's hand away when the feline woman turned around to growl at the human with a roaring snarl that showed her very large fangs, "we're going somewhere more calm and safe. We'll find-"

The fox let out a small mew and extended his arms towards Jackie, whining and grasping at the air with teary eyes.

The feline then growled lightly at him but he yipped again. She gave a light bite to the fox's ears but the fox just shook his head, refusing to be deterred. She huffed and then left the pup on the floor where he quickly hugged Jackie's leg and hid his face in her pant leg before looking up at the feline again. The cat woman leaned down and let out some grunting growls while the fox grabbed Jackie's leg tighter. The cat girl then grunted as he pawed at the air in her direction, not letting go of Jackie's clothes or his little blanket.

Still leaning down, the cat sighed with apparent displeasure, "alright, it seems we are staying. At least until I determine if it's good for him or not."

"Uh … is that alright? " Jackie asked, puzzled. She doubted any kind of contract could cover this. Her flickering, soft feline ears caught her attention as she glanced at them. _Those look even fluffier than Jaska's ears_ , "where is your host? You're going to stay too? A-Anyway, what's you're name?"

The girl tried to grab Kit but it seemed the fox wasn't convinced yet that they were truly staying with his new huggable person. "There is no host for us, as I said. I'm staying only until I want to leave. And the name for you it's Sabre. Just that."

"Uh … alright." Jackie said, mentally making a note to call and talk to Ms. Smith later about this. Unable to resist the temptation, Jackie reached forward, gently grabbing her ear and rubbing it between her fingers. Wow were fluffy ears dangerous.

"NYA!" The feline startled before pouncing on Jackie, throwing her on her back. Jackie kept her grip, more vigorously rubbing the sensitive cartilage. She was confident she could make Sabre purr; after all she was able to get a big Siberian tiger to purr so why not her too?. Dumisa and Kroc stayed near, watching the situation closely and ready to intervene if necessary. Kit tumbled off to the side with a small whine before Kroc picked him up, gently wrapping him up in his blanket and holding him away from the wrestling females for the time being.

"Hey! Don't touch without permission!" The feline hissed as she tried not to move anymore. Her glare briefly turned to Kroc, staring at Kit trembling all curled up in his blankie while Jackie's fingers rubbed her ears. At least Kit wasn't crying anymore.

"But it feels good, right?" Jackie grinned, rubbing her hand around Sabre's head and making her let out a pleased purr before she stiffened, realizing she let out a purr. She was shocked she was reduced to letting her guard down enough to purr at this time.

"Still, I didn't give you permission. Let go, or I'll bite your hands off," Sabre weakly threatened but rather than pulling away she leaned her head on Jackie, flipping her tail back and forth as her chest rumbled with purrs.

"I don't think you will," Jackie teased and let the young woman lean on her shoulder as she worked her magic fingers, evoking deeper purrs as she slouched more and more against her. Sabre had underestimated the host; her skills at petting were not to be trifled with. She tucked that piece of information into the back of her head as she snuggled against her, rubbing her head into Jackie's hands all the while purring.

Kroc ignored the cuddling females as he looked down at the fox boy, seeing him looking up at him with big, teary eyes before hiding his head under his blanket. The crocodile Extraspecies gently ran his knuckle up and down the tyke's back to try and loosen up the frightened young tyke.

Dumisa rolled his eyes, annoyed at the all too cuddly scene. He was hoping for a bloody catfight not a purring festival.

After a few minutes Jackie tried to pull away but Sabre's strength startled her, dragging her onto the couch as the girl thumped against her lap in a mass of content purrs while her entire body remained completely relaxed. Jackie noticed that the leopard was quite warm but then again, being around cold-blooded Extraspecies, a furry kitty would definitely be much warmer.

"Told you it felt good," Jackie teased as Sabre leaned against her, forcing Jackie to stay where she was with Sabre on top of her purring. "So … who are you? You said your name was Saber? What kind of cat are you?"

"Name's fox is … he is … Kit," she hesitated on the pups name and nuzzled against Jackie's stomach, loosely wrapping her arms around Jackie's waist to make sure she stayed right where Sabre wanted her to, "I'm a clouded leopard," she said between some more loud purrs, "and these guys are in trouble now because I'll be monopolizing your petting. If it's always as good as this then I'm aiming for you too."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Jackie asked as the two guys stiffened up, startled by her declaration. Jackie lightly tugged on the tip of her ear, hearing her let out a small yowling purr as she sat up and rubbed against her shoulder and neck like a cat would to claim her territory. Phew … looked like she was going to be here for a while.

 _Note to self; Beware petting stray cats._

* * *

The clack of the knife left resounding echoes in the air as Jackie shopped away in the kitchen, laying out meat strips to season. It's been a few hours of almost nothing but silence and that really bothered her. Silence meant something bad was about to happen. The household was full of carnivorous predators so how could silence ever mean something good or decent?

"At least they're getting along for now," Jackie said with a sigh, thankful for that at least. A slight skittering made her look up just in time to see a raging feline dropping from the ceiling, her eyes glowing and mouth twisted into a frenzied grin.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Jackie screeched, under the impression her life was over just like that. She ducked just as Sabre rushed by her head, smoothly landing on the counter with a finicky smirk and twitching tail. Jackie slowly stood back up, now understanding she wasn't dead yet as the smirk widened on Sabre's face. A large stack of papers slapped against the countertop. Jackie stared at the paperwork, recognizing them all as a bunch of high denomination checks on the countertop.

"Here host, this is for our rent. I like goat meat and milk and duck is preferable for my munchkin. I also want more petting and a glass of milk. Now." She said with a cheshire smirk as Jackie stared at her. What, so Sabre was demanding things now? Technically Jackie wasn't even her host but she was acting like she was.

"Yeah, uh, sure. The milk is in the fridge." Jackie said, picking up the paperwork and thumbing through the checks attached to the paperwork that had full explanations of what she licked to eat and how it was to be cooked. Where did an Extraspecies get so much money from?

"That wasn't a question as to where it is, Ms. Host. Give me a glass of milk and groom me." Sabre said, plucking the paperwork from Jackie's hands and tossing them aside.

"Ask nicely and I'll do both of them for you." Jackie said with an annoyed huff, reaching forward and gently rubbing her ear. Sabre hummed and leaned towards her hand with the heat radiating off her fur being a little too intense to be healthy. "Hey, Sabre you feel warm-," Jackie started before a sharp sound mix between a yip and a 'nya' sounded. Both the women whip around, spying Kit bounce into the kitchen like an energetic tornado. He leapt up and bounced off the cupboards as he dashed around the tiled floor, slipping and sliding across the slick tile. "What is he, high on sugar?" Jackie lightly laughed before Sabre pulled on her arm, making her look back at the annoyed feline.

"I didn't say stop. He is just hunting his shadow," she growled, sitting up and rubbing against Jackie's shoulder. Jackie rolled her eyes and leaned back a bit to support her weight while rubbing her ears and listening to her slightly hum and press closer into the crook of her neck.

Kit continued to mess around, aimlessly running in every which direction with little to no attention as to where he was going. Kroc's deep sniffing drew Jackie's attention as she looked towards the entrance of the kitchen, spying the crocodile Extraspecies slit eyes lock onto the strips of seasoned meat. Kit's energetically bounced off the backs of Jackie's legs, making her stagger and almost fall as he too lost balance, tumbling forward right against Kroc's leg.

Kroc's jade eyes locked onto the rambunctious little boy, twitching his tail back and forth as the little fox stumbled back, looking up at him with wide eyes as he held his head. Kit's ears fell down as he stared at the looming predator before tears formed in his eyes just by looking at him and started to cry. In an instant Sabre threw Jackie across the floor, darting over to her precious little boy and scooping Kit up with a fierce and protective snarl directed at the rather uncaring Kroc. Kroc's eyes narrowed as he let out a low hiss in response, the tension in the room thickening. Oh this was bad.

"KROC CATCH!" Jackie shouted, grabbing and throwing a slice of meat like a ninja star at the crocodile. His head flicked to the side and caught the seasoned meat in mid air with ease, holding that pose and tasting the meat for himself. After a tense moment of silence he leaned towards Sabre with the meat strip still resting in his mouth.

"What?" Sabre growled, looking over the meat hanging in his foreboding jaws. Kroc lightly jerked his head, glancing at the meat and back to her.

"T-Thanks?... Mmhh Kroc, was it?" Sabre said with a hum, slipping the meat out of his loose mouth. Jackie let out a deep sigh, thankful all animosity had been forgotten for the time being. A good chunk of seasoned meat can do wonders for a pair of predators about to fight to the death.

"Kit, Kroc just gave us a peace offering. Thank him." Sabre said as she bit a small chunk of meat off and handed it to the eager little boy who stared at it, pawing at it before nibbling on it hesitantly. His ears lowered as his tail went between his legs, eyes rolling up to large saltwater crocodile. After a few moments he slowly drew behind Sabre's legs for protection, crouching down and offering a little 'meow' sound of thanks before gnawing away on the piece of meat. Kroc let out a small laugh from his nose before looking over to Jackie and her poor attempt to hide the rest of the meat from him.

"Got more, sheela? Season tastes good." Kroc said, walking past Kit and Sabre before rounding around Jackie with his calculative eyes locked onto the meat. Jackie moved in front of him, keeping him away from the food - tried to, at least.

"Don't even think about it, Kroc. They're not done yet. I still need to cook them." Jackie said, one hand on his chest and the other pushing the pan of meat away.

"Standing between a predator and his meal ain't smart, sheela." He said with a frown, moving his head to the side to count the strips before Jackie moved with him, trying to deter the hungry crocodile.

"And I said not yet. I'm not done." Jackie said with a firm voice. Kroc's eyes remained locked on the meat before flickering towards her, studying her firm expression before he widely grinned. He took a few steps forward before Jackie grabbed the tray.

"Kroc, I said _no._ " Jackie growled, now having to hold the pan away from him as he reached his neck past her shoulder and sniffed it some more, continuing to approach but keeping his hands to himself. The moment her feet stumbled his eyes glinted, catching her and snatching the pan of meat before holding it over his head.

"Awe Kroc come on!" Jackie shouted, leaning against him and trying to reach the tray as he leisurely took the strips one by one and tossed them in his mouth with a grin.

"Meat is just fine without cooking." He said with a gruff laugh, rubbing her back and lightly squeezing her in an awkward one armed hug to restrain her struggling before downing the rest of the strips. Jackie's eyes narrowed, staring at his full mouth as he set the now empty tray in the sink.

"Ugh, now I have to make another batch for Dumisa," Jackie groaned in annoyance before pausing, " … of the which I have no more meat strips. Crap." Jackie huffed under her breath, her thoughts turning to the dozens of eggs she had in the fridge. She could make a lot of soft boiled eggs for him. He likes to peel the egg shells off, she's noticed, from the neat little piles he would leave on the plates. Kroc lightly laughed and rubbed her arm, setting the bottom of his metal jaw on top of her head before a deep thrum reverberated through his neck.

"Use the season for my next meal. It tastes good." He said, before letting the disheveled host go and heading for the hallway.

"And next time you _will_ wait until I actually cook them!" She shouted after him before retreating to the kitchen, making Kroc grin. The host was short tempered but prepared meat very, very well. Kroc headed back to his room to work out some more, hearing the kit's yipping as he rolled around in the halls and playing with Sabre's tail.

"Come on, Kit, let's go back and take a nap." Sabre said far more tired than she should, gently rubbing his head before turning and heading towards Jaska's room, the place she had claimed as territory. Kit happily trailed after her, taking some minor detours as he tumbled about and ran around the wooden floors. He slipped a bit on the slick floor, tumbling into the black mamba's den without Sabre noticing.

Kit shook himself off, looking around the it room and spying Dumisa with his back turned, admiring himself in the mirror with the new clothes he bought with Jackie a few days before. Kit's wandering gaze stared at the piles of soft looking clothe before he hopped over to them, messing up the folded clothes before stumbling into a pile of ties. With an excited yipping mew he leapt into the pile, rolling around and pawing at the silky soft material.

With a hard sigh Dumisa turned around, unable to ignore the little kit's wild playing with _his_ clothing. For such a little kit he sure makes a mess. His slit eyes scanned the room, unable to see the mother in sight. Oh? What's this? The little Kit seemed to have slipped her. His eyes turned back to the red furred fox, watching him happily jump around the pile without the slightest sense of fear.

"So you come into a black mamba's den and make a mess, do you?" Dumisa said with a wry grin, leaning over towards the Kit and laying down near the ties. The kit's complete naivety to his presence surprised him. Lamia children would never have considered entering another's den, especially when said other was a far older and bigger predator, but here's this little furball coming in as though this was his den.

The little Kit made a small yip, pulling Dumisa from his thoughts as he struggled to sit up, now stuck on his back from the deep hole he made from the ties.

"So small and so defenseless. Humans consider little things like you as 'cute', don't they?" He said, slipping his tail in and lifting the little playful pup into the air. Dumisa held him there as he rested his chin in his palm, watching the little puff ball gnaw on his thick scaled tail. A fast clatter of claws made his eyes slide over to the entrance as he released the pup, letting the pile of ties break his fall. Just as Kit landed, the mother peered into the room and locked eyes with Dumisa before spying the wriggling pile of clothes. As expected, the mother entered his den slowly and rather cautiously, keeping an eye on both his dangerous mouth and just as dangerous tail.

Dumisa paused, smelling something off before flickering his tongue into the air and tasting a very faint hint of the feline's upcoming heat.

Yet another female to satisfy, is that what brought her here? Hmph. So that's why she enters his den with such ease? Just like any needy lamia would. Cautious but restless, knowing where his fangs and tail were at all times before getting comfy to demand for her desires to be satisfied before simply leaving. If she was truly here for her offspring then she would have entered in a much more threatening and showy fashion. Dumisa's tail flickered back and forth, dissatisfied by the thought. Satisfying a female because it was his duty as a male … they very thought of having to deal with such a mundane task annoyed him to no end, even more so when he thought he had gotten away from that .

The feline wordlessly approached, feeling up the situation while Kit naively frolicked around the pile of clothes, attacking and biting at the ties at his leisure. She relaxed somewhat her posture - "So he wandered in here "

"Come in for an early start to your cycle, kitty cat?" Dumisa asked rather sarcastically with a riveting grin and raised eyebrow, "I'm afraid to say I'm not interested." He miffed, wondering what her reaction would be, whether begging or getting angry. Most lamia, after being found out of their intentions, simply jumped him. But this woman was a feline, not a lamia. Perhaps the way she initializes things differ from a lamia? But, as he said, he truly wasn't interesting. Turning away from her, he picked up a feathery boa with his tail and held it up for the kit.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, snake. I just came to pick up Kit," she said while watching the pup play with a feathery boa the black mamba was tugging in the air with the tip of his tail.

"Hmph. Not very cute, are you?" He said with a huff, turning away and frowning off to the side. Playing it naively? Whatever, it's not as though he cared for selfish women. She would come crawling to him and it would be his 'duty' to take care of her needs before she leaves without a look back.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be cute. I'm designed for swift stealth. Anyways, I came for him but it looks that both of you are having fun. Would you like to play with him more or should I take him away now?" Sabre looked between them and somehow seemed to disregard Dumisa attacking at any given moment.

"I was under the impression he was too young to play with as predators do." Dumisa said, looking back in slight surprise. Lamia, from the moment they are born, are natural hunters but for mammals they need time to learn.

"You're doing quite well. Although he is too young for more rough games he is stronger than one would think." She pointed at the fox who had managed to grab the boa and was hanging in the air while holding onto it.

Dumisa stared at the young boy a little longer before back to her. Now that she was here he might as well ask some general questions. He would have asked the host but she was human, not an Extraspecies.

"Is it true that mammals care for their young for years?" He asked, curious as Kit tussled around in his ties in a very carefree manner. Nothing like a lamia would do.

"Yes, the length of time depends on the species. But in general is until they can completely fend for themselves. Why you ask?"- Sabre said in factual words. She didn't seem to relate this to her in any way.

"I see … and you also breastfeed?" He asked, tugging on a tie and making Kit tumble a little closer so Dumisa could get a better look at the little furball. Whereas many humans call them 'cute' he could only see them as potential food or competition. What about this little thing made the host think it's cute? It's small and weak and has to rely on the mother for life. Once again, another large difference from a mammal to a lamia.

"That's a characteristic of female mammals," she walked closer to the pup and looked curiously at Dumisa. Kit dropped, the boa slipping from his hand before jumping again to try to grab it before getting distracted by Sabre's flickering tail.

"Humans are also mammals, are they not?" He said, flipped onto his back and perching himself up on his elbows as he watched the little puff of orange fur run around Sabre's tail, batting at it and being fascinated by such a simple thing. No worries and no cares at all, playing without caution knowing mother is nearby. He didn't have to worry about food or finding shelter or any big dangers. So different from lamia who were left to fend for itself since very young.

"Yes they are." Sabre crossed her arms, "you have some specific questions, don't you?" Sabre kept her tail moving from side to side so the pup could play with it, "just ask."

"Although I am well enough learned in book materials the lamia education system failed immensely at explaining other Extraspecies other than viewing them as simple competition. You're here and I happened to remember some questions I had was all." He said, flickering his tail back and forth in thought. Sitting down and having a conversation like this … he couldn't remember the last time he's been able to do that since the host. It was admittedly entertaining.

Sabre nodded and went to sit on the bed, "well, if you have more questions just ask. I don't now how long I'll be here but I like conversing rather than fighting without reason," she chuckled, "I do have some questions myself, although I indeed thought about 'other' Extraspecies. I never thought I'd see a host being given so many predators as this host."

"It makes one wonder what that old hag is planning giving her so much competition. But, no matter, I'll win in the end." He said with the utmost confidence, laying down on the floor and propping his head up with his folded arms. He hadn't paid attention when he pinned her during that fight but now that she was so close he felt how Sabre radiated excess heat for a mammal, so much so she could be a good fur heat bag.

Kit then jumped towards her and climbed on the bed to sit on Sabre's lap. She pet him some and gave a cheshire smirk to Dumisa while accidentally leaning on him, "why do you wanna win?"

"That's a silly question. Every predator's goal is to overpower the other in a rather fruitless and pathetic struggle for power and to satisfy their own needs. Every last one." He said, staring at her and feeling the unusually acute heat her body was putting off. "You're awfully warm for a mammal," he said, baffled as he overlapped his body and gently grasped her cheek and felt the burning heat for himself, "that's not normal. Is this what humans call a fever?" He asked, feeling her face and watching her breathing a little harder as she caught his hand and pressed it against her cheek with a pained whine. "I'll fetch the host." He said, troubled and admittedly a little freaked out. Mammals weren't supposed to change their core temperature like this.

"I'm fine. I just need to rest." She said and leaned a bit more against Dumisa's colder skin. It was obvious that she was having trouble maintaining herself upright.

"All it takes is some rest?" He asked, continuing to touch her without her resisting in the least. Lamia never got fevers. Their immune system was too strong for such things to affect them whereas it seems mammals have not evolved to that degree just yet. He had no idea what to do to help bring her temperature down. He shuffled his body a bit, encircling her a little more and feeling her muscles slacking as she relied on him for support.

"Rest and maybe some pills," she sleepily muttered before closing her eyes and falling asleep right then and there.

Dumisa stared at the woman, trying to understand the cat woman's game. She had not suggested anything in words but her scent alone was enough to know what she was after; perhaps not now but in the future. He was honestly completely perplexed at her behavior. If an animal was sick normally they'd go away and not let anywhere near but she came to him and even fell asleep against him. She hadn't tried to use him in the least other than using him as a cold pack for her unusually high temperature. He stared at her before letting out a sigh and coiling around her to share some of his natural colder temperature with her. It didn't seem like he would be going anywhere anytime soon. He laid down beside the coil, closing his eyes and deciding to go ahead and take a nap.

* * *

After a few hours, Sabre opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling. It took her a bit to determine where she before she realized she had fallen asleep on a snake. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, her throat aching for water and her heavy head demanding for rest. Not making a sound she got up and left him and Kit laying there while she went into the corridor, not sure where she was but she had caught scent of a room that smelled oddly familiar and safe. She heard the loud steps of the host coming her way so she jumped inside the room and was overwhelmed by the sensation of a nostalgia she couldn't quite place with the fever she had.

Jackie headed towards Dumisa's room with his boiled eggs, praying she wasn't too late. She could perfectly imagine him sitting in his room, poised to strike before grabbing her and dragging her inside to become his heat pack for the night. She took in a deep breath before stepping inside, startled to see Dumisa coiled up away from his heat lamp and fast asleep.

"Hey, Dumisa? I got your meal." Jackie said, walking inside slowly and hesitantly, making sure to make enough noise so he knows where she's at.

Dumisa shifted a bit and then fell asleep again until some movement made him open his eyes just to see the little fox get away from his room. He felt the cold immediately and noticed the leopard wasn't there.

"Where is Sabre?" Dumisa asked, looking around the room and unable to see her unusually high heat signature.

"Sabre?" Jackie asked before they heard a loud roar, quickly followed by Kit's loud wailing. What the hell-?!

* * *

There you have it! _**10 more REVIEWS**_ and we'll get the next chapter out as soon as we can. In the meantime, enjoy the series!


	5. Chapter 5

The loud and frightening roar made Jackie's heart jump as she whipped around, listening to the added snarling which was quickly followed by a wail of childish sobs. W-What the hell? Why was Kit crying? The roar had been Sabre's, she was sure but what could Sabre be roaring at? Dumisa almost knocked Jackie to the ground as he whipped out of the room, startling her before she chased after him.

"HEY!" Jackie barked as she hurried over to Jaska's room, the place where the sounds came. Was Sabre roaring at the kit for some reason? The thought alone made Jackie break into a flat out sprint, sliding in front of the door just in time to see Dumisa pick Kit up by pinching the scruff of his neck and looking up at the den Sabre was in.

"You dropped this, Sabre." Dumisa said, holding the sobbing Kit up in the air.

Sabre let out a pained growl and retreated to the den with a hiss of warning to stay back. Only part of her tail remained visible, falling at the edge of the highest and most hidden nook of the tree.

"Dumisa, put him down!" Jackie scolded as Dumisa's tail wrapped around the the boy before sliding the boy to the ground. Without a word he glared up at the den, studying the entrance. Kit turned around with an adorable teary gaze before stumbling onto his feet, meeting Jackie halfway and quickly hugging her leg to hide his head against. Before Jackie could pick the toddler up he gained the courage to jump back into the tree and start climbing with ease before Dumisa grabbed him again and rolled him back towards Jackie.

"Go away … take him away … ," Sabre achingly whined from the den up in the tree.

"Kit, come here." Jackie said, gently rubbing Kit's head and trying to calm him down while staring up at the small den where her tail was dropping out of rather lazily and unmoving. "Sabre, come on, you're scaring Kit," Jackie admonished, picking up the little fox boy and gently coddling him as Sabre's growling made the air grew thick with tension, "and to be honest, you're freaking me out. What's going on?"

"Nothing … go. Away." Her snarling was wrong somehow, a little slurred in her speech with her breathing sounding heavier than it had been the day before.

"Well clearly something _is_ wrong. Talk to me, Sabre" Jackie retorted, gently rubbing Kit's back as he continued to cry. Kit's crying only made Sabre more agitated and desperate in her growling, as if she wanted to scare Kit away.

"Get the f*** away from here," her tail slipped into the den, signaling she was moving deeper into the space to get away from them; as if the twenty feet off the ground wasn't a deterrent enough.

"She has a very high temperature for a mammal. She's running what you humans call a fever." Dumisa explained, "I felt it when she laid against me earlier."

"What's wrong, host?" Kroc's voice asked, attracted by the commotion as he walked up beside Jackie. He turned his gaze up to the dens above, staring at the entrance for a few moments. "The sheela's sick," Kroc said, seeming thoughtful.

"A-Are you serious? She was just fine not that long ago." Jackie said, feeling a little nervous. A sick animal is likely to be violent and Extraspecies weren't much different instinct wise, or so she's found. This is the first time someone was sick and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

"The hell she was fine. She was hotter than my heat lamp and could barely hold the pup." Dumisa hissed, scolding Jackie rather harshly for her incompetence as a host.

"It would explain why she abandoned the kit," Kroc said, looking over at Kit and then at the den.

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked, disturbed he used the word 'abandoned' in his sentence.

"When a mother is sick or is neglectful to her young it means one of them is ill. And Kit isn't ill at all." Kroc said, gently scooping Kit up before holding him close while he continued to struggle and wail loudly for his mother, "but since she's so young I'll bet she didn't understand the instinct to abandon Kit and that's why the sheela stuck around." He explained as he gently rubbed Kit's tummy, soon finding he was too distressed to enjoy it before he simply held Kit in his arm like a cradle.

"How can she be sick? She fought you the other night," Jackie said to Kroc before turning towards the den's entrance, "Sabre, is that why you left Kit in a box at my door?" Jackie called up, shocked. No sound except for a hard breathing came from the hidden place up in the tree.

"Her pup was threatened. Even sick she would have fought to the death," Kroc said with a shrug, "it's what predatory mammal females do for their young."

"Kroc, look after Kit for a bit, would you? I'm going to go see how bad it is." Jackie said, walking over to the easy to climb tree before starting her way up to the one Sabre was in.

Kroc stared at Jackie before down at Kit, thinking over his options before doing as he was asked, "fine, we'll look after the tyke for a while, sheela." He turned around and stopped at the entrance, "careful host, that leopard is sick and cornered in her den." Kit cried even harder, pawing at his shoulder and trying to get free to run back to his mother but Kroc's grip was firm as he walked out of the room. Dumisa quietly followed Kroc out the door with only a glance back at Jackie. Meeting her gaze, he offered a wry grin.

"I look forward to your treatment skills, Dr. Host." He said with a jeering smirk before slithering away. Jackie ignored his comment, staring up at the den.

"Sabre, come on, work with me here. You're clearly not feeling good," Jackie said with a grunt, hoisting herself up higher into the tree before finally reaching the den Sabre was in. Jackie stayed by the entrance, staring at Sabre's dusky-grey blotched back. After a few more moments of staring she was startled to see Sabre's completely furry and unadulterated self, " … Sabre why are you naked?"

The clouded leopards thick tail moved and curled somewhat. After a growl and a moment of silence Sabre spoke, "it's hot," she complained. Jackie looked closer, seeing her fur tangled and probably twice as matted and sticky from sweat.

"Hot? Well … here, Sabre, if I come in do you swear not to claw, bite and or kick me out of the den? Because that fall will probably kill me." Jackie said, trying to get comfortable where she was.

"I will do that … leave me alone." The cat huffed with deep hard and fast breaths.

"Fine. I'll be right back with a brush in a minute and some water. You'll let me in then." Jackie said before slowly making her way back down. Sabre didn't speak and just hugged some of the shirts that she had taken from Jaska's closet to the den to make it more comfortable.

Jackie returned shortly later, climbing back up to the same den sight as before and saw Sabre in the same position as before; huddled up into herself and lightly growling with her furry ears pinned against her skull.

"I'm coming in, Sabre. I've got the brush and a water bottle." Jackie said, crawling inside the den and sticking close to the ground so if Sabre suddenly turned and kicked her she would less likely fall to her death below.

Sabre tried moving to kicked the host out but instead took the bottle of water from Jackie's hands and curled into a ball again. Jackie gently slid her hand over Sabre's foot, letting her know where she was before she sat by her legs and began brushing her roughed up fur. Yuck … after this Jackie was definitely going to have to make Sabre take a bath. Her fur was sticky from sweat, mostly in the creases of her limbs. Jackie glanced over the unfamiliar bedding, stiffening up. The bed Sabre made for herself was actually a pile of Jaska's clothes, both old shirts and the new ones recently tailored for him. Jaska was going to be _pissed_. Jackie shivered before turning her attention back to Sabre.

"Just hold still and relax. And don't forget to keep sipping on that water." Jackie said, running her hand up and down her calf to create some friction. Even with the fur coat this woman was was surprisingly cold. Jackie gently gripped her ankle, parting her legs a bit and brushing both her legs down to make her fur more presentable and comfortable all while trying not to look up further on the naked woman. Yeah they were all the same parts plus a tail and a bit more fuzz, so she wasn't thinking anything weird but it was … weird, brushing a naked woman like this. Definitely, definitely a little on the weird side. For sure. She just tried to imagine as her fur counting as being clothed and her as a cat.

While panting, Sabre began purring unevenly while rubbing her face into Jaska's clothes and whining in pain. Jackie watched in relative despair as Sabre put claw marks into Jaska's new clothing, easily ripping through them. She was going to have to make this up to Jaska big time when she broke the news to him.

"There you go, not so bad, huh?" Jackie smiled, brushing and petting her hips in a slow and gentle manner. At the feeling of the bristles against her fur Sabre let out a weak mowl and lightly began tossing and turning. The movement hardly inhibited the grooming as the host simply adapted and continued to thoroughly brush her. After Jackie was finished with the grooming she was planning to go get some heavier and more comfortable blankets for Sabre. Maybe there were some clothes that escaped her claws. Jackie brushed the fur around her ribs and collarbone briefly before moving on to her shoulders and neck. The host sat by Sabre's head, rubbing her ears in comfort before Sabre rolled over, surprising Jackie as she laid her head on the host's lap and closed her eyes to sleep. Heat radiating off of Sabre's head caught Jackie's attention as she moved Sabre's short hairstyle aside and set her hand against her forehead.

"Whoa, Sabre you're seriously burning up!" Jackie said, startled as she gently cupped her cheeks. Sabre purred a little softer, rubbing her cheek into Jackie's hand a little more deeply to savor the cool touch. Jackie quickly set the brush aside and gently moved Sabre's head off her lap.

"I'm going to call Ms. Smith and get a doctor to come over." Jackie said, moving to leave.

Sabre went stiff and opened her slitted eyes, "you aren't!" The leopard yowled while getting Jackie below her and keeping a shaky but strong hold on the host. Jackie reeled back a bit, startled at her outburst but remained determined.

"But you _need_ a doctor or someone, Sabre. You're frying your brain with that fever." Jackie said, gently pressing the backs of her hands against her face and watching her limply turn her head and lean against her warm hands which, to her, must have felt very cool.

"I can't," she growled, "no doctors … no scientists." She looked between distrustful, angry and scared.

Then, then what about Ms. Smith at least to come take a look at you?" Jackie suggested, "she's not a doctor but would know more than I do. She could help you more than I can." Jackie said before tacking on, "or at least a vet."

"No." Sabre leaned all her weight over Jackie and buried her face between Jackie's breasts. Jackie gently grasped her arms, trying to worm out of her grasp for a few moments before quickly giving in, knowing that Sabre had no intention on letting her go.

"Fine, then. But you need to promise to do as I say so you can get better, alright?" Jackie said, gently grasping both her ears and rubbing them.

Sabre didn't speak. She was busy rubbing her face between the softness of Jackie's chest and trying not to pass out from the pain bursting in her skull. Jackie uncomfortably shifted and let out a bothered grunt.

"Don't hug me there it's weird." Jackie said, pushing the surprisingly languid Sabre back before pulling her into an embrace, letting her chin rest on her shoulder instead. "How long have you been feeling sick?"

" … long," Sabre leaned on Jackie and closed her eyes while her breathing was deep and slowly.

"Just try to relax." Jackie said, hugging her closely while petting her back in long, soothing motions as Sabre rubbed her face against Jackie's neck, letting out brief but pained purrs. Jackie hesitated, feeling her maternal switch flip as she kissed Sabre's cheek, holding back some of her fur on her forehead before kissing her uncomfortably hot forehead. "Do you want some more water?"

Sabre tried holding tighter but there was no strength for it. Jackie now understood what Kroc had said about why she had left Kit. She could barely take care of herself apparently if she had gotten so sick. Still, she had a strong will if she managed to hold out all this time.

"Just relax and go to sleep. Do you want some Aspirin? It'll help with the fever." Jackie suggested, combing her fingers between her furry shoulder blades.

Sabre closed her eyes and pulled out one of Jaska's old shirts from the bed pile and hugged it close to her face as a pillow before sniffing it more or less like Kit did to his blanket, "almost his scent … ," she closed her eyes and let herself be petted although was far too sick to even enjoy it well.

"His scent?" Jackie asked, leaning against the curved and surprisingly comfortable wall of the den as Sabre's head slipped a little lower, resting over Jackie's pillowed chest once again as she let out a sigh. Did Jaska's scent made her choose his room? The host stared over her ill, adopted Extraspecies before hugging her close and settling in for the time being. Hopefully Kroc and Dumisa were handling the kit just fine.

* * *

In Kroc's room the black mamba was holding the crying pup up by the leg, staring at him rather openly while Kroc put some high vitamin milk from his fridge into a sports water bottle and began vigorously shaking it.

"What are you doing?" Dumisa snapped, finding his actions very strange and nonsensical while he had to hold onto the wriggling little toddler.

"Getting the kit some milk," he said, popping the top open before walking over and putting the kit up rightside, "what are _you_ doing holding him like that?" Kroc growled as he tried to put the tip of the bottle in Kit's screaming mouth but he only hit it, making a mess on himself.

"Why are you trying to shove the bottle down its throat? It's only making it cry louder!" Dumisa hissed, slapping the bottle right out of Kroc's hand before he got up in his face and let out a low, croaking snarl.

"Says the dimwit who was holding the kit wrong." He threateningly said as Dumisa barred his fangs.

"Does it matter how you carry them? Carrying a baby lamia by the tail is how you do it and since his tail would probably come off I held him by the leg instead." Dumisa defended himself, "and what were you trying to do with the milk, drown him in it? Carnivores eat meat, skin boots."

"Mammals are _different_ from reptiles, numb nuts." Kroc hissed before he took the kit from Dumisa's hands and tucked the thrashing kit into his elbow to try and get him to hold still, "mammals cry when they're hungry."

"Hmph. The squealing kit is who feeds the predator." Dumisa miffed, looking over the sobbing kit before poking its forehead. "So stop crying before you're my next meal." He hissed, fed up with the kit's crying sobs. The shrieking crying unsettled him; he never had to care for a small mammal before. Did it cry because it was hurt? Because it was scared of them? Whatever the reason he just wanted it to _stop_.

"As if threatening the tyke will help," Kroc argued back, pushing Dumisa's head away before rubbing Kit's ear as he's seen Sabre and the host done before. Kit wriggled his head back and forth and only squealed louder in fright, holding his ears against his head and burying his face into his scaly chest. Kroc let out an irritated growl, trying to figure out what to do next. Nothing was working.

"I don't get it! He doesn't want to play, he isn't hungry and it's already been two hours! I thought mammals had small attention spans anyway," Dumisa irritably snapped, slithering around the duo and trying to think how to calm a frightened little mammal, "let's try licking it. That works for young mammals, doesn't it?" He suggested.

" … maybe." Kroc said, knowing that whenever Sabre groomed the kit he seemed to enjoy it, "you try. Your tongue is smoother." He said, trying to hand the kit off to Dumisa but he turned his back.

"My saliva has my venom mixed in with it and I don't feel like having the host bicker at me for when he gets sick from licking himself." He retorted sharply as Kroc let out a hiss, feeling the tyke tremble in response.

"As if my jaw will help and better," Kroc mumbled under his breath, holding the Kit up in one hand. Although animal crocodiles had their tongues on the roof of their mouths, Extraspecies were a little different; their tongues were more free to use to lick and taste things but it can't extend much out of his jaws. Kroc opened his jaws wide, making sure his hold was firm before sticking Kit a small ways into his jaws and dragged his tongue up the little kit's back. In an instant he screamed at the top of his lungs at a piercing pitch, making the sound reverberate through Kroc's metal inserts in his ear canals He pulled back, his head spinning in pain while he made a conscious effort not to squish the frightened kit in his grasp. Ow.

"Ugh make it stop _make it stop_ MAKE IT STOP!" Dumisa screamed in complete annoyance, putting his hands over his ears before grabbing Kroc's phone and speed dialing Ms. Smith. "We males shouldn't even have to deal with this!" He shouted in anger as Kroc hugged the kit close and rubbed his aching holes for ears, still feeling the room spinning as he heavily sat down.

" … my head hurts." Kroc grumbled, rubbing his fairly flat forehead and gnashing his teeth while his tail flicked back and forth. Kit weakly clawed at his chest, looking up at him with giant, tearful eyes as he continued to cry in fear with nothing Kroc could do to help. They couldn't leave the tyke alone because he'll just run back to his sick mother. Dumisa was right; they really had no idea how to deal with a distressed kit. None of the ideas he was thinking of were working. His tail flickered slightly in thought, trying to think of a new plan.

"Hey, old hag." Dumisa greeted Ms. Smith with an abrupt and annoyed tone. His headache from the kit's crying was going to drive him insane soon.

" _This better be good-is that crying?"_ Ms. Smith asked, baffled as she listened to the background.

"Old hag, it's crying what do we do?" Dumisa said, grinding his teeth and staring at the sobbing and wailing kit.

" _Who is crying? The host? Fix it."_ She stated in a hard voice before hanging up on him. Dumisa's hissing roar resonated through the room, frightening the kit further as Dumisa redialed the number with a seething anger ready to be unleashed. The moment he heard the click he did not hold back.

"If you hang up on me again I swear to _anything_ you may deem important that I'm going to eat the little fox to stop the crying!" Dumisa threatened with a hiss as Kroc's eyes narrowed. Dumisa rolled his eyes and waved his hand off while mouthing 'too furry'.

" _What little fox?"_ The tired tone of the coordinator made it sound as if she didn't believe Dumisa's words.

"The cat's pup." Dumisa stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

" _What cat? Jaska isn't there."_

"The _other_ cat," Dumisa said with a hiss, annoyed at his coordinator's lack of competence.

" _What other cat there_ **is** _no other cat."_ She countered in an equally bothered voice. " _Your host has not been assigned any other cat so far."_

"Get your ears checked, old human. There _is_ another cat, the weird, what the hell is she, clouded something?" He said, glancing over at Kroc as he nodded, gently bouncing the little kit in his arms, "yeah, clouded leopard. The host is trying not be cat food to the sick big ball of fur and the kit just won't stop crying. How do we make it stop?"

" … _as startled as I am about this_ **supposed** _new housecat and a kit I'm shocked that you're calling and asking how to take care of a kit."_ Ms. Smith said through the phone as Dumisa let out an angry hiss.

"Perhaps if you would pay attention to your own hosts you would _know_ what's going on!" Dumisa shouted back, making Kit cry harder before Dumisa slightly jolted and uneasily looked back at the little fox. Kroc kept a firm but gentle grip, not letting Kit get free before Dumisa followed the kit's line of gaze, finding him reaching for the door where his mother was. "How do you make a fox cub stop crying?" Dumisa asked with an annoyed huff, shutting the door with his tail and cutting off the Kit's line of escape which only made the little boy more restless.

" _You_ **do** _have a fox pup there? Where is its mother?"_ Ms. Smith asked in a rather professional voice, beginning to take this 'prank from a primadonna snake' more seriously.

"I told you before, you deaf hag, the cat is sick and the host is there with her." Dumisa hissed, slithering over to the kit and Kroc while trying the thing with the father boa again. It worked last time.

" _What does this cat has to do with the mother?"_ Ms. Smith was massaging her temples while trying to understand what was going on. " _Jackie Penske was assigned three Extraspecies so far; you, Jaska and Kroc."_

" **DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO LISTEN YOU F***ING DEAF HAG**?!" Dumisa thundered back before Kit's crying turned more frightened and tried more fervently to escape Kroc's grasp. Dumisa held back an annoyed hiss and bounced the boa in front of Kit's face but he only ignored it and kept on crying.

" _How old is the fox?"_ She asked with an angry and barely controlled voice as Dumisa tossed the useless boa aside and glared at the kit.

"Be entertained, d*** it." He muttered in a hiss, pinching Kit's nose before Kroc's tail whipped around. Dumisa barely avoided the hit, letting out an annoyed hiss as Kroc returned the threatening audible gesture, further terrifying the kit before they both stopped and looked at the panicked stricken toddler.

" _Dumisa, talk to me."_ Ms. Smith ordered in a hard voice.

"How the hell should I know how old it is?!" Dumisa hissed, beginning to sound a little panicked as Kit's face began to turn red from how hard he was crying.

" _Calm down, Dumisa. You getting agitated won't help anything."_ The woman's tone was deadly calm and authoritative. It might have worked with anyone else but not so well against the primadonna snake.

" **I AM** _ **SO**_ **F***ING CALM RIGHT NOW, HAG**!" Dumisa shouted back as Kroc sighed, covering Kit's head and tucking him into his shoulder in hopes to calm him some more.

" _Obviously you're not,_ " Ms. Smith huffed in annoyance _, "is he old enough to talk?"_

"You're useless," Dumisa said in a flat hiss before Kroc slipped the phone from Dumisa's grasp and hung up, "what are you doing? I wasn't done with that irritable woman yet." Dumisa hissed, becoming more and more uneasy as Kit continued to sob.

"Go grab the Kit's blanket and the host's furry throw blanket. Both should be in the living room on the couch." Kroc said, trying to gently rub his ear but shortly stopped, feeling Kit trembling more in utter fear.

"So now you're ordering me?" Dumisa snapped back with a raised eyebrow and cracked his jaws open to reveal his deadly poisonous teeth which left Kroc completely unaffected.

"Then hold the tyke while I get it." Kroc said, standing up and holding the blubbering Kit towards him. Dumisa's face fell into the pokered expression, weighing his options for hardly a moment before turning to leave.

"Well played, Kroc," Dumisa sighed, leaving the two of them in the room. Kroc held Kit closer as he walked over to his heat lamp, flicking it on and sitting under it. Kit laid back into Kroc's hands as he held him, staring at the tyke fitting so perfectly in his hands while trembling and crying.

" … cute tyke," Kroc noted before looking up and seeing Dumisa return with a scowl.

"What do you plan to do?" Dumisa asked as Kroc got up and pointed to the heat lamp.

"Coil up and sit under the lamp." He said, patting Kit's back. Dumisa held back, staring at Kroc and measuring his sincerity about this new plan before letting out a heavy and exhausted sigh.

"I only do this because I am curious." Dumisa admitted with narrowed eyes before doing as Kroc instructed. Kroc turned the dial on the heat lamp down a little before crawling over Dumisa's coiled body and to the center, wrapping Kit up in the blanket with Sabre's scent on it. Dumisa watched as Kroc wrapped the furry blanket around his shoulder and chest like a toga before setting Kit against the soft blanket against Dumisa's chest. His eyes brightened. "You're simulating a mammal's warmth with the heat lamp and her fur with the blanket." Dumisa said, startled by the cleverness of the normally brutish Extraspecies.

"And the scent of Sabre too." He said as Kit pushed his face into the fur with the blanket pressed against his nose while continuing to cry but more softly now.

"I'm surprised you thought of something so clever," Dumisa admitted before stopping short, hearing Kit's crying dying down.

"Ambush predator's know how to lure in prey and keep them calm. You did not think Sabre's scent would calm him?" Kroc asked with a slight laugh. Dumisa's eyes narrowed, resisting the urge to hiss while Kit pressed his head against his shoulder.

" … I've never had to hunt so I wouldn't know." Dumisa admitted with a bored sigh, leaning back against the smooth wall while resting Kit over his chest.

"Oh? A pretty boy like you never hunted before?" Kroc teased with a faint smile before it fell into a deep frown that matched Dumisa's expression. " … in all my travels I've never met a male lamia before. Why is that?" Kroc asked, sitting beside him rather calmly.

"Normally males are a jealously kept secret from other tribes who don't have a male. Many tribes used to kidnap male humans but fewer others were lucky enough to have a male born in their midsts. I wasn't allowed out very often because the elders were anxious that I would be taken." Dumisa said with a slight shrug.

"Or run away." Kroc pointed out as Dumisa smirked.

"Smarter than you look, brute." Dumisa said before frowning, continuing to stare at Kroc, " … I never thought I'd be able to talk so normally with another Extraspecies or live among others that were not lamia. The way the elders painted it, they made others seem like savage idiots and weren't worth a second glance." He said with a small and ill humored chuckle. How wrong they were, or so he's come to find out. It's beginning to seem more and more likely that they just said that to keep him from leaving.

"So an idiot believed the idiots." Kroc said with a gruff laugh before laying down, soaking up the mild heat with a pleased smile.

"I did. I knew nothing more." Dumisa admitted with a serious tone and deadened expression, somewhat surprising Kroc as he cracked an eye open and looked him over.

"The existence of male lamia were thought to be myths until I saw you myself, and still are for the large part. I find it hard to believe none of them thought to flee from the female's grasp. What are they used for, then?" Kroc asked, curious but already guessing the answer. Dumisa's expression remained rather dead, taking a moment to think.

"A male's only role is to help produce offspring and nothing more. They don't allow males up the hierarchy or let them travel out of their territory. Our studies are limited and our activities monitored constantly. We aren't allowed to do much at all," Dumisa huffed, slouching a little more against the wall.

"You've met others?" Kroc asked, curious.

"Some travel around and so did I sometimes while having guards. Though most I've seen have become fat and sluggish from their lifestyle. Such a dull life compared to here." He said with a small laugh, managing a tiny, genuine smile in response.

"So males are simply breeding stocks, kept fat and uneducated for the females to use at their leisure," Kroc said, putting the pieces together rather easily, "can't be that horrible of a time, having so many ladies pining for you." He teased rather lightheartedly as the smile vanished from Dumisa's face, his expression becoming rather cold and cynical before he hid it behind an uncaring expression and decided to redirect the conversation. Simply talking about it was pissing him off.

"What about you? Isn't this place too cold and too far away for a Crocodile from the other side of the world?" Dumisa asked with a raised eyebrow and grin, now curious to know a little more about his new, as Ms. Smith called them, roommate.

"Although I normally prefer prey come to me, some prey requires to be hunted down," Kroc kept quiet for a moment and noticed the lack of crying or wailing, "looks like the kit calmed down."

"And fell asleep," Dumisa added while looking down at the kit and, although wanting to dump the kit on kroc, didn't want to risk waking it up and hear more crying, "and it's purring … foxes do not purr."

"This one does. And he meows too. Must be because its mother is a feline." Kroc said with a shrug, not at all bothered by it.

"I'm curious about the cat. Why would she foster this pup? He isn't even of the same species … and she is entering heat too," Dumisa said with a frown, gently poking the fox's ear and watching it flicker. Humans would call it cute but he only saw potential prey and weakness from the little kit.

"Is she?" Kroc asked, "I don't have the best of noses but the smell in the air was something different from usual."

"I could taste it in her scent. Trust me, I know when a female is entering a cycle," Dumisa said, "whether cold blooded or hot blooded, all females release a similar hormone into the air. The particular scent of each female is just different in each species but not the arousal part," he explained, flickering his tongue out into the air and twisting his face a bit in response to it.

"I don't doubt it." Kroc said with a shrug as Dumisa eyed the metal jaw.

"What happened to your jaw? I assume it was a fight." Dumisa said, curiously staring at the bolts holding it in place.

"Big fight but the prey escaped," Kroc said rather nonchalantly.

"Must be infuriating knowing your prey is still at large. What was it?" Dumisa curiously asked. He could tell Kroc was a powerful predator and well versed, making him wonder how he let his guard down to be given such a grievous wound.

"The prey I'm chasing half around the world for." He said before sealing his lips up tight. Dumisa waited for more but it seemed that little hint was all Kroc was willing to say.

"Oh? Now that sounds interesting." Dumisa said as Kit stirred, making him jump slightly as he stared at the small kit. How can something so loud sleep so quietly?

A loud ringing made both fearsome predators jump, startled as they shot their gazes to the buzzing and ringing phone. Kroc made a dive and quickly picked the phone up to answer it but not before Kit woke up from his cozy little nap, looking up to see Dumisa's frightening face before bursting out in hysterical crying. Dumisa grabbed the little furball and hold him firm against the blanket, rocking him back and forth to try and quiet the noisy kit while Kroc flipped the phone open.

"What?" He said in a gruff and pissed off demand.

"Don't talk to me like that, Mr. Kroc. Ehem… I'm out for a couple days, so hold down the fort until I get there to see this new female Extraspecies and kit," Ms. Smith said and then hung up, leaving the duo to fend for themselves against the fox toddler.

* * *

Many hours later Jackie was still trapped with the naked feline in the den, much to her silent lamentation. For however long it was, Sabre's claws poked against her skin every now and then, preventing the host from getting a proper night's sleep. She stared at the resting feline before setting her hand over Sabre's forehead. At least the fever has gone down and that makes this whole annoying situation a little better.

A little noise caught Jackie's as she looked over, seeing a little hand grab the edge of the den and roll inside. He shook himself out before the little toddler gasped in happiness and sprinted over to them both, running around them in his excitement to be back with his mama and away from the bumbling reptiles who were now dead asleep in the other room. Kit grinned and leapt in between them, worming between both girls and finding a nice, warm cozy spot amongst them.

Sabre let out a yawn before Kit's head pushed up against her chin, making her stop short and mutter something before returning the forced nuzzle with a small purr. Jackie stayed where she was, letting out a yawn herself before getting bored and wanting to chat now that Sabre was awake.

"So, Sabre, feeling better?" Jackie asked, rubbing her cheek and neck while feeling her normalizing temperature.

"No." She answered. Sabre felt the strangeness of the situation but the fellow female company gave her some easy she hadn't felt in months.

"Let me ask you something, Sabre. How did you two get here?" Jackie asked, watching Sabre's sharp eyes crack open just a tad as she calculated her answer.

"We climbed just like you did ... well, not as clumsily," Sabre made an effort to caress Kit's ears, watching him wriggle and press against her more fervently to get the scent of the other predators off of himself.

"I meant New York, not this tree. Who is your program coordinator?" Jackie questioned more specifically, petting Kit as Sabre laid back down.

Sabre yawned again and ignore her question, "pet him some, would you? He's been very stressed."

"Obviously he'd be stressed. His mom left him in a cardboard box on my doorstep on a dark rainy day and then got a bad fever," She retorted, rubbing the kit's ears as he cuddled against Sabre.

"And obviously I'm not his real mother," Sabre tapped her nose against the pup's with such a gentle smile that Jackie found herself doubting that statement.

"Maybe not the biological one, but he thinks you are, you act like it and everyone notices it," Jackie got bothered by Sabre's little denial words before the little fox began purring, "he even purrs ... how long have you two been together?"

"Not too long. I had my reasons for saving his life and he just went on believing whatever he wanted." She said with a shrug.

"So he is the one who adopted you." Jackie pointed out with a teasing grin, petting Kit's tail.

Without warning the bulk of the tail became smaller before disappearing all together. Jackie looked down, sucking in fast breath as she saw Kit there with no ears and no tail. She sat p, startled as she looked over the completely normal looking human toddler. H-He … just transformed into a human? And actual human without ears and a tail? Sabre lightly growled as Jackie looked up at her, startled as she pulled away slightly.

"Great, now I'll have to kill you, host," she said with a serious glare as she looked at Jackie, who's mouth was still agape at the little fox pup. Sabre's eyes rolled back as she laid back down with a grunt, "ugghhh, too much trouble; look, host, Just don't say anything about him, ok? Nothing. Understood?" She sleepily yawned.

"B-But ... how? Can Extraspecies change between an Extraspecies and a human?" Jackie asked, startled as she turned the toddler her way to get a better look at him before he fervently cuddled back against Sabre's side.

Saber growled as menacingly as she could muster before stopping when the pup whined, "no, that's not normal. He ... he was experimented on, got it?"

"E-Experimented? Isn't that illegal?" Jackie said as she looked at the cozy little toddler. She had no idea about that.

Sabre rolled her eyes and gave a couple licks to the toddler with utter care. "You think laws mean anything when it comes to big interests?" She sighed as the pup cuddled to her, "there's a reason why his biological mother is not around."

"Oh ... I'm sorry, then." Jackie said with a sad frown, rubbing Kit's back and making him hum in delight.

"Why would you? It has nothing to do with you unless you say anything about this." Sabre nuzzled the pup and then directed Jackie the most menacing gaze she could muster, "I'll rip you apart if you do."

Jackie's eyes narrowed at the threat. "It's none of my business to talk about it. The only question I have is how can I better take care of him?" She asked, reaching over and stroking his head, "how long do these uh, transformations last for?"

"You don't need to-," Sabre started before pausing to rethink her answer, "you aren't our real host or anything, I'm merely paying you rent and basic hosting services"

"But I _want_ to." Jackie said, "as a host I want to be the best I possibly can be to give you guys the best home you all deserve. And that includes learning the little things." Jackie said rather dutifully.

Sabre sighs again, obviously tired, "fine, Ms. unofficial host," she looks down at kit to avoid looking at Jackie, "hey… thanks. H-He normally goes back to being a fox Extraspecies on and off after calming down from a stressful situation so it doesn't happen often.

"Ah, alright, I see ... and would cuddling be a good way to calm him?" Jackie asked, watching the little energetic fox twist around to get all the love and attention he possible could.

"Yes," Sabre nodded and gave the pup a little peck kiss.

The pup slid at the leopard's side and cuddled to sleep. Sabre glanced over to Jackie, deciding to get her scent on her too so she's not the only one that he has to cuddle up against to calm down. Although the scent was strong, it could be stronger. Without warning Sabre gave Jackie a long lick on the face and then started nuzzling Jackie's neck.

"What?" Jackie said, pulling back a bit and staring at her in confusion. She wanted more cuddles now or something?

"Im marking you with my scent." She said as Jackie's face paled.

"I swear if you pee on me I'm using the highest chemicals possible to wash both myself and you." Jackie threatened, now knowing about 'spraying' thanks to the educational tape involving Jaska — a habit he no longer had thanks to Ms. Smith.

"Eewww! That's gross! Yuck, how can you think that? I'm not an animal!" She looked not only grossed out but heavily offended.

" … right, right, stupid comment," she relented with a sigh, grabbing Sabre's ear and petting her to make amends.

"Just let yourself be nuzzled too. My scent will help you pet my Kit." Sabre began purring as Jackie rubbed her ears while Sabre continued passing her nose and cheeks on Jackie. The feline nuzzled between Jackie's chest, even pulling the host's shirt up so she could get her scent on Jackie's skin.

"Hey, no touching there." Jackie said, pushing her face away as she stared at her patterned skin, "Sabre, you're not the same kind of thing, are you? Like, you're not going to go changing into a human or a big cat on me at one point, am I right?"

"I'm not gonna randomly change into an average clouded leopard," she pushed Jackie back onto the bed before laying beside her and going to sleep some more. "But that doesn't mean I'm not dangerous."

"Of course not. I've known Extraspecies are dangerous since Dumisa's first day here." Jackie let out a faint sigh, remembering him tackling her right into the hallway. She'd never forget something like that.

"Good you understand that." Sabre yawned, showing off impressively big and pointy fangs way too close for Jackie's comfort before she simply laid down to sleep without another word.

Kit, back in his original form, crawled in between the two girls once again, giving a few sniffs to Jackie and with a content mew he curled up, surrounding himself with pillowy softness before going to sleep. With a heavy sigh Jackie laid back down, not at all tired but feeling rather comfortable. She looked out the den's opening, staring at the light in the hall and wondering what Dumisa and Kroc were doing right now.

* * *

Both Dumisa and Kroc were laying on the floor in a mess, having been successfully outmaneuvered and outsmarted by the frightened little kit before he finally escaped. Both males had watched him go while gravity and heavy limbs weighed them down to the floor, too exhausted to pursue the little tyke and instead had let him return to his mother.

"Have to hand it to females. They often have many more than a single pup." Kroc groaned as he rolled onto his back, ready for a nice long nap under the heat lamp but he was admittedly too tired to move. The ringing in his ears from Kit's crying was still making his head hurt.

"I've never had to deal with the young ones before. I am genuinely terrified at how much energy they can muster." Dumisa groaned as he held still, having neither the energy nor motivation to go after the little pup. Both of them laid still, thinking the same thing.

 _Note to self: Leave nurturing to the ones who can handle it._

* * *

Hope you're enjoying the series! _**10 REVIEWS**_ and I will get the next one up quickly, enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning things had calmed down. Sabre had felt better and had let go of Jackie in order to take a hot bath while Jackie had gone to take a bath of her own before the day started. She was at the kitchen gathering everyone's meals together and listening to the TV when a commercial caught her attention due to the overly excessively bright and flashing lights prone to give kids seizures.

" _Do you know of a host in your area with Extraspecies? Call this number and get $100!"_

A ridiculously loud voice shouted, catching Jackie's attention as she walked over to the TV to turn it off.

"That's just stupid." Jackie huffed. Obviously that was some kind of fake gambit for some fast money or a scheme to get information on the hosts. Ms Smith had warned her that since the program was still fairly new, there were many people trying to make money around issues regarding it or even people trying to sabotage the program in many ways, and this add sounded like something of the sort.

A faint groan caught Jackie's attention as she looked over at the hallway and saw Sabre,her fur a bit raffled and fluffier, trotting into the kitchen and sleepily getting some water for herself while Kit jumped excitedly around her feet.

"He just doesn't have an off switch, does he?" Jackie teased as she walked over, reaching up and setting her hands on Sabre's neck. "Your temperature feels back to normal. How are you feeling?"

"I'm still not good but I'll get better," Sabre took a big sip of water.

"Well of course you aren't, you were pretty sick. Take it easy today and just relax," Jackie suggested, gently rubbing her cheeks and listening to her hum in content a bit, "if you'd like I can come in later and give you a good grooming."

"I kinda find it weird that you touch me after you did so when I was naked," the leopard swished her tail for the pup who was pawing at the furry appendage before the kit lost interest in it, "and no, he doesn't. Remember what I told you about him? Let's just say he didn't get to be outside a cage a lot, except for running physical test until he was exhausted."

"Then I'll come in with milk instead if you don't want to be touched. Go back to sleep," Jackie said while Kit now was literally bouncing off the walls like a wild cat as Jackie snickered, "if you can, that is."

"Trust me, I can. I'll just give him some game or teach him to stalk," Sabre said, watching the pup dash excitedly into the hallway. She smiled and followed after him, planning to herd him into their temporary room.

The doorbell rang, drawing Jackie's attention. "Wonder who that could be." She said with a sigh, heading out of the hallway.

"Not expecting company?" Kroc asked, startling her as she looked back and saw him silently standing beside her with a curious tilt of his head.

How long was he there for? His footsteps weren't even making vibrations on the floor which shocked her the most. Talk about a silent killer. "No, I'm not. They're probably Jehovah witnesses or something like that." Jackie said with a shrug, knowing they come through the neighborhood from time to time. She walked up to the door and unlocked the three big locks, unaware of Kroc standing right behind her.

Upon opening the door, a slightly overweight man with greasy hair and a baseball cap with a big camera hitched to his shoulder started to open his mouth to greet her before stopping, looking past her and up at Kroc before his jaw drops, startled.

" … may I help you?" Jackie asked in a hard voice, snapping her fingers in front of his face as he grinned.

The man ignored her and literally shoved Jackie aside before fixing his camera on the stone faced Kroc. "A-AMAZING-! You're a saltwater Australian Krocodile, right?!"

"Aye mate. And you?" Kroc said, clearly a little put off at the sight of the camera before getting a bit of a closer look to examine it.

The man jolted slightly, as if scared or as if he had just remembering his manners before he took a few steps back and some deep breaths. "S-Sorry about that, I got carried away. Let me introduce myself, my name is Lucas Bolverd and I am a one man interviewer f-for a woman called Ms. Smith. I'm here to interview the Extraspecies you have here, Ms. Penske, was it?" He asked, moving his fingers in a greedy and excited motion.

"Yeah I am but Ms. Smith didn't tell me anything about this." Jackie said, folding her arms and standing between him and the curious Kroc.

"She didn't?" He said, baffled before pulling out a small scrap of paper and holding it to her, "I'm at the right place, aren't I?" He asked as Jackie took the scrap piece, finding her address on it.

"Yeah, you're at the right place."

"Then let's get the interviews started!" He excitedly said, about to push his way through before Jackie's hand slammed against the wall, forcing him to stop short as she stared at him coldly and suspiciously.

" _You're_ going to wait outside while I call Ms. Smith and make sure this isn't some gimmick." Jackie said, pulling out her cell phone as she tried to push him back outside.

"W-Wait, please! At least let me film your enlarged living quarters while you call her. She'll clear me, I swear- IS THAT MACASSAR EBONY FLOORBOARDS?!" He shouted with a shocked expression before bursting past her and into her apartment. Jackie's eyes narrowed as she watched him begin filming everything about her apartment and commenting on the exotic and expensive improvements apparently made recently due to the renovations for housing extraspecies.

"Watch him for a bit, would you, Kroc?" Jackie asked as she pulled out her phone to call Ms. Smith as Kroc lumbered off to look at the funny little man with the video recorder.

"Ah, wait!" He said, looping back around and surprising her as he handed her his phone, "don't worry, Ms. Smith gave instructions. I just got so excited that I forgot to tell you! Please use my phone to call her number. A couple other hosts apparently called her when she was busy on their own phones and she got incredibly angry at them," the little man passed Jackie his own phone, and with a raised eyebrow Jackie called MS Smith's number. After a couple rings, a click of a recording message answered.

" _Before you ask me about that d*** filming guy he is allowed to record hosts and their Extraspecies! DO NOT CALL AGAIN!"_ Ms. Smith's voice literally screamed into the phone before she hung up, silencing Jackie into shock. What the hell?

"S-Smith? Ms. Smith?" Jackie hesitantly said, checking the phone and seeing that she hung up. What the hell was that all about?

"So? Are we good to go?" He asked with an eager grin as Jackie stared at her phone. That was a little too weird.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jackie said, slipping her phone uneasily into her pocket, "you can interview whoever agrees to it. I'm not going to make them if they don't want to." Jackie said as he eagerly grinned.

"Yes, yes of course! So may I interview you first?" He asked, startling her.

"Me? Why?" Jackie asked, uneasy. She had never been interviewed before and this threw her off guard.

"Because you are just as much a part of the program as the Extraspecies are. Let's sit down and get started." He said with a grin before looping over to the living room. He sat on a small footstool gesturing to the couch in front of him. Jackie uncomfortably brushed off her clothes, walking over and taking a seat and feeling a little self conscience.

"So uh … what do you want to know?" Jackie asked, leaning back and trying to get comfortable.

"Start with the start of your day. What's it like living with Extraspecies?"

"Well … I'm still kind of new at this but often I wake up early to get some cleaning done before the others wake up."

"Others? How many Extraspecies do you have?" He asked as Jackie paused, counting in her head.

"I have a total of five now." She said as the man leaned forward in shock.

"Five?! What an extraordinary number! What kind of Extraspecies are they?" He asked with lots of excitement.

"Well, the first one who arrived was Dumisa who is a black mamba from Africa. Second was Jaska who is a Siberian tiger from Russia. Next was Kroc from Australia; he's the saltwater Crocodile you already saw. Then there is my most recent who is Sabre, a clouded leopard and Kit, a small toddler fox." Jackie said, counting again mentally to make sure she wasn't forgetting anyone.

"Whoaaa … and you say you're still a new host? How long ago did you start? It almost seems as if they were all thrown at you." He asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

"I started … about a few weeks or so ago?" She said, a little surprised herself. After talking about it like this it really _was_ shocking she got so many so quickly.

"That's so many so quickly! Why would Ms. Smith give you so many? Does she really have so few people willing to host them?" He asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

"I really have no idea. Well, I have the space for them all and the time since I have, well, _had_ a family business as a mechanic." Jackie said, remembering that she had to close up shop for a little while. That disappointed a few customers but they found other places pretty quickly".

"Really? So after becoming a host you were forced to quit your job? And your services were removed from the community and the local economy?" He asked.

"In a way I guess I was. The program offers plenty of money to live off of so my job now is basically taking care of the Extraspecies here," she explained, "it's very time consuming but I do have time every now and then to work on personal projects of mine."

"I see. Its obvious you do miss your work and being able to help the community. By your reaction I also see that having to tend to so many Extraspecies so suddenly and without notice of there being so many is quite tiring for you."

"I do miss my work every now and then but being a host is pretty exciting, I'll admit. Each day is a little adventure in itself with all the challenges of that comes with the job of being a host." Jackie lightly joked with a smile, actually enjoying talking about it.

"Is it? Isn't it a dangerous 'job' taking care of them all? I noticed that you named all of them as predatory Extraspecies."

Jackie noticed the emphasis on the word 'job' that she herself had used so carelessly. "Well yeah because I have the room for it. Predator Extraspecies need a lot more room than herbivores do."

"Don't you ever feel like you're in danger while taking care of so many dangerous Extraspecies?"

"They aren't dangerous as long as you're not stupid about it. I actually learned my lesson by going into Dumisa's room and he tackled me, startled since I went into his room without announcing myself first. Predators, I've found, like to know where you are at all times. They get uneasy when they don't." Jackie said with a shrug, repeating much of what she heard on the video.

"So one of them actually attacked you, its own host?" He asked.

"On day one too." Jackie teased with a smile, "but, it was my fault. We were still getting to know each other and I startled him while he was settling in."

"I see, I see so they are as unpredictable and dangerous as it's said … and which one was this?"

"Dumisa, the black mamba."

"Aren't black mambas one of the deadliest of snakes?"

"Yeah? So?" Jackie said, trying to get the pressure off of Dumisa a bit.

"I see, I see. So, you got into the program and thus quit your previous daily job to take care of the various predator Extraspecies assigned to you, and you have been learning to deal with this adventure," the man smiled kindly, "I think that wraps things up with you, Ms. Penske. May I interview the leopard girl?" He asked, keeping the camera rolling.

"Yeah, sure. Only if she agrees." Jackie said, getting up and directing him towards Jaska's room. Jackie hardly paid attention to Kroc's sudden disappearance, taking him in front of Jaska's room. "Hey, Sabre, come here. There's an interviewer here to see you." She said.

"I'm not moving, so he can come here," Sabre called from her seat on the sofa while lazily stretching out.

Jackie stepped inside, finding Sabre lounging across the couch rather lazily as the man cam fumbling in with excitement. Kit was nowhere around which made Jackie think that he was probably spying on them, completely hidden but somewhere close by.

"A female bastet, how rare! May I interview you, Ms. leopard?"

"Clouded Leopard," she corrected with a yawn.

"Thank you! Your contribution will greatly help the world understand more about Extraspecies!" He said, walking over to her and ogling the only female Extraspecies of the house.

The man started circling Sabre and taking all kinds of shots, before he then quite directly asked, "does your tail ever get in the way? Would you show the camera a little more closely? I'm sure a lot of people are curious as to how your clothes are hemmed in order to make room for the tail properly."

The moment he was finished asking Jackie stepped into the shot.

"Really, _that's_ the first thing you ask? That has very little to nothing to do with how Extraspecies are adapting into today's society." Jackie pointed out, baffled that he would bring up such a weird question before her eyes flickered towards the camera, "cut that part out. You don't need details like that."

"But it's all for the _truth!_ " He shouted, with a clenched fist and eager grin, startling her with his sudden burst of enthusiasm, "the people deserve to know all about Extraspecies! From the very nature of the individual Extraspecies right down to the kinds of human clothes they wear and how they are able to adapt into human society! Why, this question is the very base of getting to the bottom of such a thing! Can you honestly tell me that you're not curious how some Extraspecies wear clothes? For example, a bat or a bird that needs to make sure clothes are wind resistant but loose enough for them to move without troubles. Or how mermen require clothes that are fluid in water? What about insect ones with strange and big bodies? You can't deny that tails are quite the interesting stuff. Do they require special clothes tailored for them or do some of them adapt normal human clothes?"- The man pointed out and signaled between Jackie's and Sabre's clothes.

"W-Well … a-a little I guess but you're basically asking her to show her butt to the camera and that's inappropriate, in my opinion, for an interview to go." Jackie shakily said, startled by the sudden and ready onslaught he shot at her. It took her by such surprise at his readiness that she couldn't think of a good retort.

"He can ask stuff. But I won't move because I'm quite comfortable right now" Sabre yawned while waving her hand dismissively.

" … fine, but if you ask something weird like that again I'm intervening. The Extraspecies here are _not_ going to put on a show for you. " Jackie defended herself as the camera got a good shot of her defensive attitude.

"Oh~ ooh! The sign of an excellent host, being aggressive towards outsiders who may want to harm her Extraspecies. To you, miss, I do commend." He said, shuffling his camera aside a little bit before firmly shaking her hand.

"C-Commend?" She asked before snapping back to attention"y-yeah, of course I am. There are a lot of people out there who want to give Extraspecies a bad reputation a-and I just don't want this video to highlight their bad points like so many other people do w-without looking at the good points." Jackie said, beginning to get flustered.

"Well, I just want to show the truth of Extraspecies, all of it whatever it may be. No bad intentions here, Miss Host. But please, if I overstep the bounds again feel free to interrupt. The last thing I want to do is upset the host of a bunch of predator Extraspecies. You could set them after me and have them rip me apart easily." He lightly laughed as her cheeks tinged with embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah, fine, continue." She said, backing out of the shot and standing behind him, "go on." Jackie waved her hand towards him as he positioned himself in front of Sabre once again and cleared his throat.

"Now, Ms. Clouded Leopard, I will repeat the question. You hem your clothes, don't you? And do they fit comfortably around your tail? No constriction?" He curiously asked, keeping his tone upbeat despite the distraction.

The clouded leopard stretched on the couch and looked at the man without interest but her tail flickered back and forth, "I do wear hemmed clothes, but I also have some special tailored clothes and adapting human clothes would be easy too. My tail … ," she flickers her long tail, "obviously extends from my spine like all tails do for any living creature who has one. My clothes are designed for just that and are quite comfortable."

"May we record it for the interview's sake?" He more politely asked as Jackie stayed quiet, letting Sabre decide for herself.

"If I showed you I'd have to move and as I said, I'm quite comfortable right now." She lightly purred, rubbing her cheek against the couch's arm.

A loud crash outside the room made them all jump slightly. Jackie stared out the door, wondering what fell before glancing at the cameraman. She really didn't want to leave but she wanted to know who broke what.

"Go ahead and continue, I'll be back in a minute." Jackie said, leaving the room to go check and see what happened.

"Can we take a close up of the base of your tail? I only ask for the sake of the audience who are curious about Extraspecies and their biology. We are also curious about, ehem, how a feline's genitals differ from a human's? It's quite rare to find a female bastet for some reason and however strange the question may sound we can't let the opportunity pass to ask" He asked, the camera focusing on her lower half and the sleep shorts she was wearing the moment Jackie was out of earshot.

"Don't you know basic biology?" Sabre barely raised an eyebrow."And no. I'm not moving"

"Not on a feline, unfortunately, and neither do many people out there who misunderstand you Extraspecies." He said, seeming too ready with that response.

"Then go read a book about mammals in general." She arched her back, preparing for a nap.

"A mammal? Oh, so you lactate like a human female?"

"Humans are mammals too, you know?"

"I see … Then can I ask you if you groom like a regular human or prefer to lick yourself clean like a common cat?" He asked.

"I like taking long, hot and nice showers. Thermal waters are good for the skin, although I like neutral and natural soap and shampoo," she shrugged, "conditioner is so nice because it makes my fur amazingly silky." She admitted, rubbing her arm and enjoying the softness.

"Don't cats disliked water?"

"I'm not a cat. I'm a clouded leopard."

"Mmhh … Well, another question that people are probably curious about. Do you have heats like cats or do you menstruate like human women?" He asked, seeming to be a little hesitant in asking this.

Sabre smirked at him. "Oh? Didn't you say you didn't know about basic biology? Please, do tell me what you know about human menstruation and feline heats and then I could tell you some comparisons." She asked with a kitty grin, seeing his expression turn a little flustered.

"Mmhhh mmmhhh, maybe we can speak later after the other interviews. I'm on a timed schedule after all," the man said, "thank you for your time," he said before skedaddling out of the room. Sabre miffed with a laugh, leaning back to get some more rest. She mildly wondered what the host would do about this obviously suspicious character. If she didn't do anything she might have to do something herself. But for now, it was time for her catnap.

When the man came out of the room he saw the host bandaging the crocodile's hand while the broken pieces of a broken vase laid on the floor. Kroc looked away with a stone cold face but reprimanded guilt in his jade eyes, letting Jackie finish the light bandages.

"Oh, did something happen?" The man asked with the camera filming everything, paying special attention to the broken vase, "is it common for stuff to get broken by Extraspecies?"

"Just things that aren't strong or well built," Kroc huffed as he glanced over the sharp pieces he had tried to pick up before the host stopped him.

"Be more careful, I liked that vase." Jackie sighed, flicking his metal jaw rather gently before grabbing the dust pan.

"So delicate things with emotional value are always at risk for a host?" He asked, wording it strangely.

"Anything delicate is going to get knocked over when _someone_ isn't careful." Jackie said with a not so subtle glance at Kroc before she knelt down and began sweeping up the remains of the vase.

"Well, either way, may we continue with the next interview?" The man said before turning the camera towards Kroc. "So your name was Kroc, right? Very imaginative name. Anyways, you are quite big." He said, sounding a little sarcastic but Kroc let it roll off his shoulders with a silent shrug in response.

"Hey, guys, go take the interview to your room, Kroc, while I clean up out here. I don't want anyone stepping on any of the pieces and cutting their feet." Jackie said, shooing them away as Kroc led the man over to his room.

"Oh yes, please! Show me your room, Kroc. I hear an awful lot of tax dollars go towards making these luxurious rooms for you Extraspecies to stay in." He said, trotting after Kroc as he slipped into his room. The moment he stepped inside the room he began to stretch, ready to resume his work out. He couldn't afford getting soft now of all times and he certainly wasn't going to stop for a greasy little human.

"I'm going to work out. Ask away, mate." Kroc said as the walked over to the mat and began doing some push ups.

"Ah, alright then let's start simple? How much do you normally consume each day?"

"About 20 pounds of meat every week. I don't eat everyday like humans do." He stated with a grunt, continuing his one armed push ups without a pause in beat.

"And what about alcohol? Do you drink alcohol or consume drugs? Like steroids?" He asked, zooming in on his muscled arm.

"Humans need drugs to get strong, mate. I don't. And mate, down under you need to drink a barrel a day to keep the flies away. HA!" Kroc laughed, grinning and finding this interesting.

"Why did you leave your country? Does it has anything to do with that metal jaw? How did you get it, is it stronger than a real one? Was that why you got such modification?" The man layered question on question, taking special interest in the metal jaw.

"Things simply happened. Got bored down there and headed on up for the program on a bet," Kroc answered, switching arms and continuing.

"I see, I see … Australia is said to be full of dangerous creatures. If I'm correct, crocodiles are quite the cause for many deaths a year. What about Extraspecies?"

"Long as you don't bother us we don't bother the humans living there. Poachers can be a real pain in the arse but fun too," Kroc darkly laughed as he widely grinned and showed off his sharp teeth.

"Oh? What have you done to poachers? I think you can rip in two a man with one bite." The man noted, fixing the camera on Kroc's teeth.

"Quite easily, mate," Kroc answered with a leering glance over at the camera, his tail twitching towards the man and making him jump slightly in response, "poachers know better than to come to my territory, mate. Next." He said, standing up and going to bench press about 300 pounds.

"So you have gotten rid of poachers in a way that make others fear to get near?"

Kroc's eye dangerously lingered over the man before toothily grinning. The cameraman even shivered slightly at his darkly amused gaze.

"You got cauliflower ears, mate? I said _next_ ," he said with a hiss before laying down and beginning to lift the bar and start his reps.

"You've got quite the temper." The interviewer said.

"Aie mate. Gotta be mean to survive down under." Kroc said with a more serious expression.

"So aggression is your way. Well, enough about that, what about your mating between your species? How does that occur, or what I mean is, how do you capture the female's attention? Many people out there suspect it is similar to how regular crocodiles court and mate but what about Extraspecies?"

"Mating season is at the end of year. Everybody gets aggressive, especially the sheelas. And if aggression does not work to scare competition off, then you fight." He explained with a grin, remembering good times.

"Ah I see. So you are used to resorting to violence to get what you want. Tell me, when you _do_ get a female, what usually happens?"

"We submerge under the water and I lay on top of her and then we mate. We don't let up until I need to breathe," Kroc rather proudly stated with a deep, throaty laughter.

"But what if the female runs out of air before you do?" The questioner asked with a surprised tone.

Kroc let out a full blown laugh, " _HA_! Females are the ones keeping you there!" He laughed a bit more.

"And what about the offspring?"

"After mating season is over and the nest is built, sheeleas don't let anyone near. Not other Sheelas, not even the father. Even if a male would like to help, those wild sheelas would sooner rip your throat out." He heartedly laughed.

"I see, I see … I think there is enough here for the time being. Now, where is this black mamba?" He excitedly asked as Jackie stepped inside, seeing the man giving Kroc his thanks.

"What, done already?" Jackie asked him, glancing at Kroc and seeing him not caring at all about the interview. Well, so far it hasn't been too bad but this guy seriously unnerved her.

"I've already got what I need from Kroc. Now where is Dumisa?" He eagerly asked as Jackie let out a faint sigh.

"This way." Jackie said, leading him over to Dumisa's room before loudly knocking, "Dumisa! An interviewer is here to see you! We're coming in." Jackie said, opening the door and turning on the lights to expose Dumisa who was lazily lying under his heat lamp and enjoying the waves of heat rippling over his skin as well as the attention the cameraman was giving him. The man quickly set himself up, preparing for the interview before quickly beginning.

"So tell us again. There aren't many male 'lamias', are there? I don't think I've ever heard of a male lamia before." He said, curious before pausing, "ah, Ms. Penske, would you mind if I do a private interview for the male lamia?" He asked as Jackie's eyes narrowed. This guy was up to something and she didn't like it one bit.

"Yeah, sure." She said, turning and leaving to stand outside the door and listen in instead. When the cameraman was sure that she left he turned his attention back to Dumisa.

"So, Dumisa, as I asked before, how common are male lamia?"

"And you have one right here, so enjoy my wonderful presence and don't waste my time. I also don't like to repeat myself, human. Keep that in mind," he said with a faint smile, keeping his eyes closed but posing for the camera, "Male lamias are rare; until I was born there were no males in my tribe."

"So what was it like to be the only male in the place? Did you had an active sexual life with all the females there?" The man asked, making Jackie's eyes narrowed. This guy was definitely getting on her crap list right now. Everything he was asking was so obviously incriminating.

"Awfully direct but yes, compared to the average human male I suppose I did. But it's the same for any male lamia." He said with a slight shrug, "since there are so few males to go around, with the few that are around there are an endless amount of willing females to go along with it. Constantly." He said, hardly sounding troubled by it while his expression remained aloof.

"So there was a lot of copulation? Was there no sexual education?" He questioned.

"Why would there be a need for sexual education if everyone knows how to mate by instinct?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So what about unwanted children or your responsibility regarding any offspring?"

"Children are few and far between as well; children often hunt and compete amongst each other and only the strongest survive. It's the way of the lamia." He said with a shrug.

"So the child mortality is high and adults don't care, but they just copulate more and have more offspring to see if they survive?"

"More or less, yes. That is the way of the black mamba tribe after all," he said with a slight shrug, "adults often fight for territory so it is good to teach young how and when to fight and flee," he answered.

"So how many women did you sleep with if they expected to keep that brutal rate of survival of young?"

"Whether it's a lot or not to wrap your head around I copulated with about … at least 5 women a day and at most 29 at a time. As to the number of times it often ranges around 8 or 9 times a day." He said, literally hearing the jaws in the drop at how nonchalantly he said that.

"And…. and what about the ages of the females? Is there any 'legal age' for mating?" The interviewer asked as Jackie remained quiet, hiding in the hallway at this point and listening in to their conversation. He's kidding, right? He had to be, that was insane!

"It begins as soon as the female begins to put off their natural musk and come to me to satisfy them before going on about their day like nothing occurred," he shrugged with an annoyed tone. "And they are eager to do so as soon as they get old enough to reproduce, the greedy eager witches."

"So the females are always eager for sex?"

"Mostly in the mornings and evenings and every other week. There were about 298 females in my village that put off that musk and they simply come in droves to have themselves be satisfied and last them a week or two before coming back for more like greedy scavengers picking at a carcass," he said, cracking an eye open and staring at them with skinny slitted eyes, finding himself growing more and more annoyed.

"So female lamias will only use males to satisfy their lust?"

"Yes. Otherwise I simply lay in a tent all day or am hunted down by rather eager and horny women. They got in the way of my hunting quite often." He added with a light hiss too low for humans to pick up.

"So that was basically your only function and importance. Just something to satisfy them?"

"Exactly. So I signed up for the program to leave them for some time. I thought perhaps they would contact me and ask for my return but I've found they've already found another snake to satisfy them, a very young male. Pathetic. Female lamias hold no interest for me. They are too fickle and scheming for my liking anymore," he hissed louder as he flipped around onto his back to let the heat warm his stomach.

"Could it be that you simply didn't fulfill their expectations?"

"Ha!" He laughed, twisting around and facing the questioner as he propped his chin on hand and grinned, "they would be eating out of my hands while I pleasured them but once they had their fill they simply left. _Every_ lamia acts as so. But not humans, I've found," he muttered the last part, glancing into the hallway where he knew Jackie was listening as she was with all the others, "they tend to mate for life, something I find interesting compared to my own species."

"So you are seeking human females to crawl to you with sexual intents?"

"It all depends on how this host situation plays out. However, there are downsides to humans as well," he said with a long sigh, "they are too weak and fragile. I'm afraid a single thrust would break her pelvic bones," he said with a small shrug as Jackie's complexion paled. Did he really have to go down that road and say something like that? Ugh, freaking Dumisa. Jackie pinched the bridge of her nose, still listening closely.

"Then your intention is indeed to 'copulate' with human girls? Is that exactly what you complained about female lamias?"

"Only if they beg," he teased in a low voice with a grin, clicking his teeth together and revealing his fangs for a brief moment before laying down his head into his folded arms and staring at the questioner.

Dumisa then had a funny idea because he wanted information. "Why don't you ask my host? After all, she has various males in her domains and even a female Extraspecies and she likes to 'spend' time with all of us, sometimes at the same time. So she can probably tell you more about us."

"Dumisa, that's enough," Jackie growled as she stepped into the room and glared at the questioner, "I've heard enough, and did your interviews. So please leave now"

"Sure thing, miss, but I _still_ need to film the environment. I have what I need for the reviews but I need to shoot all this fantastic and luxurious remodels that were made even when it's clear the neighborhood is a bit run down. Its almost decadent, don't you think?" The man said as the camera finished a panning of Dumisa's room and the hallway before making a close up of Jackie's flustering face.

"Rundown? This part of town isn't so bad." Jackie said with a frown, not liking how he was getting up in her face, "and I'd rather you just go. I have a lot of work to do." Jackie said, still trying to be polite but her expression was clearly otherwise.

"But you admitted that you abandoned your job to accept the money and take care of the extraspecies, miss. I just need some shots of the quirks of their suites. Im sure it would be impossible to pay for those without the money from the programs, right? Did you had to fire many workers in order to take the job and the money?"

"Abandoned? It was my _choice_ to let my job go for the time being," Jackie snapped back in annoyance, "and it's not like I took away jobs when I closed down; this shop is run by myself and I can choose to do with the business as I please. Of course I miss it but taking a change in pace with work is good at times." -

"So you couldn't afford to hire any workers? Don't worry miss, you don't have to hide your disappointment and frustration at having to take care of such dangerous creatures for money. There are ladies who resort to worse means. But once the documentary is out, I'm sure people won't blame you for the problems that occur when these creatures are near."

"Ex _cuse_ me?! What is that supposed to mean?" She demanded, eyes narrowing, "that's it, give me your tapes. I _knew_ you were just asking questions to try and incriminate them in some way!" she angrily growled, her glare piercing right through the surprised questioner, "give me your tapes and leave." She ordered before his eyes narrowed with a hiss. In a remarkably fast move he danced away, keeping clear of her while keeping her in his film shot.

"Oh my, is angry mama bear going to try and do something violent to me while on film?" He asked with a sleazy grin as Jackie was pulled up short, startled, "perhaps I was wrong and hosts are as dangerous as the Extraspecies. All it would take is a small youtube clip going viral to prove I'm right."

"You wouldn't." She angrily growled. This piece of-!

"Won't what? I don't know what you mean; all I am doing is exposing the truths about Hosts and Extraspecies which are sucking the United States dry through using tax dollars to pay for these Extraspecies to come live here rather than the other countries. Go ahead and let the Extraspecies drain the money out of the economies of the world but myself and many other tax payers aren't about to let that happen so easily." He said, refocusing his camera on her, "I am well aware of the laws. Your Extraspecies can't touch me because of the law passed and if you try to lay a finger on me I'll sue you of every dime you've ever made, little missy."

"Seriously?!" Jackie shouted with anger. She was such an idiot for letting something like this happen! "What exactly are you trying to do by filming us like this?!"

"I am only disclosing the truth about these violent Extraspecies to the world! They are a danger in every sense, physically _and_ morally as proven just in the interviews with these few here. Do you know how much violence has gone up since Extraspecies were introduced into various countries? Many of them resort to violent means for anything and would kill us like any other prey. They don't deserve to live anywhere near us. If anything we should just ship them off to some island and let them hash it out themselves there! They are dangerous!"

"Your questions are the dangerous ones here! You never even _once_ asked about where they were from or the hard life they've had or even how hard it is for them to adapt to human culture!" Jackie pointed out with a hiss as Dumisa laid wide awake, deeply interested in the fun developing before him.

"That's the thing, they clearly _can't_ adapt. They shouldn't be allowed near humans at all. Why, do you know how high the percentage of hosts who are injured, both minor and fatally, by their Extraspecies each year?" He asked as Jackie's face turned red with rage. "Didn't this one here almost killed you on day one? You admitted to that."

"Don't be so pigheaded! They think just like us 'humans' and won't hurt anyone as long as you don't purposefully bother them like some idiot!" Jackie shot back, her own rage seething, "you are naive and a stupid prick! Give me those tapes!"

"So what if a child were to annoy an Extraspecies? You think they would casually lay back or attack them? They would easily kill or abandon their own offspring as I recorded, so why would their reactions be any different for humans?" He dangerously asked before the camera was lifted off his shoulder, startling him as Kroc stood behind him with a stone cold expression of pure murder. "H-HEY! Give that back!" He shouted, trying to jump and reach it while Sabre sat on Kroc's shoulder, taking the camera herself before collecting the tape from inside. With a thump the camera hit the floor, shattering the lens and sides of it while the mere sight physically broke the sleazy man down to his knees.

"Kroc! Sabre," Jackie said with a grin as Sabre hopped off his shoulder rather expertly, landing silently next to Jackie before handing her the tape.

"I also recorded everything this man said just now. And just so you know, I called Ms. smith as soon as the interviews began. She's on her way," Sabre gave the tape to Jackie and then moved aside to stretch and show her claws and her long fangs to the broken man, "you better go away or choose between my claws and Jacqueline's nagging because something much more scary is on the way here."

"WHAT?! You can't do this to us! You're suppressing the truth from the people! And you can't attack me, cat!" The man shouted, trying to pick up the pieces of his recording device while Jackie held the tape far away from him.

"You're only showing the people the truth you want them to see, not the whole truth," Sabre snarled, "so pathetic. Any town politician is less obvious than you in manipulative media. You think your questions aren't obviously pointing at something? HA, you don't even have a decent fake license. You think you could simply turn in and fake your identity as a documentary guy?" Sabre growled, her jaw opening a lot more than a normal cat's should for she was a clouded leopard, closest living relative to saber tooth felines, "I've seen way many like you. Far worse and way smarter. Now get way while you still can!" She growled her warning. "Unlike Kroc or Dumisa, I would have no problems ripping you apart."

"Exactly," Jackie said, holding the tape up, "now get out of my house," Jackie growled too with a venomous glare.

"You think I'm leaving without those tapes? You're _dead_ wrong!" the man shouted, tightly clenching his fist as he murderously glared at Jackie.

"You think you could do it? Dumisa is the fastest snake on the planet, Sabre is standing right next to be and you have Kroc standing right behind you." Jackie said with narrowed eyes before tossing the tape behind her, "but even that pales in comparison to a pissed off host." She threatened as all three of her Extraspecies turned away with a stifled laugh, making her cheeks glow a little red.

"S-She really thinks she's scarier than any of us?" Sabre said before letting out a full blown laugh.

"It would appear so! How funny!" Dumisa loudly laughed alongside Sabre while Jackie's blush deepened on her face.

"Or that her teeth are sharper than mine?" Kroc tacked on but everyone ignored his own last comment, continuing to laugh in Jackie's face about her threat.

"Maybe her gaze is more poisonous than my venom, ha!" Dumisa laughed

"Oh come on guys, that's not cool!" Jackie shouted at them all before seeing the man lunge for her in the corner of her eye. Jackie whipped around, startled and ready to tackle the man right back before the door burst open, startling them all as a straight up assault team burst through the wall and sent wooden shrapnel everywhere. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Jackie shouted as Kroc caught her, covering her with his back while the overweight man sat on the floor with an opened mouth gap, startled as Ms. Smith walked in through the door like a normal person after the assault team had them all surrounding.

"Oh good you're all safe! Don't worry about the damages, they will be taken directly out of your check, Jackie. Now, I'll be taking care of this man," she slightly moved down her dark lenses, locking eyes with the deeply startled man, "and after I'm done, I assure you he would have prefered staying with your proposed methods."

Without time to even process what was happening two suited up men grabbed the man by either arm, dragging the stunned man into the hallway before the rest of them repelled down the side of the building. Everyone remained frozen in place, hardly able to believe what just happened.

" … YOU BROKE MY HOUSE WHAT THE HELL?!" Jackie thundered, squirming out of Kroc's grasp and marking right up to Ms. Smith while Sabre sneaked away quietly , "why the hell did you burst through the wall like that?! HOW did you burst through the wall like that it's brick outside of here!"

"Oh, this?" She asked, picking up one of the broken bricks and holding it up for Jackie to see, "this is nothing in comparison to a certain host who exposed her Extraspecies to a rather dangerous man who could have potentially ruined everything I've worked so hard to achieve over the past ten years and if it wasn't for a certain kitty I would be filleting said host right now." She said with a dangerous smile as Jackie's face paled.

"B-But I tried to call you! It went straight to voicemail!" Jackie argued as she held up a phone, calling a number before it went to voicemail.

" _Before you ask me about that d*** filming guy he is allowed to record hosts and their Extraspecies! DO NOT CALL AGAIN!"_

"Oh, you mean this thing here? It was digitally manipulated by cutting and pasting parts of other calls. The grease ball tried the same with another host but he was smart enough not to fall for it." She said before clicking the phone shut, sealing Jackie's fate and arguments.

"B-But it was your number!"

"And when you call through his phone it automatically redirects to a recording"

Jackie's jaw remained hanging in shock, having nothing else to say. She was duped. Even if she tried to weasel her way out of this she was suckered by that man's trick.

"Close your mouth sweetheart you'll get flies that way." Ms. Smith said as she clicked her jaws shut before squishing her cheeks, startling her as Ms. Smith lightly blushed. "And why didn't you tell me you adopted another furry? I'll just have to add her to your contract now that she's here." She warmly smiled.

"You mean Sabre?" Jackie asked before pausing, looking around Sabre was nowhere to be seen, and upon remembering Sabre's threat from last night she prefered to not say that much to Ms. Smith. " … is it possible to do that?" Jackie asked, curious. She wouldn't mind adding the two of them to her contract if it meant they could stay. She liked Sabre and her kit, even if the cat had threatened her.

"Of course it's possible, just tell me which program she's in or if she needs to sign her papers," Smith lowered her sunglasses to see Jackie in the eyes, "is she alone? By Dumisa's recent call I think there were some problems."

"Yeah. She's got a little tyke with her." Kroc answered for Jackie.

"The pup cried so much that even Dumisa called me for help," Ms. Smith said, bitterly remembering the phone call, "I think Dumisa mentioned that 'the cat was sick'?"

"Yeah, Sabre was pretty sick but she wouldn't let me call anyone. I was able to make her take some medicine and drink water so she's getting better now." Jackie reassured her.

"She'll need a checkup anyways just to make sure … well, just so you know Jaska will be returning shortly. I'll give him the paperwork so he can deal with the other Bastet himself." Ms. Smith said with a surprisingly carefree shrug.

"Yeah? When will Jaska be back?" Jackie asked, curious, "where did he go in the first place?"

"Very soon. You don't need to stay up for him since he has his own key," Ms. Smith assured her. Jackie paused.

"Where did Jaska get a spare key?"

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! Move out!" Ms. Smith shouted to the air despite the rest of the team having already left, avoiding the question entirely before marching off and leaving Jackie standing there with unease.

" … Ms. Smith did you make copies of my keys?" Jackie asked but the coordinator quickly made her escape with her heels clicking quickly down the hall, leaving the three of them standing in Dumisa's room which now had a gaping hole in it.

"Jackie, go make dinner. I'm starving," Dumisa complained, draping over her and nearly dragging her to the ground as he pouted, "it's our feeding day but you've hardly given me any food today. Go make it now." He said, weighing her down to the ground and sleepily hugging his heat pack before Kroc slipped her right out of his grasp, "blech, it's already feeling colder in here," he complained, hugging her a little tighter and glaring at the large hole in his den now.

"He's right, sheela." Kroc reminded her as his stomach audibly growled.

"Uh, yeah, sure. I set the meat out earlier so all I need to do is season and cook it. Give it an hour." Jackie heavily sighed, back to business as usual as Kroc set her down. That hole in the wall was going to be a problem but Ms. Smith said that she would fix it. Back to business as usual.

"Good, and make it enough to celebrate, host," Dumisa called down the hall before returning inside his room and letting out a huff. "That hag better fix this hole soon."

Exactly an hour later Dumisa was heading down the hall to enjoy his well earned dinner when he heard rustling inside the tiger's den that been taken over by the leopard girl. He knew the host would be annoying and insist on everyone attending dinner so he might as well drag Sabre there to avoid a hissy fit. He knocked on the door before opening it.

"I'm coming in, Sabre." He said, leaving the lights off and immediately locating them with his natural heat vision. He paused, seeing her with a bag over her shoulder and the pup holding onto a leg from the balinese bed and refusing to let go. He flicked on the lights, seeing Sabre's disgruntled expression. "Where do you think _you're_ going, young missy? The host will throw a fit and complain rather noisily if you're not at dinner with us." Dumisa said, folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe. It was clear she wanted to leave.

"Mmhh~ hi, Dumisa. I was, well," she looked worried and saddened as she scratched the back of her head, "listen, I'm not under Jackie's contract and I don't want that coordinator catching us or starting an investigation, alright?"

Kit held more onto the furniture, obviously knowing what was happening, but was determined not to leave this place like with the other places that were bad and they had left behind too often.

"Hm? So? I'm hungry and if you leave I won't be able to eat without Jackie's bickering," He huffed, slithering over to her and seeing the little kit clinging to the furniture for dear life, "what's with him?" He asked, laying down next to Kit as he hid his face and held on tightly with a firm pout.

Sabre sighed, "he likes this place and doesn't want to leave but now that the coordinator saw us we should, well, it was nice meeting you, so … ," She extended her hand to Dumisa for a shake.

"Hold on," he said, picking her right off her feet. She dropped the bag and Dumisa raised himself into the air while staring at her, "dinner first." He said with a cheeky grin, clearly refusing to relent.

"Wait! I don't have much time before someone comes to research us!" Sabre tried to reason.

"That old hag is hardly something to fear," Dumisa said with a roll of his eyes before picking up the Kit too and slithering out of the room, eager for dinner, "and what, the kitty is afraid of a few needles? For a predator you're rather skittish, aren't you?" He asked with a laughing huff. "Relax, she will just get you in the program, maybe she didn't even saw you", he laughed again at the cat scratching the walls and floors before they arrived at the kitchen and setting her down at the table between himself and Kroc. Kit gasped in excitement, running up and all around without a care on the world in his excitement at apparently not leaving this place.

"Hold on guys, I'm coming." Jackie said, bringing out large bowls of food with especially flavored meat, some of them cooked but most of them being raw like how the others like it before grabbing a bowl of hard boiled eggs for Dumisa. "Eat up and enjoy. Oh, wait," Jackie said, walking over and bringing over a small plate of chicken nuggets for the kit. He immediately perked up before dashing over, leaping onto her lap and messily awing at the plate before swiping a nugget and sitting down. He happily gnawed on the little treat, humming and 'purring' in delight as Jackie rubbed his head and smiled. "Let me know if you guys want anything more or less cooked or with some other season." Jackie said as she took a bite of her salad off to the side to prevent Kit, as everyone called the pup since Sabre hadn't mentioned his name, from nabbing any of her croutons.

"Everything seems fine, sheela," Kroc said and took out a couple bottles of some liquor.

"I'll take one of those" Sabre said and got a hold of one of the bottles.

"Ah, hey! Where did that come from?" Jackie complained as Kroc passed them out to the others, handing Dumisa a gentler bottle of sake before he poured it into a small disk looking cup that she's never seen before. "Where did you buy that alcohol from?"

"Found it." Kroc shrugged, pouring Sabre some of the stronger alcohol before he took a pure swig and let out a satisfied growling hum.

"I really doubt that." Jackie pointed out with a huff as Kit subtly snatched another chicken nugget and happily nibbled away at the breaded outsides.

"Who cares where he got it from? It's been awhile since I've have alcohol." Dumisa said, picking up the saucer and happily drinking it down.

"Well, since we are here we might as well have a good time" Sabre smiled and her her drink up, "salud!"

Jackie leaned back with a sigh, taking it as it was and not asking any more questions. They deserved to have some fun after today. "So did you know that camera guy was a fraud? Is that why you didn't attack him and instead let Ms. Smith come take care of it?" Jackie asked, curious.

"Obviously. We aren't stupid," Dumisa said while eating one of the soft boiled eggs with a swift toss into his mouth and swallowing it hole, his neck slightly bulging from the egg's decent before he grabbed another one.

"Did you think we would have been so stupid as to let them slander us like that?" Sabre asked as she took another swig of her alcohol of choice.

"Well, no but it's hilarious at how you all answered him. Did you see his face? He looked scared out of his mind at half of those answers! You all did a good job scaring him," Jackie snickered as she took a bite of her salad and handed Kit another chicken nugget.

"You thought we were kidding with those responses?" Kroc asked, making Jackie pause as she looked up at him.

"Well yeah." She answered, flickering his gaze to Dumisa before back to Kroc, "you were all serious about what you told them?"

"Every last bit of it," Kroc grinned, "we didn't lie although we kept some information hidden from him, sheela."

"Are you intimidated by us now, _host_?" Dumisa asked in a sarcastic tone and snarky grin as his pupils turned to tighter slits.

"Why would the host be intimidated?" Sabre smirked her grin while looking sideways at Jackie, "could it be that you didn't believe our threats to them? I did want to rip that man apart but Ms. Smith was going to do it herself."

"No, I meant more so with everything else. Like," Jackie started, glancing at Dumisa before quickly avoiding that landmine and turning her fast gaze to Kroc, "like what you used to do, Kroc. And, uh, everyone else until recently. It's a little surprising I guess."

"We actually didn't mentioned much of what we did in specifics." Kroc said while tilting his head. "So what do you mean, host? We have no problem answering _you_ in full."

" … oh hey, look at the time. Gotta start cleaning the kitchen. You guys can tuck yourselves into bed tonight," Jackie said, getting up and making an escape to her cleaning duty.

The extraspecies crew looked between themselves before Dumisa grabbed Jackie's waist with his tail and reeled her back with ease. Jackie jerked back, startled as she landed with a flop against his coiled body.

A~nd she was trapped. Peachy.

"There's something you want to know but are afraid to ask?" Kroc asked, curious.

"Not really. What's more scary I think is that I believe what you said was true," Jackie said, relenting and laying against Dumisa's scaly body while looking at everyone, "your pasts are just so different and … uh, alien to me that I couldn't even begin imagining myself being in those situations and places. It's weird," Jackie honestly said.

"I think she means the mating parts," Sabre said while stealing one boiled egg to their surprise. She paused, noticing their stares, "what? I had to learn to be somewhat omnivorous, ok?" The feline showed her raspy tongue and then ate another egg. But what was more startling was the fact Dumisa actually _let_ her eat off his plate without a hissy fit.

" … uh, yeah well, that part surprised me too," Jackie admitted, "it was just something I didn't expect hearing in the interview."

"Why? It was obvious they would ask about something like that. Besides, humans seem to have strange fixations and taboos about mating," Kroc countered. Now he was the one interested on such strange views regards reproduction.

"Yeah, I guess they do. But not for something that's supposed to be more informational and documentary type like he was claiming to be," Jackie said, trying to worm out of Dumisa's grasp but he held firm and dragged her to the center of his coiled body and made her sit in the natural donut hole, "so them asking things like that was weird."

"Don't avoid the obvious question, Jaqueline," the feline said while taking another sip of her drink, "after all, the guys here are also curious about human mating habits, right guys?"

"Well, why wouldn't we? I've seen pics of humans mating. I think it was called porn; such strange creatures forcing their bodies to contort in the most unnatural of ways is weird," Kroc stated, ears and eyes on Jackie.

"Then you've clearly never seen snakes mate," Dumisa teased, curling his long tongue around and egg before gulping it down.

"I've tried a bunch of those positions. As a female I can attest that some of them make the sensations better. It's not just 'mating', it's sexual intercouse for mere fun or to enhance one's relationship with the other person," Sabre licked her whiskers.

"But you're a cat. You are far more naturally limbered and animals much like extraspecies mate for the sake of reproduction, not so much for the fun of it unlike humans tend to do. Humans are the only ones to have taken it so far as to have written books about it," Kroc answered without looking away from Jackie.

"have you tried any of those forms, host? Dumisa asked as everyone turned to her with interest.

"Who said I did it for reproduction?" Sabre quickly realized her slip and changed the attention to Jackie, "what about you, Jackie?"

"As if I'm going to tell you guys that." Jackie stated in a firm and annoyed voice, "can we talk about something else? This is stupid," she childishly huffed as she folded her arms. Dumisa's tail lightly tightened around her waist, almost as if hugging it.

"I think she is still virgin," Sabre sang with a snicker.

"Does it really matter?" Jackie shot back in an annoyed tone, "since when was being a virgin a bad thing?"

"Jackie, are you unable to mate?" Dumisa asked, blinking in confusion.

"Or perhaps the sheela's sterile?" Kroc asked

"Maybe she's interested in females?" Sabre looked at her and licked her lips.

"Guys, guys, _guys_! It's none of that! My lady box is perfectly fine, fertile and clean of diseases. And no, Sabre, I don't fly that way," Jackie started, getting this all out of the way so they don't question it. "I just … haven't, alright? It just hasn't come up."

"You wouldn't fly at all, you have no wings. But seriously? If you want I can break you in so you could try the guys then," the feline started with a teasing cheshire grin before she addressed the guys, "the first time for a human female can be a bit painful, so it's better to do it first with another female," she said as the two males listened with interest.

"Really?" Dumisa asked, baffled.

"NO!" Jackie retorted with a slack jaw and wide eyes, struggling in Dumisa's grasp but he held firm while he laughed.

"If you believe you'll be the first one to break her in she's dead wrong. Who says I'll let you touch what's mine, female or not?" Dumisa hummed, draping his upper half over Jackie's stomach as his tongue flickered out along Jackie's shoulder.

Sabre rolled her slitted eyes and shrugged, "who said she's yours? You make it sound like she is a sex toy." Sabre sneered.

"Sex toy? What's that?" Kroc asked.

Sabre turned to look at him and shrugged her shoulders again, "oh, is just that humans don't even need a mate to go at it. They have a wide arrange of items they use to satisfy their sexual needs."

"But where's the fun in that?" Dumisa said, laying behind Jackie and making her use him as a backrest as he stared at Sabre.

"Could it be that our sheela prefers mating alone with such toys?" Kroc asked, clearly looking alienated by the mere thought.

"No mating at all, thank you very much. Work keeps me pretty preoccupied," Jackie said, "it just doesn't really hold any interest for me." She honestly stated, watching Sabre's eyes widen at her.

"How can you say that if you have never tried it?" Sabre took a nugget from Kit's pile to try them. "Seriously. I'm more interested in your petting and that Kit likes you, but for what you're saying I'd do you out of pity," She chuckled while her tail lashed side to side.

"Sabre, just knock it off." Jackie said with a huff as she laid back against Dumisa's body and stared at the ceiling. She was stuck until they were satisfied, "put your dishes in the sink for me when you're done. Dumisa, let go. I really do need to go finish up the dishes unless you don't want your heat lamp working by the time you go to sleep?" Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing his heat lamp needed the darker red bulbs bulbs so he could sleep easier in the dark.

"I think the cat has a point," Dumisa seemed to ponder on it, "Afterwards I can just use you as heat bag, host."

"Dumisa I swear to every ice cube in the _world_ I will bury you in ice and never drag your frostbitten butt out," Jackie hissed in a warning and sharp glare, "now _off_ , Dumisa." She said as she tried to sit up and off him. "And you don't even think about it, Sabre. Go find someone else to screw!"

"Forget it, host. Sabre won't be interested in males that way until the peak of a heat." Kroc said with a shrug.

Sabre let out a growl and looked offended before she crunched down while looking away "I can copulate just for fun. I don't need to be in heat but Im not going to do it with just anyone." She almost bit her tongue at the end of her sentence after saying that revelation. Once again diverting the conversation towards Jackie, she spoke "The point here is that the host is having mating difficulties."

"It's my body and I can do what I choose to it," Jackie growled, grabbing the end of Dumisa's tail and trying to strangle the life out of it but it just lifelessly flipped around in her hands just to amuse her, "so if I don't feel ready for it yet then I won't do it. Besides, I'm still waiting for the right guy." Jackie stated.

"But how are you going to find the proper mate if you don't try mates out?" Dumisa asked the host.

"That's what dating is for. And I just haven't met a guy that sparked my interest," Jackie honestly stated. At least not a guy that returned that spark.

The males shoot back in surprise.

"Not one?" Kroc raised his eyebrows.

" _Really_?" Dumisa sounded very surprised.

Sabre raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm not like you who would be fine with just about anyone when you're in the mood." Jackie huffed while pointing at Sabre before glaring at Dumisa, "seriously, let go."

"You think a male lamia does it with anyone only because he feels like it?" He said as he shuffled a bit, making her sink deeper into the pit as he laid over her. Her fingers dug into his scales, trying to claw her way back out but he easily laid his body over her with a smirk, "It's not about the mood, is it? For example, I'm feeling in the mood for having my heat-pack quiet and serving dutifully," he smiled as he laid over her and hid her away rather perfectly while hugging her deliciously tightly with his body, his prey successfully captured with the exception and her leg that she managed to kick past a part in his body. He lightly laughed and laid his upper torso over his body and playfully poked at her leg, watching it kick up a storm. As Jackie struggled to get free and more importantly breathe, Sabre remained silent with a rather long expression that the two males noticed.

"What's wrong, Sheela?" Kroc asked, tilting his head slightly as Dumisa paused in his playful teasing.

She let out a defeated sigh, "as Dumisa says, it's not about 'being in the mood'. Just so you know I _did_ have a 'mate'." Sabre said with a hurt sneer before exhaling a calming breath and regained her regular, guarded expression. "But oh well, forget it, it's not your business at all."

Kroc noted and then looked away, " I don't think there are that many clouded leopards out there right?"

"I have never met any other clouded leopard but he was a Bastet." she stood up, with all interest in Jackie lost as she picked her cub and left the table. However, Dumisa grabbed her by the tail and gently pulled on it.

"Where do you think you're going, kitty cat?" He said as he eyed the feathered boa he held onto for Kit if he ever threw a fit again at seeing him. He grinned, picking it up and wondering if it would work.

"I told you already, Dumisa-," she started but then she stopped. Sabre couldn't add more because her gaze detected the motion of something feathery caught all her attention and, without even registering, she jumped to attack it and then rolled on it while pawing at the feather boa Dumisa was manipulating.

"I think not." Dumisa kept on and chuckled at how easy it was to entertain this cat. She was as distracted by silly things as her cub.

"What was that about?" Kroc asked watching the cuteness of the fluffy cat.

"She was gonna leave this place only because the old hag saw her", Dumisa tugged on the boa and somehow the feline got tangled even more.

"Smith? Sabre has a bone to pick with her?" Kroc asked as Kit hopped onto the table, sitting in the middle of Jackie's dinner plate and happily eating away at the chicken nuggets.

"No but Sabre doesn't have a host and doesn't like the idea of getting caught and taken away"

"Smith won't do that. Not unless Sabre tries something stupid." Kroc huffed.

"The old hag maybe not, but kitty here already packed." Dumisa said with a shrug before waving the boa in front of her face.

"She shouldn't be moving around so much, not with a young pup" Kroc leaned down and had an idea, "but maybe we can convince her not to go."

"I don't care either way but I suppose her being here is rather entertaining for when the host is otherwise … occupied." He said, glancing back at his coiled body and feeling her kicking dying down a bit.

Kroc remembered how the host had pet the feline when she appeared, so he got down got a hold of Sabre's head and began to pet her albeit roughly. "Hey Sheela, you won't go, right?"

Sabre was already purring at the same time that she was deciding if she should bite his hand or keep on biting the boa instead.

"Sheela." Kroc said with a slight growl to get her attention.

"Alright," she said rather easily, surprising Dumisa.

"Will you now? But you seemed so intent on leaving before." Dumisa teased, tossing the boa to the floor and watching her roll around with it. Sabre soon lost interest before hugging the boa and looking up at him before glancing at Jackie's still leg.

"The host stopped moving," Sabre briefly commented with a shrug, continuing to play with the boa before Dumisa unraveled himself and found the unconscious host. Sabre lightly laughed as Dumisa began to shake the languid host while Kroc simply let out a heavy, tired sigh and rubbed his eyes. The boa flipped around on the ground as Sabre rolled around with it, peeking past the feathers to watch the two males try to wake Jackie. Perhaps staying won't be so terrible.

* * *

Sabre's bright yellow eyes cracked open, glancing around the room and finding everyone passed out in the living room entangled in Dumisa's long body. She sluggishly sat up, rubbing her eyes as she pushed Dumisa's serpent body off of her and wormed out of his grasp. Thank goodness she didn't suffer Jackie's fate. She looked over at Jackie, seeing her being spooned by Dumisa who was taking advantage of all of her heat. The clouded leopard's tail twitched back and forth as she looked around for Kit. Her ears flickered before she turned, seeing him cuddling up against Kroc's stomach while being wrapped up in her blanket like a little adorable burrito.

She briefly remembered how that had happened. After the host was knocked out they all drank to their heart's content without the nagging of the host before they all passed out asleep in the living room. After a long yawn and another look at the pup, she tried to resume her cuddling but she found herself restless and hot and felt the need to go back to the room she had taken over, which had a scent that reminded her of Aleksey, her lost 'mate'.

 _Note to self: never try to outdrink an Australian Crocodile._

* * *

The door to Jackie's apartment jiggled before it swung open with Jaska slumping inside, hunched over and exhausted. His missions came one after another, hunting down _those_ Extraspecies and scientists who had been known to perform illegal experiments on Extraspecies as much as fighting and killing some of those maddened experiments. Three times he almost went feral and each time it almost costed Griffin his life. At least Cyan was there to neutralize the situation.

The days just kept getting longer and when he learned his idiot host let some baffoon into her home with a video camera Ms. Smith assigned him permanently-more or less-to this residence.

His bright orange eyes scanned the apartment after entering with the key Smith had given him. He locked the door behind himself as he headed over straight to his room, just wanting to get in bed and rest before glancing over the kitchen table and seeing empty alcoholic beverages. He walked over, curious and eager for a quick drink himself before swishing around the cheap alcohol and finding it rather unappealing. With hardly a glance into the living room where everyone laid in a heap he headed for his room, just wanting a good night's rest.

He opened the door to his room, planning on sleeping for a nice, long time in his warm and cozy den before he paused, picking up the strange scent even stronger than before. It smelled like … another bastet? Jaska straightened out his stance, perking his ears up and listening to soft breathing coming from his den. Ms. Smith told him about Kroc, a saltwater Crocodile Extraspecies but not anyone else. So then who was the young woman sleeping in his bed?

He walked up slowly to the side of his bed inside the den, surprised to see a naked female bastet resting in his bed and hugging one of his old shirts close to her nose. He blinked, baffled at her presence before letting out an annoyed grunt.

"Get out of bed, girl." He said, shaking her shoulder but she did not stir in the least. She was completely out. Jaska let out a faint growl, shoving her aside and sliding into bed with her. He was too tired to care; he'd deal with her in the morning.

Sabre's eyes cracked open to the fresh familiar scent snuggling in beside her. She turned around, surprising him as she buried her face into his long fur and let out a needy groan.

"Aleksey … ," she murmured with a whine, running her hands down his sides as she rolled on him and lightly bit through his thick fur and to his skin as she nuzzled him. His eyes widened, startled and unnerved that she called his little brother's name. Why did she just call for Aleksey?

"Who are you?" He asked, sliding his fingers around and gripping the back of her head as pressed against his familiar warmth. His eyes narrowed before he rolled over on top, leaning in and taking a deep whiff around her neck. Her spine curled with a soft 'nyaa~' as he pushed pinned her stomach against the sheets and took another few whiffs. The scent of her heat made his head spin as he tried to pick up any traces of his younger brother's scent but did not find any. It's been awhile since she's seen him, then. She's probably one of the few people could perhaps give any clue as the whereabout of his dissapeared little brother

"Aleksey … I've missed you," she whined almost crying of happiness, too sleepy and in too deep heat to be truly awake, twisting her head up and licking his wrist before her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling herself up towards him as her tail flickered around. She was getting deep in heat. "I miss you. I… I love you. Loved you even before the experiment. " She purred and rubbed herself on him.

 _What experiment?_ Due to his own experience, the mere word 'experiment' gave him a bad chill. He needed to find out more, but the intensity of her moaning and heat surges made him thrum in response, feeling his instincts begin to become wired himself. He held himself off, however, wanting to hear more about what she was talking about.

" … da, I Aleksey." He said, curious about what she would say or do. This touching wasn't only because of the heat cycle. It seems that she is reacting to his scent, similar to his brother's, and was getting excited. "Keep talk, detka. I want to hear more." Jaska said, kissing the inside of her wrist before nuzzling against the side of her face. What does she know about his younger brother? Could she know where Aleksei was?

"I miss you. This is a nice dream. Remember when they dropped us in the snowy mountain? And you found that cave? That was my first heat … ," she whispered before laying back down and closing her eyes to go back to sleep. Jaska stared at her before kissing her cheek and noticing her warmer than usual forehead, laying over her and trying to keep her awake as she began drifting off back to sleep.

"Awake, detka. Tell me more," he almost pleaded, purring as he nuzzled her neck. He was excited already and engulfed her in a big hug, nuzzling against her neck and deeply smelling her scent in. He had never gotten with another bastet for some time due to the technical changes made in him by stupid humans, changes that would lead any average bastet to reject him.

"I need you" She raised her rear and swinged her tail side to side while her front remained down against the bed "Stay with me, you promised you would", She rubbed herself on him again.

" … da, I stay," he murmured, holding her hips before pulling her into a deep kiss. He argued to himself that if he didn't help her get over her heat now, things would get bothersome later on. So he'd be doing her a favor. But no matter how he tried to angle his thoughts, his true intentions came through. He needed a good stress reliever and here was a good distraction for him. Two birds, one stone.

* * *

Sorry for the wait but here it is! Enjoy! _**10 REVIEWS**_ to find out how the kitties get along ;3


	7. Chapter 7

Jackie tossed some stir fried vegetables to put into Dumisa's scrambled eggs, knowing he liked to have a snack every now and then on his off feeding days. A pair of hot arms wrapped around her as Dumisa set his chin on her shoulder, deeply inhaling the smell of his breakfast.

"Smells good, host. I've never tried breaking the yoke in the egg before since normally we lamia eat them raw." He said, sleepily brushing his nose and mouth behind her ear while sleepily beginning to weigh her down towards the ground.

"T-Too heavy, too heavy!" Jackie said, staggering back before setting the pan down and collapsing into a jumbled heap with the big snake resting against her for some extra morning warmth, "Dumisa, come on! I'm still sore as hell from last night's attempted suffocation!" Jackie hissed.

"Human bodies are so convenient … they are always runnings at at least 98 degrees all the time," he murmured, humming and rolling over the ground a bit to cuddle closer. His face slipped down lower and lower, alarming her before he found the pillow soft warmth he was searching for and bunkered down for a little bit.

"Dumisa, come on. You're hot meal will be ready in a little bit," Jackie snapped, deciding to take drastic measures. She reached up, cupping his jaws and surprising him before she began gently rubbing and brushing her thumbs over his ears. He let out a pleased hum, allowing his grip to loosen as she slipped free and stood up with a victorious grin as she looked over the mushy snake. When pet right Dumisa can be surprisingly submissive. "Dumisa, go lay down on the couch for a bit and sleep a little more. I'll bring your food when it's done." She said as he sleepily rolled over, groggily blinking before surprisingly doing as he was told. She smiled at her little win before getting back to cooking, listening to a loud, feline yawn mixed with a slight roar before Jaska walked into the kitchen, scratching his belly and opening the fridge without looking at her.

"Morning Jaska- phew! Your fur is pretty messed up. When did you get back last night?" Jackie asked, cracking the eggs and adding it to the vegetables before stirring it around. She stared at his fur a little more carefully, seeing pretty recent scratches hidden under the masses of his fur.

"Late." He grumbled, taking out his personal carton of milk and drinking straight from the container. To his displeasure, it had that other cat's scent on the lip of the carton.

"Jaska, just use a cup." Jackie said with a light laugh, handing him a big plastic cup to put his milk in.

Jaska left the carton back in the fridge with a scowl, "don't want anymore."

"Well then at least close it and save it for later," Jackie admonished, reaching over and pinching the carton shut before he shut the door.

"Host, why there clouded leopard here?" He asked before jutting his thumb towards the counter at the fox kit who was sitting there, swinging his feet over the counter and happily enjoying his breakfast out of a brightly colored sippy cup, "and what about fox kit?"

"Ms. Smith didn't tell you?" Jackie asked, "well, I guess it's a little weird how it happened but they're both living here for the time being until Ms. Smith organizes some kind of agreement with her. So I guess she's an illegal for now?" Jackie said, feeling rather uneasy with that explanation. "Why?"

"She was in bed when I came home. Scratched up clothes and ruined den." He growled as Jackie's face paled. Were those scratches all from Sabre? Whoa boy, that's not good.

" … w-we'll order you some new ones. That place we went to before should still have your measurements." Jackie reassured, trying to calm the angry Siberian tiger. "Anyway, your breakfast is in the fridge if you want it. Cold raw meat seasoned with basil and rosemary." Jackie said as he snorted in annoyance before taking the cold plate to eat it at the counter. Phew~ crisis averted for now. She'd have to go clean his room soon. "Hey, have you seen Kroc?" Jackie asked, half expecting him to come around the corner next.

"The bloke's still sleeping. I hear snoring for miles," Jaska huffed in annoyance. "Fox has her scent too. Why?"

"W-Well, she's the kit's mother." Jackie explained.

Jaska looked surprised for a second, "Mother? Feh, as if she is fit to mother anything," he sourly growled, "even other species."

"R-Right … why don't you try going back to sleep?" Jackie suggested, noticing Jaska's grouchiness was a little more rough than she had previously seen. Granted he wasn't at the house long enough for her to get to know him but this was still a side of him she hadn't really seen before. Normally he's more collected than this.

"Not with her scent still all over it." He growled, taking a generous bite out of his breakfast as Jackie walked over to Dumisa and set his plate down in front of him.

"Here, Jaska, come over here and I'll brush you." Jackie said, watching his ear twitch in response but he didn't move or say anything.

Kit's whining caught her attention as she looked back over to the Kit sitting on the edge of the counter, holding out his empty sippy cup towards her with a frown. She walked over, refilling his sippy cup with the drink. This morning when she woke up in the heap with Kroc and Dumisa, she found this little bugger stretched out and sleeping on her face, explaining why she was having trouble breathing when she woke up. She was going to have to tell Sabre to keep a closer eye on him later. Jackie looked back over to Jaska, staring at his scratches and knowing where they definitely came from. As the host she was going to have to figure out a way to fix this mess.

Kit eagerly began drinking, happy and content as Jackie picked him up and set him on the ground. With the handle in his mouth he was about to hop off elsewhere when he noticed the big flickering tail of the tiger.

Crouching like a stalking cat, Kit spit out his sippy cup, instead taking to stalking Jaska's tail before with a sudden jump he got a bit of it in his mouth.

Jaska let out a faint growl and glared over his shoulder, watching the kit chase his tail around before tackling it again and biting the bright white tip of it. He then turned around to grab the pup and give him to the host when a roar caught everyone's attention immediately. A second later the clouded leopard lunged towards him from the hallway, aiming for his throat. He hissed and moved aside, then unleashed a roar of his own before lunging forward to immobilize her.

"HOLY CRAP-!" Jackie shouted, diving out of the way as they tumbled onto the ground.

Sabre pushed Kit aside and tried flipping back to avoid the tigers attack, so instead of him trampling her they rolled towards the living room among scratches and hisses, destroying a couple chairs and waking Dumisa while Kit began to cry.

Jackie frantically tried to think of what to do before her mind turned towards the medkit in the kitchen. She raced around the counter and pulled out the medkit, finding a large bomb of catnip meant for an emergency situation involving cats that Ms. Smith insisted on including. Hopefully this worked on big cats too like Ms. Smith promised it would. She hurried back into the living room, finding Dumisa gone as they two felines clawed and tried to bite one another among hisses and yowls.

"KNOCK IT OFF- ah?" She said as the bag was taken out of her hands. She looked up, pale faced as she saw a very pissed off and groggy black mamba over her before Dumisa ripped the bag apart and, dumped it onto her head.

"Take your d*** fight elsewhere you stupid mammals!" Dumisa hissed, before slapping his tail against the host's back and throwing her to the wild cats, "do your job, host!" He complained before slithering off to his room and abandoning Jackie to her fate. Jackie shot up, startled before seeing both of the felines staring at her before their pupils grew very large, every ounce of desire tearing up their burning eyes as their fight stopped and their nostrils flared at the catnip's scent.

"No, no no NO NO NO STAY BACK!" Jackie shrieked as she tried to flee into the kitchen but Jaska caught her foot, tripping her as Sabre pounced onto her back and slammed her against the carpet floor. "WAAAAAHHHHH NOOOOOOO!" She screamed as Jaska dragged her back into the middle of the living room.

Jackie was immediately buried under a bunch of fur while both cats rubbed against her repeatedly, not letting her stand up before she ended up being sandwiched and suffocated by the both of them.

What the hell was in that stuff that made it so powerful?!

"G-Guys, guys you're crushing me!" Jackie shouted, managing to get her upper torso free as they purred and rubbed against her, nipping at times of heightened excitement. Her teeth clicked together as she grabbed their tails and pulled, hoping it would deter them from smothering her to death.

Sabre yowled loudly and jumped on top of Jackie, raising her rear up and rubbing her face over Jackie's chest while Jaska let out a calling roar of some other kind and pushed Sabre aside to do the same with Jackie. Sabre bumped back into him and they shared space over Jackie, both of them rubbing themselves against Jackie. Both, however, paid special attention against her pillowy chest where most of the catnip had found gotten trapped.

"Nooooooooo-IT GOT WORSE!" Jackie cried as she let their tails go, instead moving to twist their ears. Furry hands slid up her shirt and down her pants, Sabre grabbing her breasts and Jaska clutching her hips as they both madly purred and lightly bit her in their overall pleasure. "No, stop! STAHP!" She desperately cried, wondering how long this could possibly last before Jaska hissed and lifted Jackie right up off the ground, rolling over and on top while biting her shirt and dragging his claws across the carpet. Jackie's eyes bugged out as she saw the deep gouge marks dug into the wood underneath as Sabre grabbed her leg and bit her, demanding to be given more attention. She bumped into Jaska again but since he was bigger and heavier, he easily nudged her back. Sabre used her also sharp and hard claws on the floor to not be moved out of place.

"Stop! The damages!" Jackie cried as they continued to barrage her with kitty love. Being this close and personal to the felines she could see the details in their fur, spotting scars and more fresh scratches on Jaska than she noticed before along with bite marks on the back of Sabre's neck. What the hell kind of fight did those two get into earlier?

Thankfully for Jackie, the cuddling of the drugged cats didn't last long. Hardly 15 minutes later the effects of the catnip began wearing off.

The purrs morphed into fearsome growls as Jackie gasped, realizing she was in the dead center of the oncoming fight. Thinking fast she grabbed the two brushes in the nearby drawer and prepared herself. It's on, kitty cats! Jackie sat back and pushed both their heads down towards the ground before frantically brushing their fur in a maddened haste. Both of the felines continued to madly hiss at one another as Jackie sat between them, forcing them to pay attention to her and only her as she brushed out their fur and rubbed their weak spots.

"G-Good kitties, good kitties ni~ce kitties." Jackie stiffly said before she abandoned the brushes, getting down to her bare fingers as she combed through through their thick fur around their jaws and necks. After some resistance they succumbed, rolling around a little bit in their pleasure as the felines scratched their backs against the carpet. Jackie was worried of what would happen once she got tired from this intense petting and they tried to kill each other again but just then, Kit moved to the entrance of the living room, keeping a safe and smart distance but where Sabre could see him and began 'mewing' to get his mama's attention.

Like nothing happened and ignoring the petting, Sabre stretched and then got up to go and grab Kit, who happily raised his arms to be lifted up before they disappeared into the corridor.

Once a couple minutes passed Jackie dared to let out a breath of relief before pausing. Wait, where were Sabre and Kit staying now that Jaska was back? Her thoughts were cut short when Jaska's purrs distracted her. What, he's sleeping now? With a brush of her fingers over his cheek he purred more deeply, relaxing against the ground before soundly breathing. Well that was oddly fast. She tried to leave but he grabbed her ankle again with the intention of dragging her back to pet him more.

"Not done." He pouted, making her hop back towards him as he nuzzled against her leg.

"Jaska, honestly!" Jackie shouted, kicking his side fruitlessly, "go to freaking sleep in your room or something!" She ordered.

"Not while it has other cat scent." He gruffly snarled back, startling her before she firmly put her foot down.

"UGH! Whatever! I'm busy right now so I'll clean your room later," Jackie shouted at him before stomping off in annoyance, leaving him to sulk in the living room for a bit.

* * *

Late that night Kroc was walking around the block to get familiar with his new territory. He took a deep breath, smelling blood, sweat and the strong stench of Extraspecies not too far off from where he was at. There … Ale might just be there. Kroc started down the sidewalk, acutely honing his senses and barring his jaws in anticipation for Ale's throat. After all these years and he was about to get some sweet revenge against him. Although not normally one to hold grudges, this crocodile held a special place in Kroc's of the which the wanted to rip out of his chest and murder it in the most painful of ways.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of people running. He hardly paid attention to it but as soon as he rounded the corner a surprised Sabre slammed against him and fell back. Kroc's arm shot out, catching her and holding her up as he looked over her in confusion.

"What you doing, Sheela?" Kroc asked, tilting his head in puzzlement as he heard shouting.

"Come back here, kitty cat!" Someone yelled very close by.

"We'll find you a good owner after we play with you!" Another yell joined.

Some moments after, a few thugs came into view rounding the corner where Sabre had come from.

Without much warning Kroc picked her up, setting her aside before cracking his knuckles and walking over to the group who lunged at him. With one twist his tail plowed them all over, throwing them into the street before they hastily retreated and left their buddy to Kroc's mercy. Pathetic. Wouldn't last a single day out where he came from. Kroc rolled his shoulders a bit, stretching before looking back at Sabre.

"What are you doing here so late?" Kroc asked, curious as the main man lay groaning in a painful heap inside an alley.

"Just went away for a walk." She cutely answered with a cheerful shrug and a nervous twitch of her tail.

"You alright, Sheila?" Kroc asked, leaning forward and sniffing her, noticing some scratches and a couple bite marks.

"Yeah, they just wanted to capture a 'sexy kitty' to play with and then sell as a pet or something. Who knows," she hissed with her fur on edge for a second. Sabre blinked and her furry ears flickered. She didn't expect the aggressive Krocodile to intervene in any way. He inadvertently had saved the scum before she took them to the trap where she would get done with them, but he had done so to save her. That was nice and gallant. "Anyways, thanks for helping here. It would have taken me longer to get rid of them one by one," Sabre jumped to give him a hug and lightly licked his cheek in a kitty kiss, "thanks, nya."

"Yeah, yeah," he was stone faced yet a blush could be seen. "Go home, Sheela." He said, gently taping her in the direction of the host's home before continuing down the street. He didn't want to be bothered while on the hunt. However, he did not so much as twitch as paws scampered after him, knowing that she wasn't going to leave so easily. A kitty was always curious, afterall.

"I'm not in the mood to be there near that d*** tiger." She looked aside and huffed. Her long tail moved slowly from side to side and she looked quite cute with those big honey yellow, slitted eyes. "Now I need to thank you," she took her claw to her chin in thought, "you like wrestling, don't you? Wanna come see a match I promise will be fun?"

Kroc stopped walking, twitching his tail in thought before looking back at her, "what sort of match?" He asked, "will there be other Extraspecies there?" He asked, tilting his head. Illegal Extraspecies fighting? Sounded a lot like something Ale would do.

"I know a place where you will be able to truly fight, if you want," she smiled, "but you must promise not to tell anyone," she winked and set her index finger in front of her lips, "so~? Wanna come?"

Not too long after they reached the place that stunk of Extraspecies of all kinds. It was an old dock connected to some factory that by day operated mechanical parts but by night it was an illegal fight ring. Sabre grinned, feeling right at home as she held his arm and pulled him inside.

Kroc could barely contain his excitement as he saw all sorts of heavy hitter extraspecies and especially fast ones too. There were some humans too; albeit the humans had weapons from heavy hammers to knives or even swords. This looked like a barrel of fun. Down here was where all the illegal fighting went on and it would be nice to make a good buck while hunting his true prey. Kroc sniffed the air, feeling a little nostalgic from the heavy scent of blood, both old and fresh.

Sabre met with the manager and just pointed to Kroc before he smugly grinned. Sabre waved her hand off, "it's not like that. It's the second option."

"Oh so he's a friend, hellcat," the manager nodded with appreciation at the new contender. Kroc was too busy looking around at the other fighters to care what they were talking about. He was too excited about seeing all the strong competitors to give them much attention.

"Yes. He'll put on a good show," she raised her finger and grinned. Sabre too wanted to see what the Crocodile was capable of. There was a good chance he was a spy for someone sent for her so she wanted to test his skills in the ring. So far she didn't have proof that he was really interested in the contract with Jackie nor had he messed with her beyond what happened on day 1, but she needed to be carefull. Things were already too messed up as they were for her.

"You know him, Sheela?" Kroc asked, sounding a little surprised.

"Sure. Him and many other interesting people." She winked but didn't give any details out, a fact that made Kroc a bit suspicious but he let it slide off his shoulders. As long as he could find Ale he'd be happy.

"Alright, it's arranged. You got a fight in the newbies arena and if you pass there, then you can get to better rivals and make more money. That's the deal down here in these parts." The manager said with a wry grin.

"How do you know this place, Sheela?" Kroc asked, scanning the area and longing to get into a cage with the more experienced fighters. He wasn't happy about being thrown with the rookies but he'd climb over them fast enough.

"I know many things. If you play nice I can show you more," she teased with a smirk, "and we'll also make some great money down here. Extraspecies fighting is quite the show, even if slightly illegal but there are few other ways for most Extraspecies to make money, a major flaw in the program here in the USA. So just showing ourselves gets us a share. If we win we get a good portion too."

"You're not fighting kitty," he clearly stated. He knew this was more than slightly illegal. It was completely barbaric illegal. He'd bet there weren't any rules warning of the consequences if someone died and he'd rather be the one fighting than Sabre.

"Of course I'm not," she pointed then to the manager and some of the bookies, people who ran the bets for other people, "but I'm representing you. Now go the arena and I'll be cheering for you."

Kroc stepped into the arena, looking around at the rather lean looking fresh meat all around him with the exception of a large, familiar rhino. Kroc took one look at him, meeting his gaze and seeing the poor excuse for a bronze horn hammered onto his head before Kroc started to madly laugh in a loud, obnoxious tone.

"Ya replaced your horn with an oil can!" He laughed as the rhino's face paled, looking back over to Luigi as he pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing this was going to get ugly.

From behind Kroc in the coach's area, Sabre looked at the large behemoth, "you know that rhyno?"

"I'm the one who ripped off his horn, mate." Kroc darkly laughed, jumping in place a bit and shuffling his feet as he stared down the only opponent in the newbie ring that would give him the slightest bit of trouble. He wanted to actually try to KO the rhino this time around. As stupid and dull as they were it was difficult to actually take one down by means of a KO considering their brains were such hard targets covered underneath such thick skulls.

"You did?" She asked and laughed a bit too, "then either this will get interesting or will end very quickly."

"You, you're another one of Jackie Penske's Extraspecies?" Luigi asked as he walked up to Sabre with an interested grin, "I was under the impression she only had male Extraspecies. I didn't know she'd have a darling such as yourself hidden up in that stuffy apartment." He said as he took her hand and kissed her velvety fur as a greeting.

"Who says she has me? I have myself or perhaps I can have myself to be had? You're looking to be a host?" Sabre knew who this guy was. And although she wanted to keep away from people like him, she perhaps would need to make use of him and his brother's group; after all, there was a real reason she was scouting when she left earlier this day.

"I already am, señorina. The Rhino there, Faru, is my Extraspecies." He said with a rather proud grin as he looked over the rhino getting pumped and crushing his fists together, glaring and pacing while staring at Kroc, "and as dull as he is," he trailed off, sliding his venomous gaze back to her with a grin, "he never makes the same mistake twice." He warned.

"I'll have to see that, still I'm putting my bet on my crocodile friend. Entertain me, Kroc!" Sabre shouted into the ring.

"I'll give a good show, sheela." He said with a wicked grin as the rhino angrily stomped his foot against the ground and shorted angrily through his large nostrils, glaring at Kroc with seething rage. The other combatants immediately noticed the bloodlust, a good number retreating over the barrier and deciding to come back another night while few were brave enough to stay.

"And so we shall," Luigi said with a slight tip of his hat before turning to the ring as the pot bellied announcer walked into the ring and into the center without the slightest bit of fear in his face.

"There are no rules here in his brawl except for one; no intentionally killing the opponent. Extraspecies dying makes it hard to operate without the heat barking at our doors. The moment the bell rings you may commence, no sooner or else those gentleman up there will make sure you take a nice long nap," he said, gesturing their gazes up to the rafters and seeing redneck snipers with dart guns poised and at their ready. Without another word the man walked out of the ring and as soon as he was clear the bell rang.

With a roar Faru charged right down the center of the ring as the other Extraspecies ducked for cover, almost half of them immediately leaping out of the ring to live to fight another day. Kroc let out an eager hiss and lunged for him as the lumbering giant put his head down to spear him through before Kroc leapt up into the hair, jumping off his shoulders and landing with startling fluidity. This match was going to be exciting and fun. Faru staggered to a stop, glaring at Kroc with flames in his eyes as Kroc offered a wry, toothy grin in response. More of the Extraspecies lost their nerves, fighting off to the side and allowing the two brutes of the mix hash it out in the center without interference on their parts.

Faru didn't wait and ran straight to try and ram Kroc. He grinned and ran right for him, their clash making a thunderous crash that even gained the attention of the audience watching the real fight of the night. During the brutal exchanges of the adrenaline pumped Extraspecies the audience began to gather around the beginner's pit, excited by the brutal display of inhuman strength and started cheering them both on.

The main event lost so much of the audience that even the fighters in the ring stopped their fight to watch the up and coming rookies bash it out with one another. Although pissed their fight was interrupted they had to admit the display of brutal strength was definitely entertaining.

The fight went on for some minutes until with a powerful blow of Kroc's tail, Faru went flying against the railing and broke right through it into the fleeing crowd, laying on the ground beaten. Kroc looked over the edge, making sure the Extraspecies was down for the count before looking around the ring at the other fighters who dared not draw near. With an overwhelming roar the small crowd cheered for him, making Kroc a little uncomfortable as he kept to himself and simply looked around for Sabre.

Sabre stood in his view and then she jumped to the rail to get near, and fluidly jump onto his back to give him a hug, "that was awesome! Total, dominating win. Flawless victory."

"Glad you enjoyed the show, sheela." He said with a toothy grin and slight laugh, having only superficial wounds and probably deep bruises under his thick scales. "Think I got attention of the important ones?" Kroc asked, looking around to try and see them.

"Oh I think you got their attention alright." She said with an eager grin."You can fight more now or other day and out of the 'newbies' arena. I think they'd like you to be in the main fights. More money and more chances."

The cheering continued as the announcer walked up next to them, pushing Kroc's arm up as he was pronounced the next top rookie of the fights. The two Extraspecies who were in the main fights, a gorilla and a minotaur, walked up to him as the crowd retreated and fell quiet again, feeling the tension in the air.

"Hey, rookie. You took away the show from us," the gorilla said with a gruff laugh as the minotaur's eyes narrowed.

"Wasn't my intention mate, but that just means you weren't entertaining enough." Kroc said with a wry smirk, not really trying to pick a fight but not backing down at all either.

Sabre moved to Kroc's side and took to speaking for him, "don't worry, Prime, you'll be able to face him off yourself soon enough. Same for you, Barge." She said, looking to the minotaur.

"Hmph, letting your woman do the talking for you?" The minotaur, Barge, growled in annoyance, "he's got a mouth, he can speak."

"Not much of one by the looks of it," Prime, the gorilla, said with a curious grin, "must've been a bad fight you lost."

"Better than the likes you could ever take," Kroc said with an excited low, throaty hiss as Prime grinned, smacking his fist against his chest that made a harsh clap before he roared, silencing the crowd.

"You wanna try that? You may have gained attention but you're still just a rookie for now," Prime took a step forward, grinning in anticipation.

"No need to get involved, Prime. I can take him down, easy," Barge claimed, clearly eager to pick up a fight.

"I fought all my life, mates, but this is the first time professionally. You wouldn't survive the places I've been with whatever skills you have," Kroc egged on with an eager smirk and glared excitedly at the Minotaur.

"I think I'll enjoy the fight when you get to the real profesional ring," Prime crossed his arms, taking a more calm approach to the stuck up rookie.

"I won't bother waiting, I can take you down now," Barge sneered, "you and the little 'hell cat' here."

"Touch the cat, mate, and I'll rip your bloody horns off," Kroc threatened with a dangerous hiss as the crowd began to cheer them on.

Sabre smiled and pushed her hand against his chest, stepping between the crocodile and the other two Extraspecies. She looked up at the two professional fighters, flickering her tail back and forth in excitement, "you don't impress us scowling like that," she said with a raised eyebrow towards the minotaur, "and just so you know, in your fight earlier I bet on Prime," Sabre smirked showing her long and sharp fangs, "cattle is cattle."

"Hmph. A feline huh? Must be a great f***er in bed and blind to your good for nothing hide." Barge sneered before turning his glare to Sabre, "you only reached the mid ranks before you quit advancing to the professional fights, kitty. Don't think your new pair of boots can defeat me."

"I suggest you take that back, mate." Kroc said in a hard voice, stepping between the minotaur and pushing Sabre out of the way before she could retort. The large Extraspecies faced off, Kroc being just a little bit shorter than the minotaur who probably stood at ten feet tall.

"And if I don't? You're going to make me?" Barge hit his first on his palm all ready to attack.

"He probably can. But you will wait for finding out, cow" Sabre calmly said.

"Barge, control yourself. He's just a rookie for now," Prime said with an air of proud order before looking back at Kroc, "we got rules around here. You have to fight your way up if you want to face us."

"Who would be first?" Kroc asked, still glaring right at Minotaur who held a smirking grin.

"That would be the other levels. From newbie to rookie, rookie to starter, and so on. Your manager can schedule the fight with Phil but he's not here. His brother is here though," he said, jutting his chin towards a rather lean looking older man with tattoos on his arms.

"Then I'll speak with Edmond for scheduling his next fight as soon as possible. Phil should be around here next weekend and so will we." Sabre, the now self appointed official manager for Kroc, said with a greedy and eager grin for money. "We'll get to the top arena soon enough Prime."

"I look forward to that fight, hellcat," Prime said with a chuckling smirk nodded and turned around to return to the main arena as Minotaur's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Actually I'll go schedule that fight now with Edmond," Sabre gave a pat to Kroc's shoulder and turned went to speak Edmond, the same man who she had spoken to let Kroc fight in the first place. Kroc grinned, excited about this new place and the new talents here as he looked around, eyeing up some of the other Extraspecies and ignoring the minotaur.

"Hmph. What, the little lizard can't do it himself?" Barge huffed. "Why doesn't he have his mommy speak for him then?" He shouted with a loud laugh as Kroc's expression turned cold, all pleasure from the previous fight gone. With a slow turn of his head he looked back at the oversized cow with a stare so cold and empty it made the minotaur pause for a moment.

"Say what you want about myself but never my mother," Kroc warned with deadly eyes, his pupils turning to slits in his anger.

"What, was your mother turned into a purse? Go cry to someone who cares." He said with a snorting laugh as Kroc's pupils shrunk to tiny slits.

Screams made Sabre's fur ruffle as she whipped around, seeing Kroc recovering from a harsh tail slam against the Minotaur while Barge rolled over the ground. With a swift move he got on all fours, letting out a ghostly bellow of anger before both of them charged at one another. Barge got down low and flipped Kroc right over his shoulders as Kroc's claws dragged down his back, making him shout with agony. The moment Kroc landed, Barge's back hoof flew back and kicked Kroc with such strength that he flew back and with a heavy, audible thud of his skull hitting the hard resistance of concrete he slid to the ground, hissing fiercely.

"Kroc!" Sabre yowled and ran towards him, ready to jump towards the ceiling beams and then jump down on the cow to break down his spine with a precise attack.

"Wait you two! I don't approve that fight without fee entrances!" The manager shouted and ran towards the fight while telling the bet runners to start the betting.

Kroc ducked just as Barge's fist buried into the wall. Kroc uppercut the overgrown cow against his chin before grabbing the big bloke around the waist and charging forward, tackling him against the metal pole of the arena. Barge let out a roar and brought down his fists over Kroc's spine, forcing Kroc to his knees before the reptile bit the minotaur's meaty leg.

Sabre was already up on the beans and about get right over the fight. She prepared to jump when onto a nearby beam when the spot was taken by a lean looking Extraspecies with a masked face and bright blue eyes. The masked one pointed to the beam and back to her before leaping off, startling her as he landed with a foot on both Kroc's head and Barge's head. With a swift landing in the middle he struck with frightening precision against the joints and pressure points of Kroc's and Barge's bodies at the same time, making both heavy hitting beasts stagger back, clutching their stomachs before they fell to the ground.

"Kroc!" Sabre cried out before leaping down next to him, holding his shoulder before looking over him and expecting to see a stab wound of some kind but found no injuries. "Right over the pressure points through such thick skin!?" She looked at the scrawny attacker with narrowed eyes while her tail lashed from side to side. Something like that was near impossible. Kroc groaned, curling into a tight ball while in incredible pain as Sabre pushed against his stomach and tried to loosen up the muscles before stopping.

The silence in the halls made everyone shudder as Sabre looked around, sensing the sudden change of tension in the room. She knew that hitting that precise spot with the right amount of force was difficult and required very specialized training. Not something extraspecies learned normally; whoever this masked Extraspecies was he was not a common fighter and she couldn't recall seeing him here before.

"Cyan, why take fun out of everything!? BOO!" A loud, Russian thick accented voice shouted with a burly laugh as an even larger Extraspecies griffin, easily just as big if not bigger than the Minotaur, stepped out into the arena and looked around, seeing Barge laying on the ground. With narrowed eyes he walked over, grabbing him by the mane and forcing him to his feet. "How many time Cyan have to take down, Minotaur?" The thickly muscled Extraspecies sneered before tossing him aside. The thin Extraspecies, Cyan, held up a small notepad up to the large man as he glanced over, and read it. "No, you may not." He said as Cyan's shoulders slouched with ears lowering in expressed sadness. Sabre looked the masked Extraspecies over, trying to understand what he was. He looked like a cow or maybe even another minotaur but he was much too small to be either of them. Maybe some kind of satyr?

Kroc let out a hissing groan, unable to stand up because of the pain and catching the large man's attention. "You, who you?" The Griffin demanded, walking over to him with a sneer, "you cause trouble here in my fight arena?"

"He wasn't causing trouble Griffin, he was ending the trouble," Sabre said while pointing to the minotaur. Cyan stepped up, holding up a notebook with surprisingly excellent handwriting.

'Barge egged on the new rookie' Cyan's note read as the Extraspecies griffin sighed in annoyance at the sudden lack of a good fight.

"And who are you?" Sabre asked towards the masked one as he perked up a bit, seeming surprised she was speaking to him.

'His name is Griffin.' Cyan wrote on a small notepad before showing her.

"I know who Griffin is, I meant you, the masked … err … Satyr?." Sabre pointed out at the masked Extraspecies that she hadn't seen around here before.

"Heh. He new here." Griffin said as Cyan's cow tail slightly wagged back and forth as he held up his notepad again, pleased she was talking to him and not to Griffin about him.

"Who is he, exactly, Griffin?" Sabre raised an eyebrow at Griffin, she was familiar enough with him to not be intimidated at all.

"Good friend." Griffin simply answered as Sabre looked over the skinny Extraspecies, stll unable to put a name as to what he was. However, she was deeply interested, since such skills were not usual for Extraspecies in general, less so for satyr or minotaurs, normally heavy hitters.

"Oh? And does he partake in the fights too? Haven't seen him around these parts and I don't have news of someone with his skills from other places." She said, wondering if this Extraspecies only worked around here.

"Heh," Griffin deeply laughed with a smirk, "I fight starter. He fight ender."

'Good evening, miss. I am Cyan. It's a pleasure to meet you." It read as he seemed rather happy to be asked about.

"Yeah, nice meeting you too, Cyan," Sabre politely responded, still unsure as to what species he was or how he could have gotten such skills. For her it had taken a lot of training from 'the company' to ensure she could win fights if needed in order to complete those missions.

"What did you do to me, mate? Feels like my gut is screaming," Kroc groaned as he rolled onto his side, curling into a tight ball and holding himself firm. The pain was so acute and incredibly painful he was shocked he could still speak right.

'My apologies. Seeing as you were the first to attack I took the liberty of pressing the more painful pressure points.' Cyan wrote, holding the notepad in front of Kroc's face for him to read.

"He just pressed a very precise muscle with a very precise amount of force, Kroc," Sabre explained while curiously looking at Cyan, "It'll hurt for a little bit longer but a hot bath should fix it. Sadly I don't have that much strength for releasing those points myself without tools because your skin is too thick."

"Oh ho~ you already tell, Sabre? Good!" Griffin laughed as Cyan walked over to Kroc, unraveling him and making a few more precise jabs before his muscles relaxed. The crocodile Extraspecies let out an aching groan as he laid on his back for a little bit, taking his time to recover for now.

"You know Sabre?" Kroc asked, wondering just how well connected she was in this city as he forced himself up, letting out a few hard coughs as Sabre rubbed his neck to help him relax a bit.

"He good now, Sabre. Now tell, been a while since you were here last." Griffin said, his nostrils catching a not so subtle change in her scent that was signaling her current state soon to be ripe with heat. "Hm~ smell good, Sabre." Griffin purred, side stepping Kroc and leaning in towards Sabre while taking some deep sniffs. "Need anything?" He offered with a purr, setting his hand on her shoulder. The young female was entering her heat cycle and he wouldn't complain if she wanted to relieve some of that with him. Her scent excited him and she was a great cuddler.

"A drink actually," Sabre mentioned, then looking at Cyan and Kroc, she continued, "why don't we all go for one now? The show's over anyways"

"Great! Then let us go to bar downstairs, da?" He said with a cheeky grin.

"Hm~ not sure how much I can stomach at the moment but who turns down a drink?" Kroc said with a light laugh, eager to keep his reputation as the best drinker as he shakily stood up. Cyan set a hand on his shoulder, helping to steady him a bit.

"Then let us drink until sick, da?!" Griffin shouted with a loud laugh.

* * *

After they finished drinking, it was so late that it was early when they arrived home with the remaining money from the fights in their claws. Both of them took the allies back to the host's house following the route that Sabre knew, avoiding running into anyone on the way there. As kroc opened the door, Sabre counted the piles of cash.

"We got good money. Here's your cut." She said while tending him the larger part.

"Don't care about money, sheela. Keep it." Kroc huffed, seeming a little annoyed as he walked at a fair pace.

"I'm not that way. You fought for it, but if you don't care,"why not improve your gym?"

"Gym fine." He gruffly stated, hunching over a little bit as Sabre looked up at him.

"You ok? You drank quite a bit although we didn't drink as much anyways." -She held his shoulder with slight concern.

" … I'm annoyed," he admitted with a heavy sigh. He was very annoyed he learned nothing more about Ale or where he could be but it couldn't be helped. He needed to fight his way closer to the top before finding out where he could be. Knowing he was in the city, living, breathing after what he did infuriated Kroc more than anything.

"I won't ask you why, but maybe you can work out that frustration," she gave couple pats to his shoulder, "exercise can help a bit with that if the alcohol wasn't enough"

"Fine. I go work out now," he stated, walking past her and retreating to his room for the time being.

Sabre smiled with a bit of resignation and went out to look for her kit. She had told him to not leave the host's side and not get close to the stripped menace while she was out looking for a new place to stay since that tiger was a clear danger. Aleksey's brother or not, he was something that was a threat she could barely handle and although she had told Kroc and Dumisa she'd stay, the best would be to simply leave.

* * *

A few hours later it was already morning and Kroc was sitting on his steel reinforced bench, curling 200 pound dumbbells when he heard a faint skittering. He glanced up, watching Kit dash into his room and excitedly run around without any direction in particular but, nonetheless, stalked and jumped onto invisible prey as he tumbled over the ground. Kroc carefully eyed him, taking his weights to the edge of the current pool and turned off the rushing water in case the little tyke fell in. He stood between Kit and the pool, continuing to curl the weights as he watched Kit roll around and chase after his own tail. The little tyke was definitely 'cute' in some sense of the word. Kroc mildly wondered if all Extraspecies children were like this or just the hot blooded ones.

A calling growl was heard from the hallway and Kit answered with some weird chirp that was half a yip and half a yowl. Not too long after, Sabre came into the room.

"So you were here?" Sabre went to pick him but stopped when she noticed Kroc. Her tail flickered back in forth, thinking back to the meat strips he gave her and knowing he had no bad intentions towards them, "Hi, Kroc," she greeted in a friendly tone but remained cautious. After all, he seemed grumpy earlier this morning after such a great fight.

"Morning, Sheela." He said, walking over to his weight rack and putting his weights down. He walked over to a low hanging bar bolted to the ground, grabbing on with both hands before performing a perfect handstand. Sabre watched as he began to do one armed push ups, supporting his entire body weight with his arm alone.

"You are such a gym rat … not to blame you, there's hardly any good chance for exercise here since that 'club' is only open on the weekends." Sabre stretched and relaxed a bit, seeing that Kit was happily pawing at his shadow on the wall. She jumped towards a wall and climbed up to reach the ceiling and then gracefully leapt at another, running around around a bit for some exercise. Sabre still felt some of the effects from the earlier illness but she was feeling much, much better now. All she needed was some decent entertainment and based off the fight from last night, Kroc was the one to give it.

Kit looked over to Kroc, staring at his form moving up and down in a fluid and never breaking motion, finding the new climbing post more interesting than his shadow. With an excited gasp and a smile he hopped over to him, crouching down and trying to time himself right before jumping onto his arm, slowly climbing up his scales as Kroc moved at a suddenly very slow pace, his arm beginning to tremble a bit from the forced focus he put into holding his weight locked in place. It seemed the kit was a lot more adventurous and trusting as long as his 'mama' was around to watch him. Kit hopped onto the back of his neck as he slowly lowered himself down, beginning to do normal pushups so the chances of Kit falling off were less.

Sabre saw this and let out a small warning noise before Kit moved towards Kroc's neck to make space for her. Sabre leaned back before performing a landing on the crocodile's back with Kroc never losing stride in his push ups. She playfully set her jaws on the back his neck with a smirk, "got ya!"

"Only if your teeth can pierce my scales." He said, switching out arms and continuing his push ups.

"That's not the point," she made sure Kit was looking and then gave a playful munch where a bite would kill most creatures but Kroc hardly felt it through his thick skin, "there,roar, kill bite!"

Kroc let out an amused laugh as Kit hopped onto his slightly elongated snout, sliding around his neck and purring in a strange way as he rubbed himself against his hard scales to get an itch he couldn't scratch. Sabre chuckled and then she too rolled on Kroc's back to scratch herself on the convenient scratching post. Without breaking his stride Kroc continued to do pushups, taking advantage of the extra weight on his back.

"Hey Kroc, we never finished our match on first night because Dumisa interrupted." She reminded him, eager to go another round. After seeing what he could do she wanted to fight with him a little bit herself.

"Don't fight women, sheela." Kroc said as Kit hopped onto his forehead and began batting at the metal that acted as his jaw. With the patience of a rock, Kroc remained in motion even when the giggling kit pawed at his eye.

"Why? Not many would care at all except during mating season or something." She said very offhandedly.

"Because I don't." He said, pausing in mid push up as his expression became a little more solemn. He tucked his knee under himself, signaling he was standing up and the scratching post was done for the time being before he gently picked up Kit and stood up.

Sabre had rolled around to let him get up with no probs. She nodded at him, "you have your reasons. So why not a training match for Kit? He needs to see a bit more action and learn as early as possible. Plus it'd be fun and good exercise."

"Kit's too young." He gruffly countered, setting Kit onto the bench before walking over to his cool, wet towel and began moisturizing himself. He, like other crocodile Extraspecies, did not sweat but needed to keep cool by constantly applying water or sunning themselves to warm up, "you're still getting over your fever."

"Not for what we've faced. He has too much energy and I'm feeling better. I need the exercise too " She looked aside with a serious expression, "the more he can at least see the better for him. The world can be rough… ain't it?" She looked at him, "hey… can I ask you about your jaw?"

"What do you want to teach the tyke?" Kroc asked with a long sigh, avoiding the topic entirely.

"As much as he can learn but I thought it would be good if he saw a practice match or something."

"Do what you like, sheela. I won't resist." He said, picking up a water bottle and greedily drinking from it before twitching his head slightly at the shifting of his metal jaw. He reached up, pushing on one of the bolts while shifting his jaw a bit before setting the towel and bottle aside. The metal jaw was a bit loose but he'd fix it after the sheela and tyke left. He didn't want the kit seeing his scars and getting scared. He walked over to the mat, standing and waiting for her.

"That wouldn't be fun ... ," she said and jumped at him. Just as he had said, he didn't fight back and rather let her crawl all over him while Kit laughed and bounced around in place, "I wonder if you are ticklish." She then moved being to try and tickle him on his sides.

"Not really." Kroc said with a shrug, hooking an arm around her waist and lifting her up as she hopped onto his back, sliding right out of his loose hold as he leaned forward, crawling around a little bit like an actual crocodile.

Her next target was at the base of his tail. Kroc rolled and she clung to him before he turned rightside up again, careful as to not squish her with his weight. She let go and somehow passed between his legs to avoid his thick tail but her own fluffy tail incidentally passed between his inner thighs.

A shudder visibly shot up his spine as he shook his shoulders, standing up and swinging his tail around before gently gripping the scruff of her neck and holding her out in front of him. She found his ticklish spot but he wasn't about to let her abuse it. His jaw was loose since he used the wrong bolt but it was holding just fine enough as long as he didn't do anything stupid.

The paralyzing hold on her was too real. Sabre panicked as her pupils shrank to complete slits. She felt endangered and if she was in danger, in her mind, that meant Kit was too. She hissed in a mini panic attack, twisting in his grasp and with a strong kick she smacked him in the metallic jaw.

Kroc let out a scream. An actual, deeply pained scream as he immediately dropped Sabre and clutched his unhinged metal jaw. He staggered back before dropping to his knees, his fingers trembling before he grabbed the bolts on either side of the metal jaw and ripped them right out. The heavy metal made a loud clang as it smacked against the ground, revealing Kroc's horrific wound as he tried to cope with the sudden burst of agony. Sabre managed to cover Kit's eyes, startled as she saw the entire bottom half of Kroc's jaw missing; jaggedly torn from not too long ago. Kroc hunched over, covering his lower jaw so Kit wouldn't see it as water gathered in the crocodile's eyes and spilled over, giving him the appearance of crying but in reality it was an automatic reaction.

He let out a low hiss, sliding his tail back and forth as he sent an unsteady glare Sabre's way before picking up his metal jaw and turning around, walking into his separate bathroom and shutting the door. He set the iron jaw aside and stared at his wound, looking at the open nerves that were stinging just touching the air. He pulled out some pain medicine Smith gave him, popping them in and being cautious as to not let his tongue touch the open nerves. The skin would grow over soon but for now it was still in the process of healing and was incredibly painful.

"Go practice stalking with the host ... the human," Sabre encouraged with a grin as Kit gasped, excited before rushing off to give Jackie a few heart attacks. Thankfully he had been too busy pawing at his shadow again to see what happened at the moment or otherwise he'd be reminded of the experiments he had been forced to see or endure. As soon as the pup was out of hearing range she turned towards the bathroom and unlocked the door where she saw him having difficulties and went to his side, "Sorry, I got into a, er, mini panic attack … let me help."

He said nothing, staring at his reflection and at the wound before opening a small drawer and brushed his hand around through the bolts before pulling out the right sizes. He set them aside, picking up his synthetic jaws and looking in the mirror to make sure they were aligned right.

"Then let me help you screw it good now," she grabbed the screwdriver and while he held the jaw she screwed it back in place, "just tell me how much pressure is needed. This was the result of some fight, right?" Hesitating a bit, she then licked the edges of his skin where it connected to the jaw. He let out a pained hiss but otherside stayed still, keeping his tongue against the roof of his mouth despite the pain of her rough tongue over his open nerves, "don't worry, my saliva is antiseptic."

Kroc didn't answer right away. He waited until she had firmly screwed the bolt in before doing the same to the other side, seeing that there was metal underneath the skin to let the jaw move. She briefly wondering how his muscles were connected but otherwise left it at that. She had seen skulls of crocodiles and had a basic idea of it. Kroc stood up fully, pushing up on his jaw and moving it to test it before glancing at her.

"Yes. I almost died." He said, leaving the bathroom and walking back into his room. He rubbed his head, not really wanting to talk about it but at the same time wanting to. Even Ms. Smith didn't know the details and he hadn't told anyone since the incident that directed him here to the path of having a host.

Sabre sighted and walked past him, "sit on the bed. I'll be back in a few minutes."

True to her world, she came back not too long after with a big bowl of chopped meat and a pair chopsticks, "I know it's your feeding day soon and that you like duckmeat. I only had my own duck but I'm willing to share. Now open up," she said while taking a chunk with the chopsticks and sitting on the bed at his side.

Kroc opened his mouth, letting her toss a few pieces in before he savored the flesh and swallowed it whole. He lightly hummed, his throat vibrating as he enjoyed the seasoned taste of duck which made for an excellent snack. She gave him most of her meat and then set the bowl aside before coming back at his side. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but if you wanna talk about it I'm here."

Kroc stared at Sabre as she hopped onto the bed, gently hugging him from behind as he let out a sigh, "it's no secret. I don't mind." He said with a shrug.

Sabre leaned on him and maintained her hug; she sometimes merely hugged Kit for comfort and it worked. It was a proven technique to calm those that are distressed and Kroc was most definitely distressed.

"It was caused by a fight, yes. A very, very ugly one," he admitted, staring at a chunk of meat in his fingers and twisting it around a bit, "my story is fairly common amongst Extraspecies in general. My father was very strong but cruel. My mother was much more mild in comparison but she was very, very smart and beautiful for a crocodile Extraspecies. He found her to be to his liking and I was the result of that." He said, leaning back a little bit as she rubbed his shoulders and neck, making him very, very faintly hum in content, "she wasn't happy and he didn't let her do anything without his permission. Whenever she looked at another male he would naturally kill him before hurting my mother. She was weak and small for an Extraspecies and couldn't fight back. He often refused to let her eat; the weaker she was the less likely she'd be able to run away. We're supposed to mate and then leave but he found her company … endearing. And so he kept her in the deepest part of his territory. She was treated more like property than a mate should be."

"That's strange coming Extraspecies from non long term mating habits; few want to have a more permanent mate." She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering a certain male in particular.

"Yes. Like any other male he did not care for myself being in his territory. When I was 5 I was chased from the territory. Normal business and all." He said, closing his eyes and frowning, "I grew up in a harsh place, not knowing much because my father taught me nothing. I had to learn all on my own with some help every now and then from other Extraspecies who happened upon me. No complaints, but it was difficult. Most others leave when they are 14 or 15, not 5," he said with a deepening frown, "I planned on returning to get my mother away from him but a month later I learned of her death. He killed her for arguing back with him about letting me go so young. He was so upset that he began hunting me." Kroc said with deadened eyes, staring straight ahead.

Sabre didn't answer but her hug got tighter and she nuzzled her head against him. He hummed and leaned his head back, accepting the hug and absorbing her warmth. It was a nice, soft and fluffy replacement from his heat lamp.

"Luckily I caught wind of what he wanted to do and managed to slip away unnoticed. I had to swim to the other side of Australia to survive but when I was 17 he caught up to me. Long story short I got away and swam to Africa, living there until I was 23. Being much stronger I returned to his territory and challenged him. We fought, I clawed his eye out and he ripped off my jaw." He said, shifting his jaw slightly in remembrance, "that was almost month ago. The coward fled while I bled and, through some merfolk I became friends with, learned he was smuggled to America, specifically to New York. The coward was so scared of me he came here to escape," he miffed, "that's the main reason I joined the program. I want to find him and finish what I wanted to do to him as he did to my mother so long ago." He said with a deep sigh, leaning back a little more on Sabre before picking up another piece of meat and munching on it.

"That's a good reason. You have my help on this. After all, such an epic story deserves a good ending ... or beginning," she coiled her tail around his neck, "and after you're done will you go back to Australia?"

"I prefer beginning. I plan on living after fighting Ale." He said with a cool gaze, reaching up and gently stroking her tail with a finger, "no. Australia was fun and wild but I want something else now," he admitted but kept quiet, unsure how to explain it, "I planned on going back to Australia after killing Ale but now I do not think I want to return."

She moved the tip of her tail so he could play with it, "that is fine too. Living after fighting; someone once told me that living through was what counted. I'm personally not so sure but one should at least try. Who knows, I might end up dead sooner than expected, but until that happens … ," she trailed off, not finishing her sentence.

"You won't." He said, holding up her tail and gently rubbing it against his cheek. Her tail was soft in comparison to his own. There were so few times he was able to pet anything soft other than the prey that he's killed but even then their fur is usually wet.

"I counted possibilities and they are not in my favor." She let him play and rested on him while purring somewhat, liking the mobile scratching post.

"Because you have a kit to look after," he said, "you have a warmth to protect while I'm out for simple revenge. I'm still looking for my own warmth." He admitted, gently grasping her tail.

Her eyes widened for a second, then she pulled him on the bed so he'd lay down, which he did without letting go of her tail. She accommodated herself over him with a faint smile, "I hope you find your warmth, whatever or whomever that is. Kit… I," She looked away and didn't continue before she merely rested on him as he began petting her fluffy self.

"You don't need to label it, Sabre. He knows you're his mother and you know he only has you to depend on. With that in mind you will not allow yourself to die. Neither will I for that matter. Thanks, sheela." He said, tapping his jaws against her cheek in a kissing motion but, unable to purse his lips, it was more like a hard, uncomfortable nuzzle.

"I wonder … ," she mused, rubbing her nose on his.

"Hey Sabre, you here? Your meat strips are fully seasoned and ready to be eaten," Jackie called out from the corridor.

"Go on sheela, and thanks for listening," Kroc said with a toothy half grin.

"Anytime" Sabre smiled and after a playful hit in his shoulder before breaking the hug, then she walked away towards the kitchen.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

Jaska cracked open the door to his room, taking a hesitant sniff before growling. Last night he had to sleep on the couch because he refused to go into his own room. From the annoying smells of the air, it would seem the host forgot to clean it while doing her chores for the day despite him reminding her every hour on the dot. With a snarl he slammed the door shut, walking back to the living room before glaring at the couch. He refused to sleep on that uncomfortable couch again. Instead, he turned towards the host's room and with silent steps entered her quarters. Making him do this was her fault entirely. She was supposed to clean up the room but she didn't. With an annoyed huff he pulled her covers back, making her groan in her sleep in annoyance before he flipped onto the bed, making her bounce a bit before she rolled over and hit his muscular chest.

Jackie's eyes cracked open, startled as she ran her fingers through thick fur in front of her. What in the world? She rubbed her eyes as Jaska situated himself, grumpily trying to get comfortable on the double sized bed. The host pushed feebly against his broad chest, letting out a heavy sigh as she tried to wake up some more.

"Jaska? Ugh, what are you doing?" Jackie groggily asked, rubbing her eyes before sitting up and leaning over his furry waist. He let out a low growl as she laid his weight on his waist, her eyes narrowing to look at the time; 12:40 am.

"Room still invaded by stray scent, so I sleep here," he stated rather abruptly.

"Room? Why … oh, right, crap," Jackie heavily groaned. She was so busy cleaning in general that she forget about his room.

"Da." he growled, annoyed, "I take _your_ den instead."

"Then just go sleep on the couch again, not in my bed," she grumpily grunted, trying to push his large fluffy body off the bed before she slumped against his fluff, her muscles much too tired to respond to her commands. She could barely muster up the strength to sit up let alone push a fully grown tiger off the bed.

"You let stray in to take _my_ den and mess with stuff." He grunted with ears pressed to his head, "lest you do is fix it, host."

"Fine, fine … I'll go clean up your room, you grump." Jackie huffed, pushing him in annoyance but he hardly moved from where he was. Jackie slumped out of bed, sliding onto the floor before sitting up and sleepily rubbing her eyes. Such a freaking high maintenance tiger. As much if not more than Dumisa. So what if his room smelled like Sabre. She probably smelled good to him since they were both cats. Jackie groaned sleepily and reached for her drawer, pulling out her cheap cleaning shorts and tank top and went ahead and blindly got dressed, knowing Jaska couldn't see in the dark.

"Perhaps you want me to stay and do something else?" Jaska suggested with a raised eyebrow, staring at her plump rear through the darkness. She surely knew that cats could see easily in the dark so was she provoking him on purpose? Could she even imagine how unsettled he was already with the stench of the stray's d*** pheromones in the air? More so in his own den? Or did she not care at all? Perhaps she didn't see them as viable males but as overgrown talking pets? The thought made him growl. "Do you see any us Extraspecies as males, host?"

"Just go to sleep you spoiled cat," she grunted with a loud, sleepy yawn before more calmly continuing, "seriously, go to sleep, Jaska. I'll go work on your room." Jackie muttered as she slipped into the hallway. She'd probably just fall asleep in one of his dens for the night instead and clean later. She was pretty exhausted.

With a heavy sigh she dragged the cleaning supplies into his room, taking all his torn up clothes from his den and tossing them right into the garbage before thoroughly wiping everything down and setting new sheets onto the memory foam in the main den-like space, the balinese bed. It took almost two hours as she vacuumed the carpet and sprayed the hell out of everything with air freshener to help cover up Sabre's scent. Not paying attention, the vacuum cleaner rammed into his desk, startling her as the papers fell and began to get sucked up into the vacuum cleaner before she quickly turned it off with the sucker having a brand new beard on the rim of the plastic. Oh well that's just great.

She let out a grunt of annoyance, flipping the vacuum cleaner over and began salvaging some of the papers before noticing some of them were streaked through with a black marker. Well that's weird. She picked up a couple more sheets, finding more and more of them marked up like on a cheesy military or spy kind of movie. What in the world was this crap anyway? She flipped through some of the papers, finding a few of them unmarked and glanced over them in curiosity. Most of it were things she didn't quite understand but she saw photos, brief profiles and other things including dangerous Extraspecies, experiments, found corpses or evidence or disposed remains, various places in New York, dates, times and the repeating word - which alarmed her the most - 'Spetznaz' all over the paperwork. Most were in the past, of the which noted Spetznaz and a lot of the papers alternated between English and Russian.

" … okay … this is weird. Definitely weird." Jackie said, setting the papers down on the desk before dialing up Ms. Smith, her tiredness suddenly forgotten. Her phone rang a few times before it clicked.

" _Raw-hllow?"_ A very, very groggy Ms. Smith answered the phone, sounding more than tired in her state.

"Uh, hey, Ms. Smith? I have a question about Jaska." She said, leaving the room and venturing into the living room where the vents wouldn't let her voice travel through the house.

" _He likes caviar but not salmon … alright. What is it?"_ She groaned, sleepily mumbling and trying to get her mind coherent.

"Yeah, uh, who is he, exactly? I went into his room and knocked over some papers on his desk by mistake and a lot of the were referring to some weird things like experiments and death and conspiracy sounding stuff and then there was something called Spetznaz repeated all over the paperwork. Isn't that some Russian elite military force or something like that?" She asked before the phone was lifted from her hand. Her eyes widened as she whipped around, startled to see the large mass of orange and white fur staring down at her with a rather menacing smirk of amusement.

"Too curious can be dangerous, da?" Jaska said with a toothy grin, glancing at the caller ID before hanging up and tossing the phone aside.

"W-Wait, wait wait _it was an accident I swear-!_ " Jackie cried, trying to dive to safety before he roughly grabbed her. Jackie parted her lips to shout before he covered her mouth with his furry hand. He dragged her kicking and struggling into her own bedroom, not bothering to turn on the lights as he slammed her against the floor, scaring her half to death as he snarled at her and tightened his grip over her mouth. In the darkness she could barely see anything except his eyes while the rest of him slowly and menacingly came into focus.

"What you read, host?" He demanded, adding a growl of warning and a glint of his fangs in case she decided to try and lie her way out of being caught.

"Nothing! I didn't understand most of it, I-I don't know about anything!" She denied with tightly closed eyes, "most of it was blocked with black marker, there was nothing understandable!"

"You entered my den and read my stuff," He accused with a growl, finding her meek and frightened expression rather amusing despite his anger at her fiddling with his personal stuff. All that secret information, including those experiments which were located in New York, was not read by the host.

"I-It was left out on the table! I knocked it over while I was cleaning. It was impossible not to read something at a glance!" She shouted, pushing against his furry chest and trying to worm free.

"You want glance at stuff, host?" His snarl turned into a dangerous grin. He could immediately tell she was telling the truth. Her profile said she sucked at lying and he would have immediately known if she was lying due to all the physical information she was releasing without knowing, "why don't I make cooperate in more subtle way?" He asked with a dark purr, his tail flickering back and forth in the darkness.

"W-What are you talking about?" Jackie said, flustered and not understanding what he was asking her in a more subtle way?

Jaska grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him before he set his nose against hers and maintained contact eye, "I can show. You also need learn not mess with other stuff, especially that stray's seasonal scent. You are covered in it," he murmured, rubbing his body over hers once in a wave-like motion, slow and steady, "are you provoking me on purpose? Covering your scent with that? You didn't need to."

"W-What scent," she started before her eyes narrowed, "you're not making any sense, you blockhead!" Jackie spat, shoving her hand against his throat and forcing his head back as he growled with ears lowered.

That actually hurt him a bit. Did she really not know what Sabre's scent was doing to the males of the house, to him in particular? And this was only the beginning of the female cat's cycle. Jaska moved back slightly to look at her and then let out a loud barking laugh, rubbing his sore throat, "so you don't know stray in heat? You have house full of males that more than aware, and you so easily drench self in musk? Must I really think you not done that on purpose? _Ha_!"

"S-Sabre is in heat?" Jackie asked, thrown completely off guard. She stared up at him before her gaze flickered off to the right, trying to remember what the video Ms. Smith gave her said when Ms. Smith learned of Sabre. It basically explained about female Extraspecies in general that go into heat during certain times of the year, sometimes more than once a year. Their pheromones get on everything and it affects all Extraspecies males in some way, " … a-and you're saying that _I_ have t-that smell on me?" Jackie asked as her face paled.

Jaska looked smug and laid over her, his tail snapping from side to side now in his delight at the host's unease, "you smell like cat in need, screaming for male's attention, da? Which attention you want?" He leaned over her, deeply inhaling the scent, "should I give you _that_ attention, host?"

"W-Wait, wait wait! How do it get it off?!" She shouted as he laid on top of her, purring and nuzzling against her neck in a rather playful manner as the host struggled underneath of him.

Jaska smirked, rather enjoying himself right now. The host was so easy to tease and so skittish like a bunny that he couldn't help himself but want to tease her quite a bit. Jaska gave her a long lick across her cheek, watching her flinch and click her teeth together, "I help you get off before others catch," he gave her another lick, this time lightly touching the corner of her lips, "but first you tell all you read in papers, that information classified, you very naughty to read it. Bad host." He gave her a small smack on the hip, making her let out a startled shout. She immediately shoved back against him, continuing her struggles to get free.

"I don't know anything about those _stupid_ papers or _stupid_ Spetznaz or anything! Get off you overgrown freaking furball!" Jackie shouted, really beginning to struggle now before Jaska's ears flickered towards the door, the hair on the scruff of his neck rising in alarm and a growl rumbling on his throat.

"Is that so?" Sabre's voice came from the corridor. As soon as Jaska caught sight of the feline she turned tail and ran.

He immediately sprinted after the clouded leopard, leaving Jackie on the floor in a startled heap. Sabre made a dead sprint for his room, determined to get those papers. She knew well what Spetsnaz was and she had known that Aleksey had been so too along with his 'lost' older brother Jaska. Documentation like that maybe was nothing to the host, but she could perfectly decipher it due to her own training; if she got to it first, that was.

Jaska tried catching the other cat but she was very agile. When she entered his room he charged forward and shouldered her, sending her towards the wall where she landed on her feet with an angry roar. Before she incorporated, he looked over the table to see his papers missing and a pair of foxy ears perking up behind the table. Kit's head popped up from behind the deck, tense and alert with some scrunched up paper in his mouth and arms.

"Give back, little kit!" Jaska growled before rushing over to Kit to recover the paperwork. Kit squealed in excitement, treating this like a fun game before diving behind the desk and dashing around to head for the exit.

Sabre's eyes widened and she let out a new roar of alarm while jumping towards the tiger who, in her instinctual mind, was attacking her pup. She lost all sense of self and chased after the predator that was after her little fox cub.

Jaska let out a deafening roar as Jackie rounded the corner and looked inside, watching Kit shoot out past her and flee into the hallway with an excited mewl while hanging onto the papers.

"What in the hell?!" Jackie shouted, looking over just in time to see a charging tiger coming at her. Jackie nearly shrieked as she dove out of the way, covering her head in defense as Jaska shot past her but was tackled over by an enraged Sabre.

The clouded leopard immediately tried to bite the back of his neck to break his spine but Jaksa grabbed her by the tail and threw her against the wall. She landed just besides where Jackie was and charged again, jumping sideways to avoid a kick and twisting to give one of her own that scratched Jaska over the chest. The tiger jumped forward to try and use his bigger size and weight to his advantage but the smaller feline was far more agile and sidestepped. When he tried to grabbed her, he only managed to slice her arm, which made her roar and slapped her claws across his face, etching painful scratches into his cheek.

"Guys, guys stop!" Jackie shouted as she staggered back, hardly having time to think about how to make them stop fighting before Sabre jumped towards the ceiling and then bounced over the tiger as he slashed at her ribs. That didn't stop Sabre as she kicked and scratched Jaska's neck. It was obvious to Jackie that their fights had escalated and now they were really trying to kill each other. With no time to even think where she had left the tranquilizer gun, she jumped beside the fight and aimed for the scruff of their necks.

"STOP IT, NOW!" She shouted, managing to graze her hands over their necks for a brief moment before both felines turned towards her, swiping at her and intent on destroying the interference. Immediate pain ribbed through her ribs and hip as she was sent crashing against the nearest wall with a heavy slap against the ground.

Jaska's eyes widened, startled at the knee jerk reaction his feral self would have done before he leaned back, barely avoiding a fatal swipe of Sabre's claws that barely managed to graze his neck. As Jackie laid bleeding on the hardwood floor he dodged the oncoming attacks, flickering his gaze over to Jackie in deep concern. Their fight had hurt the host and this was going to end badly if she died. He needed to subdue the leopardess _now_.

Kroc nearly broke the door frame as he slid into the hallway, locking eyes on the fight between the two wild cats before spotting Jackie slumped against the wall, struggling to get back up as blood seeped into her clothing. The noise of the fighting hadn't bothered him at all since he assumed it was just the two felines fighting again. However, the scream from the host and taste of blood in the air was what made him jolt with a start.

With a deep and menacing hiss going unnoticed by the large cats, Kroc charged, throwing a clawed arm between the two felines. Sabre and Jaska separated as Kroc spun towards Sabre, slamming Jaska against the wall with his thick tail and nearly effectively KOing the large cat as he slumped down, dazed. Sabre immediately leapt in for the kill but Kroc caught her in midair by the scruff of the neck, whipping around and slamming her against the ground and displaying his dominance right then and there.

Dumisa, out of everyone's radar, slowly approached Jackie, eyes locked onto her bleeding wounds. He never thought seeing the host bleed like this would bother him so much but it did. He came closer and put pressure on the gashes with his hands as she breathed fast and hard, curling her spine and trying to handle the pain radiating through her.

"Hush. You'll be fine." Dumisa lightly scolded as he looked over to Kroc pinning Sabre down by the scruff of her neck against the ground. He also didn't think he'd ever see Sabre so wild and feral, much less fighting with her life on the line to kill a predator bigger than her. It wasn't like her to just snap like this; something had happened and he disliked not knowing what it was.

Sabre roared, growled and hissed while trying to claw her way out, completely at the mercy and command of her instincts in her feral state. Nothing else mattered besides whatever strong, powerful emotion put her in this state and that was protecting her kit who was out of sight, something that only unsettled her more. Her pupils were slitted and no trace of sentience could be seen in her angry, urgent gaze.

"Jackie?" Dumisa called, looking over the deep scratches in her right ribs and left hip, watching the blood seep into her torn clothes. He pulled her over his scales and hugged her body tightly, putting pressure on both troubling sections before reaching into her pocket and slipping out her cell phone to dial for Ms. Smith. The wounds weren't much in his opinion and it was silly to be overreacting like the host was but it had to have been the shock to make her like this.

The thought bugged him as he tightened his grasp a bit around Jackie, making sure to leave room to let her still breath as he monitored her erratic heart. He rolled his eyes, rather annoyed at her delicate body at the moment.

"Hey Smith, the host got tangled with the cats and is making a bloody mess on the floor." Dumisa sighed, before hanging up, knowing she'd be calling back any second. He didn't feel like listening to her nagging nor explain the situation.

The phone immediately began to ring off the hook as Jaska let out a pained groan, staggering to his feet and holding his head as he came to. That hit with Kroc's tail was definitely a fight ender, that was for sure. Kroc let out a threatening hiss in his direction, catching the tiger's attention as he stared at Sabre being pinned underneath of him and clawing out the wood floors trying to get free, looking at him with irrational spite and killer intent.

"I fine, I no feral." Jaska said, locking eyes with Kroc as he measured the sincerity before he turned his attention back to Sabre. The vibrating phone rang on the floor, creating a haunting tune against the floor boards. What was more menacing, however, was the fact that everyone knew what was waiting on the other end of it for whoever answered.

"Someone else answer it. I'm not in the mood for the old hag," Dumisa miffed, leaning over Jackie and cupping her slightly paler cheek. Her temperature was already a little cooler than it should be since he could feel the heat itself bleeding over his scales.

Jaska glanced at the ringing on the floor and at the bleeding host. He _really_ did it this time. Ms. Smith was going to be furious that something like this happened to the new host and by further extension, hurt by his own claws. He sneered with a growl in annoyance at the situation and walked over to answer it. Since the host had hit her head on the wall and the snake was obviously not going to answer, neither Kroc nor Sabre so that left him to deal with Ms. Smith.

"Da?"

" _What the hell happened!?"_ Smith's angry and loud voice shouted, her screeching reaching even Kroc's duller ears down the hall.

Jaska let out a groan, trying to get his head on straight, "I chased the leopard, then her pup grab papers and I chase after him to get back. The leopard gurl chased me for chasing pup. We fought, host got in the middle and got hurt. Leopard still try to kill me." He separated the phone from his ear before Smith's screech could damage his sensible hearing.

" _ARE YOU F***ING ME, JASKA?!"_ Ms. Smith barked over the phone angrily as Jaska walked over to Jackie and knelt down, pushing against Dumisa's coiled body to peek at the deep claw marks, " _Jaska, how bad is it?"_ Ms. Smith asked, sounding almost nervous.

"Slashes in hip and ribs. Still bleeding, going in and out conscious. Possible concussion," another roar made him turned to look at the pinned clouded leopard, "leopard stray still crazy and trying to kill me. Feral."

" _You know how to give first aid. Forget about the d*** paperwork and do not dare let that host die!"_ She shrieked into the phone, making Jaska cringe from the pitch of her voice before she hung up, assumingly to call for the company's personal paramedics.

Jaska trotted into the kitchen, grabbing the large first aid kit from under the cabinet before carrying it back over to Jackie and popping it open. "Move, Dumisa. I give first aid."

"You're serious?" Dumisa asked, seeming genuinely surprised and baffled, "the scratches are not bad." He said, removing his bloody hands as Jaska began to press cotton against the wound on her hip.

"Humans bleed a lot even from simple wounds and blood keeps flowing. Stopping blood first most important. If not, she bleed to death. Hit was bad too, a hit too strong and she could die. "

"Something like this wouldn't kill her. I don't believe it," he scoffed, "nothing significant is _that_ weak to die from a mere couple of scratches." Dumisa looked over his host rather uneasily, seeing a large bump the size of a goose egg begin to appear over her head. " … now that is a different story." He said, blinking in puzzlement before poking the tender spot on Jackie's head and making her cringe in her sleep.

"No touch unless with a cold pack. Hits in head very dangerous for humans. Can mess temporarily or permanently with thoughts." Jaska explained as he looked over the head wound and not liking the looks of it. Ms. Smith was going to be very, very pissed.

"Oh please, and _they_ are the apex species? Ridiculous." Dumisa huffed, leaning against the wall and watching Jaska treat her.

"They adapt to much and are good at killing everything else," Jaska shrugged, "they are cunning and clever in general."

"As clever as a goldfish," Dumisa muttered, "and this host is definitely not one of those. She's pathetically kind." He complained, leaning over her and softly holding her head steady before gently pulling up her eyelid and staring at her empty gaze. He had to admit this was interesting how she was so feeble looking at the moment.

"Host? You count to 10?" Jaska asked, gently holding her chin and staring into her classy gaze before her eyes slid shut, falling asleep.

Hardly any sooner that he finished that sentence the sound of the door being kicked in resounded through the building. A minute later Ms. Smith arrived with a doctor and a nurse at her side who immediately began examining Jackie. Through all this, Sabre had kept trying to desperately get free, filling the hallway with her frightening roaring.

"Take the host to the living room and do what you need to there. I will take care of the Extraspecies." Ms. Smith said as the doctor and nurse silently started to unfold a stretcher. Ms. Smith cast her eyes quietly around the hall, observing the indents in the walls and the deep gouges just about everywhere before turning her needlepoint gaze to the four of them.

"Let's go all to the safe room while the doctors are working on Jackie." She suggested in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Your call, Smith." Kroc said as he picked up Sabre by the scruff of her neck and the base of her tail, half dragging her to the safe room as she twisted madly while the others kept a clear distance from the two of them. Ms. smith stopped by the opening of the door, stepping back and allowing Dumisa and Jaska in first before being followed by Kroc and Sabre, whose claws left deep marks in the wood. Ms. Smith stepped inside, keeping the door cracked open as she watched the four of them.

Once in the back corner of the room, Kroc pinned Sabre again against the ground while she kept on struggling, roaring and completely unaffected by Smith's presence.

"What happened to her?" Ms. Smith asked while trying to figure out what to do to calm her down without making her panic. Seeing her and Jaska, she noticed that both cats were hurt and bleeding but not to the point of needing medical attention. It would seem the host getting in the way at the time that she did prevented the two from killing each other.

"No idea. Kit and I were making piñatas with papers the tyke found and after he left to get more, he came running into my room before I heard the host scream." Kroc answered before turning his gaze over to Jaska who slightly flinched at Kroc's cold, jade and slit pupiled gaze.

Jaska grumbled a cuss and then spoke up for his own defense, "we fought and then I chased her pup. She thought I danger to the kit, went feral and lost control."

Just then, Kit slipped into the room through the cracked door. When he spied his mamma being pinned down he rushed over with a gasp but before Kit could make it to the snarling and possibly dangerous leopardess, Ms. Smith caught the little Kit and held him up as he began to tremble in fear with teary eyes. With an almost cold gaze Ms. Smith turned to Sabre.

"Is this what you wanted to do, Sabre? Terrify this little kit?" She asked while holding Kit out in front of her by the scruff of his neck and locking eyes on Sabre. She stopped struggling, seeing the fear in Kit's eyes as he softly began to cry out for her, outreaching his arms towards her desperately and curling his tail between his legs in fright. " … are you calm now, Sabre?" Ms. Smith asked, gently hugging Kit and rubbing the toddler's back to try and calm him down.

Sabre's slit pupils became less strained and she struggled a little less while breathing hard and deep, "get off kroc, and you, give me that fox," she addressed Smith while her tail thumped the ground continuously in anger.

"Prove to me you got a sane mind, Sheela, and I will. " Kroc warned, not fully convinced.

"I'm speaking, am i not?" She growled and stopped struggling.

"Plenty of Extraspecies talk." Dumisa said while crossing his arms

"It's fine, Kroc. She won't attack her own pup." Ms. Smith said, kneeling down and letting the kit free who immediately darted over to the two of them as Kroc leaned on top of her, looming over Kit as he softly cried and pawed at Kroc's metal jaw as if to try and make him move. Kroc's bright eyes took in Kit's desperation before lifting off of Sabre, watching Kit scurry up to her and gently lick her face before cuddling against her neck while hugging her with desperate care as if she could disappear at any moment. Kroc stood up, letting Sabre go and keeping a careful eye on her as she quickly swept Kit up, hugging him close as he gripped her torn shirt and snuggled closer not caring about the public.

When Sabre scooped the pup up to hug him close she licked his cheek to calm him down. Kroc, who had remained hovering closely in concern about the kit, finally relaxed, sensing Sabre was back to the way she was.

"Good and now that we are all calm we can settle this," Smith said, watching how motherly the female bastet was with the pup, confirming what the host had said before about Sabre being the pup's mother. That would be a new situation to contemplate for the program.

"Talk all you'd like, it has nothing to do with me," Sabre said, turning tail and heading for the door before stopping short as Kroc stepped in front of her smoothly, turning his back against the door and leaning against it. With a hard click the door locked as Kroc used his body to barricade it and prevent anyone from leaving for the time being.

"We need to talk, Sheela. Smith is pissed." Kroc reminded her, jutting his chin towards the suited woman.

"So am I," she hugged kit tighter and analyzed the situation. No escape routes and too many foes. The odds were not in her favor.

"Don't see why you mad, detka. You attack _me_." Jaska cut in with a growl, his tail lashing back and forth in anger. A female bastet in heat trying to kill him. Pup or not that shouldn't be, much less she acting so high and mighty when this was her fault for entering in his territory and then attacking him.

She hissed at the Russian Siberian tiger with her disarrayed fur still on edge before giving him her back, not even willing to talk to him as she stood by Kroc.

"That's enough from the both of you. You are fully grown wild cats but you are acting like kittens fighting over the last fish bone. And that fighting has caused what could have been so much more serious damage to your host. You are all well aware of the consequences for damaging your host to such a degree over something so pitifully mundane, especially for you carnivorous Extraspecies. It is difficult enough convincing the board to allow carnivorous Extraspecies into the US without you children quarreling over something so trivial. Since this was well contained the media will not get hold of this, thankfully." She heavily sighed, rubbing her forehead. She was exhausted and this was only getting more and more complicated by the second.

"This is too much d*** trouble. I'll just go away and then you can have that peace with the host and your program. Now move and I'll pack, then you won't have to worry," Sabre growled while cuddling the pup. Her fur remained on edge and she breathed hard in clear agitation as if she were going to be attacked any second.

"The Kit wouldn't survive." Kroc intervened, making Sabre stiffen and hiss at him, "young ones need a stable territory, sheela, something you can't give him alone. Besides, you are still a little sick," he pointed out.

"He will. We have survived through worse, he can survive … ," she defiantly said but fear passed behind her eyes. She knew that she was indeed still not completely well. Still, she would manage somehow. They had done so in spite of everything.

"Do you want him to merely survive, Sheela, or do you want him to _live_?" Kroc asked, quieting her as she glared at him in anger.

"And I do wonder where his parents are, hm? Did you kill them to have a Kit for your own?" Dumisa said with a sly smile as Ms. Smith cast him a glare.

Sabre's eyes narrowed as she looked at Dumisa "I never cared or wanted children but he has no one else." She then swallowed the bitterness of what she was about to say, "they are dead … experimented on and then killed, not even their furs remained" she hugged the fox against her chest and even seemed to shiver a bit herself from whatever she had seen, "you don't know anything, so don't get in our way." She muttered as Kit cuddled against her, happily content in her arms as if it was the safest place in the whole wide world.

"If you could have beared putting him somewhere else then you would have already, Miss Sabre." Ms. Smith calmly said, walking over towards her. Both Jaska and Dumisa stepped back, giving her some room as Ms. Smith approached Sabre. "What are you planning to do? Why are you staying here, Miss Sabre?"

"I was gonna leave him here but so far more than one attempt had been done on our lives. She just so slightly glanced at the tiger. This place is not safe or calm," the leopard defensively hissed, "I'd rather take my chances somewhere else."

"But you didn't. You came back and stayed even after you were found." Ms. Smith walked right up to her. "You know that your best chances are here, or at least in the program itself."

Sabre moved Kit sideways and was surprised when Ms. Smith gently cupped her cheek before kissing her forehead. Sabre paused, staring at her delicate neck and baring her fangs but knowing attacking this woman would only sign her own death certificate, so she refrained. Instead she growled and moved away. "Don't touch me."

"You are very strong, Sabre, but you are a young mother and he is your first cub. Rather than telling you to stay here, I am asking you for the sake of your small cub. And if you truly feel that you cannot raise him here in this home I will personally arrange to have transportation ready to take you wherever you need. You are not trapped here, Sabre. This program is to help Extraspecies and others," she said, raising an eyebrow, "so we do not intend to hold you anywhere against your will, of course."

"You know by now I am not part of the program at all, don't you? _Any_ of the programs." By now Kit was already purring on his mamma's arms, perfectly content despite the tense situation, "and I'm not his mother, I told you … I just take care of him for my own reasons."

Everyone rolled their eyes at such a false statement when the proof of parenthood was purring in her arms.

"I've known from the start, Ms. Sabre. We don't have any female bastets in the program." She said in a very matter of fact voice, "but you fit in so well here that I made sure it stayed off the record for your own protection. However, I want to offer you a deal that will benefit both you and your kit. Would you care to hear it or would you rather I prepare transportation for you to go elsewhere?" She asked. "Of course, elsewhere also means you'll have to be registered first."

Sabre stared into her eyes, seeing her offer wasn't a bluff or threat at all. They were genuine offers, options she could take.

"Speak up. What's the deal?" She asked. After all, she could fake accepting and then just run away later.

"To join the program officially. All past offenses will be wiped clean and you can begin learning how to either integrate yourself into human society or learn how humans function in general. With this, you will gain the full accommodations and perks all other extraspecies who join the program gain, such as your own personal room as your territory, designed entirely to your liking within a large budget and you will accept a host. You can either continue staying with this host, Jackie Penske, or we could find you another one. It's all up to you and how you wish to construct this program around your needs." Ms. Smith said, sounding like a true business professional.

"I know well how humans work and getting into the program would mean getting its restrictions." She hissed, knowing that she won't be able to leave the house without the host's 'permission' or without her presence being nearby, much less run her business or hunt those who had escaped the facility. Legally, anyway.

"Yes. However, those restrictions do not come without proper protection, as I am sure you are aware of what some of those are, most particularly the ones regarding violent interactions between humans and extraspecies alike." She explained.

"Too late for that," she muttered before speaking up, "the restrictions heavily weigh down any possible benefits. I can get most of things myself." She growled in a low voice. Jaska and Smith, due to their closeness, had been the only one to hear what she muttered. If the other two did hear they noted nothing of it.

"Again, the slate is wiped clean in the eyes of the Extraspecies program. Now, Dumisa, Kroc, give us some privacy and check on your host. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you both unscathed." Ms. Smith said. Kroc and Dumisa stared at her, thinking before Kroc got up, letting Dumisa out first before shutting the door. Ms. Smith smiled, adjusting her glasses. "Now with them gone we can negotiate freely. Wireless communications are cut off in this room along with any internal bugs or cameras. The world is blind to us in here so you can rest assure that this conversation will not leave this room."

"I noticed. You had a level 4 security room with communications insulation capacities, even the walls have an inner stream of copper to block signals. I wonder why?" She said, giving the first real clue as to how much she really knew about the human world.

"You do seem to know a good deal about human technology, don't you?" Smith nodded, "every host's home is fitted with a large safe room for various reasons especially in countries like here in the US where Extraspecies are just beginning to show up. However, it works to our advantage here. You said you wish to negotiate and I am fully willing to do so with your special case, Ms. Sabre."

"I don't trust you or anyone, make that clear." Sabre growled, directing an especially dirty look toward the tiger, "however, that won't stop me from negotiating. Know that the only reason I'm only willing to even listen is for the kit." She briefly looked down at the pup. "I require freedom. Simple as that. Freedom to go whenever the heck I want without any intromissions and to partake in whatever jobs I deem. I don't care about hurting humans but I won't hesitate if I or this kit get attacked in _any_ way." She looked at Jaska again and released a growl of warning and anger, "either by humans or Extraspecies."

"And that's perfectly understandable considering your special circumstances, Sabre. Humans are crafty and tricky. Extraspecies do not pretend to be your friend." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled, "however, in order to get those things, you will have to enter a very, very particular program within the extraspecies organization. It's the same one Jaska is a part of." Ms. Smith said as Jaska tensed up, eyes flashing before he hissed under his breath.

"You plan getting leopard gurl work for you?" He asked with a hiss as his ears flattened against his skull. Without noticing, he was growling again.

"Yes, Jaska, I am sure. She's a well versed and a well skilled operative, after all." Ms. Smith said with a smile, making Sabre's heart stop in her chest.

" … how much do you know about me?" Sabre darkly demanded with a low hiss, already taking a step aside and closer to the door.

"Enough to know you are not a true born Extraspecies, Ms. Sabre. There are few others like your case, very few remain sane, sentient or even alive. There have been plenty of mistreated and hurt Extraspecies and humans alike through illegal experimentations. And we, at our organization, have a place for them where they can learn how to control the instincts that are now mutated into their DNA. Are you still interested in hearing more?" Ms. Smith offered with a casual smile.

"She an experiment?" Jaska's eyes widened. That explained a lot, especially how easily she went feral at the slightest things.

"You mean you couldn't detect it?" Ms. Smith asked, surprised at Jaska's lack of knowledge, "well, I suppose hers is so thorough it's more subtle than the others that you're used to finding." Ms. Smith said with a frown before letting out a faint sigh. "Either way, it does not change my proposition for you, Ms. Sabre. Would you care to join this exclusive program and learn more?"

Sabre eyed the tiger with utter distrust for a second before turning back Ms. Smith, "what's this 'special' program about?"

"This special program teaches experimented on humans and Extraspecies about their new abilities they have attained through their particular experimentation. These experiments are, of course, extremely illegal but it is not the fault of the humans or Extraspecies that go through them. They are the fault of greedy corporate and sometimes military pigs. So we, at this program, have a very special sub-program for some of these individuals. We take them in and try to recuperate them to a standard of living and self control that they would be able to function either in modern day society or in the wild world, whichever they wish to reside in depending on their situation."

"And those that are too far gone… I expect they are put down, right?" Sabre asked in a hard voice as Ms. Smith's expression visibly grew saddened.

"Unfortunately, some of the experiments have lost most of their minds and cannot be released. For these cases we do our best to accommodate them in standard living conditions. For those that are not violent, we allow them to join with hosts. For those very few that are violent and crave only blood and death, as some do, I won't deny that there had been cases where there had been no choice when the life of the one trying to help them had been at imminent risk. We try to rehabilitate all the cases but there is no clear way or treatment we have found yet to help them."

"I'm not buying that. You'd be foolish to keep most alive. I've seen the failure charts of 'the company' and can infer yours," she hissed as Kit burped, catching her attention. After a few moments of looking at the pup cuddling comfortably in her arms she decided. "All right. I'll try your special program for a while."

"Excellent, Sabre. You are in need of learning to control all those rampant instincts and learn how a true bastet acts. You already have it almost down but you'll need a teacher. And lucky for you, there is one right here," she said, turning towards the incredulous tiger.

Sabre hissed in complete indignation, "d*** no! I can not tolerate any other but this faker!"

"And why not? Jaska is a Siberian tiger by birth and is a good man. He's one of the finest agents I have, actually." Ms. Smith said with a smile as Jaska's ears lowered sideways in annoyance.

"Good my furry a**. Just no." Sabre growled, her fur on edge again, "I wouldn't get near him for any reason," she sneered

"Then explain to me why not. What makes him a faker? He's my top agent around here, mind you." Ms. Smith reminded her.

"The fact that attacked Kit, attacked me, and impersonated his dead brother and f***ed me forcefully," she bluntly roared, stopping short as Kit hid his face against her shoulder before she began petting him to calm him down.

"Dead?" Ms. Smith said, pausing, "ah … well, Jaska, that didn't seem very polite. It's unlike you to do something like that." She said, looking over to the tiger with a frown. This was a serious issue. Him chasing the pup was a misunderstanding, the attacking had remedy too, but forcing himself on the bastet?

"She clung in middle of night and entice in own bed. She call me Aleksey so, da, I f***ed." He said with a shrug, seeming uncaring but clearly bothered and uneasy.

Sabre growled and her ears went flat against her head with deep hurt. "You were supposed to be dead. He was looking for you," her eyes watered a bit and her tail lashed to show her despair, "he died looking for you."

"So Aleksey is indeed dead then." Jaska said with a straight faced expression, feeling his heart drop into the pit of his gut. His little brother was dead … despite everything he did, all that effort put into getting strong, to get their motherland's protection, to learn about humans, all after they got separated, all he did just to find his little bratja again had been in vain. It all now meant nothing to him.

"Jaska, give us some time alone. I will explain myself unless you want to?" Ms. Smith asked, seeing the hurt in his eyes but did not comment.

"Do whatever." He hissed before stalking over of the room, slamming the door hard behind him.

"Rather than accusing things such as that, why not listen to what actually happened?" Ms. Smith said with a serious and demure expression, one that set Sabre's fur on edge.

"The point is this, Smith. I was in bed when he came, I was sick with a fever that got me slightly delirious and I thought I was dreaming of Aleksey Jeloudov and then this stripped menace took advantage of me. Even pinned me down forced me to keep still in all fours and almost broke off my neck with his biting. He had not stopped being aggressive with me or trying to kick me out either since then."

"Before I speak about Jaska, how do you know of Aleksey Jeloudov?" Ms. Smith asked, curious.

"That is a personal issue I won't answer." Sabre looked away with true hurt and sadness in her eyes but her chest was huffing, showing her agitation.

"I see," she said with a cool set gaze before icily smiling, "Jaska Jeloudov can no longer be classified as just a Siberian Tiger. He is now what we in our organization refer to as a chimera. He is one of the few survivors of the Extraspecies that were kidnapped and taken in by mad men trying to create mythical creatures or species mixtures by manipulating genes and experimenting by splicing DNA and trying to create new creatures. Many of them ended up gaining disfigurations of a large variety and many more died. In Jaska's case, they were trying to mix him with wolf genes, and for the most part they succeeded in making his sense of smell better, gave far more stamina, resistance and resilience and added some extra instincts in that big head of his. Physically he also received a very defined and focused change."

Sabre interrupted her, "I'm aware he's a chimera. He got stuck like a dog with that knot in me while f**** me and biting my neck to keep me there. My opinion of him hasn't changed," Sabre remained adamant, "much less when he attacked me at the slightest chance."

"I think you're simply misunderstanding the situation. Jaska would not have 'attacked' you or your cub under any circumstance. Well, not the cub in any circumstance, anyway." Ms. Smith said with a frown.

"Maybe I went instinctual when he was chasing Kit. But I can't forgive that he impersonated Aleksey for something so low. I called Aleksey's name, Smith, he knew who I thought he was and he still took advantage of me. That would be a case of r*** in any human court, wouldn't it?" Sabre growled

"But you aren't human, miss Sabre, and neither is he. You are a bastet and Jaska came to his territory, to his own bed in the night to find a female bastet enticing him. By Extraspecies account, that was asking him and it would be natural for all Extraspecies. Human morals do not apply to them … to you." The coordinator said, waving her hand off, "do you want to know what happened with the brothers or not?"

Sabre growled dangerously, "I know what happened. Aleksey discovered the worst kind of bioweapon experiments. He blew up the facility while he was still trapped there in the lowest of the underground levels." She sneered but tears were already in her eyes, "however I would like to know why you think you know about this. _Do_ you know who destroyed the rest of the facility and killed most of whatever was there, human, Extraspecies or else?"

"We found the surveillance tapes nearby. We know exactly who went on a killing spree, Miss Sabre. You did well and erased all the digital evidence but there was a tape system that survived with enough film to identify you. After all, there aren't that many clouded leopard bastet around." Ms. Smith said with a slightly dangerous glint in her eye before she sighed, "we did search for you but you've proven to be very good at hiding. However that is not the topic here; now listen please. " Ms Smith continued. There were some things that needed to be said and she wasn't leaving until Sabre heard them, "when we picked up Jaska we were aware of the brother's predicament. However, we didn't know about you or where Aleksey was, nor did we had info of the other experiments. A couple tigers in such a group as Spetsnaz aren't common either and when they disappeared all agencies knew to keep an eye for them. We spent months looking for them before we finally found where one of them was. We managed to get to Jaska, and while he recovered and learned to use his new abilities and thrive in them as with the other few, we kept looking. However, for Aleksey it was too late. When we got a hold of the facilities information it was because you blew it up. When we got there you had already left the facility decimated and Aleksey was-"

"Enough!" Sabre roared and kit whimpered, "I don't care what you're going to say. I don't give a d*** about Jaska, that faker striped menace or about what you found! I already agreed to work for you. That should be enough." She closed her eyes tightly and tried to not break down crying at Aleksey's memory. The wounds were still much too fresh for her, hurting her too deeply.

"And I didn't expect your opinion to change. I only thought it would give some closure to know the story as a whole, whether you admit it or not. However, now that you know more about the organization, would you like to join us?" She offered with a genuine smile.

"I'm accepting the contract and I'll allow myself to be hired for you for specific missions or for consulting. As you said, I'm a good spy and occasionally a capable mass killer," Sabre pet Kit to get him to sleep, "but I'm not joining your organization or any other organization."

"That is good but we have no need of your mass killing capabilities. Anyway, as part of the contract, then, you will attend some classes to better understand the changes to your body. Who knows, you'll probably be able to learn secrets about your kitty self you never knew before." She said, reaching towards Sabre and brushing her fingers past her short whiskers.

Sabre's tail fluffed as she tensed up, startled by how soothing that felt before Ms. Smith got a hold of her jaws, petting her so gently and thoroughly that Sabre leaned her head against Smith's shoulder with an unstable rumble.

"It's going to be alright, Sabre. I know you're scared." Ms. Smith said, rubbing her ears as Sabre began to purr and nuzzle closer, wanting to pull away but being physically unable to. The petting felt so amazing that even the host's skills were put to shame.

"I'll disappear if anything goes wrong, Smith," she managed to speak through the pleasant sensation. This felt so nice and so calming that she was tempted to allow her mind to turn off on purpose and go all kitty. Something she had done only for Aleksey, whom she dearly missed.

Ms. Smith smiled and gently hugged her while continuing to pet and put her at ease, dragging both of them to the floor where Sabre simply leaned on her and began nuzzling against her. After a few minutes and thorough petting, Ms. Smith spoke up.

"Well, now that you've calmed down some more let's talk about the host. She got hurt because of you and Jaska fighting." Ms. Smith said as Sabre limply leaned against her and madly continued to purr. " … Sabre, did you hear me?"

"Nyaaah … ," Sabre off handedly nodded as she left Kit aside and stretched as Smith put her hand over her forehead.

"The host, Jackie. She got hurt and you need to help nurse her back to health before the media gets wind of this," Ms. Smith said with a scary smile. "You will also need to get a checkup."

Sabre suddenly rolled aside with her fur on edge, "no. No doctors!"

"You need it but regardless of that, let us go and see how Jackie is doing, hm?" Ms. Smith said with a smile before getting up. Sabre let out an annoyed groan, picking herself up with the sleepy fox in her arms and followed Ms. Smith into the hallway.

* * *

 _ **10 REVIEWS** _ to find out how Jaska and Sabre reconcile their Host ;3


	9. Chapter 9

The smell of blood burned Sabre's senses as she stared at Jackie laying on a makeshift medical table on the dinner table covered in towels. The host groaned and rolled her head back, more or less aware of what was going on as the others stood nearby, watching over their host as the doctors began cleaning up. Sabre walked closer, seeing Jackie's wounds all bandaged up nice and neat.

"You were lucky with this one, Ms. Smith. If any more of these incidents continue that way they are now there won't be many hosts in the USA for you to use." He said, glancing at the carnivores and clearly concerned.

"That is why this host is so important and why incidents like this are extremely rare," Ms. smith crossed her arms, "I understand your worries but with so many predators around they can keep an eye on each other to prevent such incidents to happen accidentally," She then looked at the gathered Extraspecies with a smile that was more piercing and frightening than any face of rage, "am I clear about that?"

Every Extraspecies nodded, reaffirming what she said as they backed away a slight bit from the scary human. Of any human all of them had met before Ms. Smith was certainly the one with the most frightening capabilities.

"It is ultimately your professional opinion despite my reservations and I respect that. Now, about the host; Jackie Penske has suffered fairly deep cuts on her left hip and right ribs which I have stitched up. Those wounds are rather minimal in comparison to her head injury from the blunt trauma against what I assume was the wall. I'm afraid she will have to remain awake for the next 24 hours to make sure the concussion isn't serious," he explained, writing something on a notepad before handing it to Smith, "I highly suggest to have a nurse remain here overnight and observe her condition or bring her to a hospital for overnight observation."

"There's no need for that. Thank you for your cooperation at this late hour," Ms. Smith said with a smile, taking the paper and folding it in half.

"If that is your decision, Ms. Smith. Good night." He said, picking up his medical supplies and leaving with the nurse. Ms. Smith's smile remained as she watched the door shut before she held up the folded piece of paper and turned to Jaska and Sabre with a pissed off smile.

"You made this mess. Fix it." She ordered, making the room drop a few degrees colder.

"Waitsh, mess? Don't make a mess … ," Jackie started with a slur in her voice before rolling onto her side and closing her eyes to try and get some sleep, "I'll ha … ve to clean itsh," she muttered.

" … well, Jaska? Sabre? Don't just stand there. She's not allowed to sleep for 24 hours and you're _both_ going to be caring for her for that time. Understand?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"So? What do you propose? It was the stripped menace's fault," Sabre huffed and dedicated the tiger the dirtiest, angriest look she could muster and that was as poisonous as Dumisa's venom. "You can have a trained nurse stay."

"Yes but you Extraspecies also need to learn how to take care of your host as she cares for all of you. This living arrangement is not one way as it is often interpreted." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled.

"Da, we take care," Jaska said in a rather emotionless tone while taking the order, walking over to Jackie and gently shaking her awake as Ms. Smith began walking to the front door of the apartment. Jaska needed a distraction from his thoughts anyway. His little brother died because of him. That was something that hurt him deeply and was going to for some time. However, he was not about to show any weakness towards the bastet staying with them.

"Well, since you two will be taking care of the host I'm going back to sleep," Dumisa loudly yawned, slithering away for the time being. Kroc remained in the kitchen, watching Jaska pick Jackie up and walk over to the living room while being careful with her stitches.

Sabre huffed again but she put her kit on Kroc's arms and then signaled to the hallway, "go to sleep Kroc, it'll be fine." Then in a whisper she added, "could you please take Kit for the night?"

"Yeah," he said after some silence. He gently picked Kit up, rubbing the top of his head as Kit lightly purred and cuddled against him, no longer afraid of his self appointed playmate.

"The host probably wants to see some movies anyways and I'm gonna put some on to keep her awake." She then gave Kroc a playful hit in the arm and accompanied it with a smile, "just dont hug the fox plushie too tight."

Kroc let out a small laugh before heading back to his room with the toddler. Sabre watched him leave before glaring back into the living room with a low growl. This was going to be an annoying nightmare and although she didn't like anything more than getting away from the d*** faker cat, she felt bad about Jackie. She convinced herself that this host's petting was simply too good to let her die; it definitely wasn't guilt or anything like that. Her ears lowered. Definitely wasn't.

She went straight to the living room and set all up for some movies. She decided for some robot anime and when the techno songs were already playing, she stood up to go and get a spray bottle.

"Ugh … I'm tired," Jackie complained, trying to turn onto her side but Jaska made her lay on her back instead.

"You rip stitches on side," he warned as Jackie let out an annoyed grunt, laying her head on his soft thigh as a pillow.

"This is annoying," she mumbled, closing her eyes for a little bit as the beginnings of a horror movie that Jaska had put on instead of the robot cartoon when Sabre went away began to play. As soon as Sabre saw which movie it was she hissed and tried getting the remote that was over Jackie's lap but Jaska growled a warning.

"Leave it," he growled, "haven't seen yet."

Sabre let out a growl of her own as she walked up to him, getting right in his face as Jaska's ears lowered and barred his teeth. Neither of them turned their eyes away and their growling increased in intensity. Without meaning to, their claws were out and read to strike.

"Hee hee hee~ you're so soft~," Jackie giggled, drawing their attention down as Jackie pushed Jaska's shirt up a bit and pressed her face into his furry side. They both watched as she snickered and giggled, gripping his fur tightly while rubbing her face in the fluffy plush softness.

Sabre took the chance to get a hold of the remote and put her cartoons back, but as soon as she did, Jackie pulled her tail and began rubbing it against her face, "it's soft too," she stupidly laughed as Jaska heavily sighed.

"Seems drug kicking in," he said, righting his shirt as Jackie kept a firm death grip on Sabre's tail and tugged on it.

"Let go of my tail, host," she growled before grabbing the spray bottle and spritzing Jackie in the face, "wake up, host."

The cold water made Jackie gag as she released Sabre's tail, turning back towards Jaska and drying her face on his fur.

"Noooooo … I'm awake … hee hee," Jackie laughed at the end, turning to her side and getting comfortable as she thoroughly enjoyed Jaska's soft fur.

Jaska put her back up, "not lie down, host. Watch movie," he said, bothered by his fur getting wet like this.

"Ugh, oh come oooooon~ am I supposed to sit up the whole time? That's boring and I'm tired." She huffed, leaning back against his arm to lay down. His eyes narrowed as he pushed her into a sitting position, listening to her snicker and laugh as Sabre sat down in the safety of the one person chair away from the larger couch to let Jaska deal with the host on his own.

"Don't worry host, maybe that prick can forcefully have his way with you to keep you awake. He tends to do that." Sabre said and turned the volume of the TV up.

"Pffft silly, Jaska doesn't have a _d***_." Jackie giggled, leaning against him as Sabre smirked and Jaska gapped with an incredulous gaze on the host. "There's nothing there so how could he, he prick or whatever?" Jackie slurred on before laughing to herself, leaning against his furry arm with a delirious smile on her face.

"What you know, host? I do have one, so no assume, da?" Jaska retorted with dismay. Were the drugs so strong on her mind that she could not recognize a male's d*** of his size?

"Maybe he wants to show you what he has instead of a cat's d***?" Sabre spat a chuckle.

"It made _you_ yowl," Jaska pointed out with narrowed eyes, resisting the urge to prove it.

"When you bit my neck. That hurt." Sabre hissed.

" … da. Shame I didn't bite harder." He stoically retorted.

"Pfffff funny … ," Jackie snickered, hugging Jaska's arm and rubbing her face against his soft fur with a cheerful smile.

"Why don't you bite the host's neck? You already tore through her hip." Sabre hissed.

"She not desperately seducing me," he pointed out with narrowed eyes.

"So you are so desperate that you think someone calling your dead brother's name counts as seducing you? How low." Sabre growled with narrowed eyes and great anger and distaste. One of the things she was not gonna tolerate was him badmouthing her dear Aleksey.

"You seem not to mind at time, synthetic cat heat hole," he snorted in annoyance as he lifted his arm, letting Jackie fall onto his lap with an excited 'woo!' before laughing and rolling over his thigh some more.

"Boo! That's not nice!" Jackie shouted at Jaska before slapping him across the face, startling both cats.

"What that for!?" Jaska hissed, looking over the drugged up host. He was surprised that this host out of anyone would dare to smack a tiger, especially an angry one that she just recently insulted with the 'no d***' comment.

"That was mean! Bad _kitty_!" Jackie said, trying to hit him again with a frown on her face, "you apologize!"

"What?" Jaska's ears went flat on his skull as he held her hands at bay with ease, baffled before he hissed at her, "niet. The stray should apologize for coming to _my_ place."

"Hmph, bad kitty. Sabre~ come here, I want to pet you." Jackie said with a grin, crawling over Jaska and leaning over the arm of the big couch to try and reach her ears and tail despite Sabre being a few feet away on the one seat sofa.

"Why don't come here to pet me here? Come host," Sabre said lounging across the smallest sofa. Jackie grinned and with a giggle she tried to get off of Jaska but her knee slipped on his fur, making her fall forward and smack her head against the table before Jaska caught her.

"Oww … ," Jackie groaned as she held her head while Jaska righted her on the couch, looking over the slight dent in her forehead. That was going to leave a bruise.

"Look what you caused, menace!" Sabre growled at the tiger and then looked at Jackie, "you ok, Jackie?" Sabre asked, getting up.

"What you mean I cause? _You_ bait her!" Jaska growled in annoyance, grabbing Jackie's jaws not so gently and turning her head so he could get a better look at the new bump forming on her head.

"You prompted her." Sabre approached and grabbed Jackie's wrist to pull her towards the third sofa that had two cushions on it.

"How I prompt? I no prompt!" Jaska grabbed Jackie's other wrist and pulled her back harshly to smack her against his chest, causing Sabre to be pulled closer too.

Sabre pulled on Jackie's wrist back towards her, "I'm taking the host's petting, so let go, you big brute."

"You want nothing to do with host earlier." Jaska pointed out with a growl, tightening his grip on Jackie's wrist and making her flinch. In a fast move Jackie pulled her arms back from Sabre's grip and grabbed Sabre's ice water squirt bottle, spraying Jaska in the face before turning and fleeing into Sabre's arms, leaving Jaska trembling in anger as he glared at the two females and resisted the urge to pounce on them both.

"You've had enough pets, it's Sabre's turn." Jackie huffed, scratching her fingers into Sabre's back through her thin shirt and making her let out a light, yowling purr.

Sabre rubbed her cheek against Jackie's temple while throwing a dirty and fanged smirk at the fuming tiger. Then they sat on the middle sofa and Sabre took a look at the newly acquired bump on Jackie's head before she began licking it.

"Ow, that hurts." Jackie complained, covering the slightly bleeding wound with a frown.

"Rough tongue hurts new wounds to humans without fur." Jaska pointed out, folding his arms and grumpily leaning back against the couch with a scowl on his face. The stray clearly knew nothing.

Sabre huffed, stopping and instead turning to nuzzling for the time being. She didn't suppose her rough tongue would hurt Jackie; that was something she hadn't known and she hated that the d*** menace had been the one to inform her about it.

"You're fur is so soft … ," Jackie trailed off, laying her head on Sabre's shoulder and closing her eyes for a bit. The felines stared at the surprisingly submissive host, the movie almost entirely forgotten.

Jaska stood up and passed by the females to get to the couch where Sabre initially had been. From there he gained the remote and changed the TV back to the horror movie.

Sabre hissed but Jackie hugged her and laid her head over Sabre's breasts, finding it to be the perfect pillow, "mmhh … Jackie?"

Suddenly Sabre felt Jackie pull her shirt up and expose her breasts, "hey, you _do_ have those things too!" Jackie said, sounding as if she just discovered something brand new and startling.

"What!?" Sabre was so confused and surprised she didn't know how to react.

"Yeah, since, since Jaska doesn't have a d*** I thought that maybe you didn't have nippes." Jackie said with a shrug, then she poked it with a smile on her face, "But you do~."

"What you're saying!? You already saw me naked!" Sabre tried pulling back, but under the teasing of the girl's poking fingers she began to blush more out of flustered startlement.

"Oh yeah. I did." Jackie said, pulling back in surprise, "but it was dark, so I wasn't sure." She said, teetering a bit before face planting right back between the bastet's pillowy breasts and trying to sleep over their softness.

Sabre looked down with a blush and pushed Jackie away to pull her shirt down, then she looked at Jaska and thankfully saw he was not paying them any attention and instead was concentrating on the movie. Then Jackie accommodated over her chest once more.

"Weird … why do you have those perky things but Jaska doesn't have a boy part?" Jackie asked more so to herself than Sabre as the host snuggled closer with a happy smile on her face and nuzzled against the Extraspecies's plush chest.

"I do have a one. Ask stray," Jaska growled and pointed at the leopard girl.

"Actually, Jackie, he has a micro*****." Sabre said with a sunny grin as Jackie giggled.

"Pfffft _micro*****_ ," she giggled, finding the word funny.

"I don't!" He growled and got close, acting rather menacingly with his ears pressed against his head. Before it was just the host's delusions but now it was beginning to injure his manhood's pride, "You know it, stray. It so big that you couldn't take without squirming."

"I couldn't take you forcing me down to have your way!" Sabre recoiled on the couch whether to jump away or to jump forward and attack.

"I was having _your_ way. You begged for it, you needed it and I did favor, you-," his retort was cut off short as he felt a firm grab on his groin region, stiffly freezing as a certain host literally had him by the family jewels. Both felines remained silent, startled at Jackie's move.

"It feels lumpy." Jackie said with a strange expression and with a tilt of her head. She squished the lumpy thing a bit, making Jaska's cheeks burn bright with embarrassment and flustered anger. "And its small."

"So the host just corroborated your small size." Sabre chuckled with ill intent, "now go to your corner and do yourself a 'favor' since no girl would do it with you on their free will," she growled and prepared for any attack

Unable to think of a retort quickly enough he snarled, swatting the host's hand away and returning to the couch. Sabre hugged Jackie closer, considering this a win in her book as Jaska laid on the couch with a sour expression, "now _you_ take care of host," Jaska snarled while laying across the big couch that was all to himself, watching the movie.

"Way better than you," Sabre replied with a new growl and sweeps of her tail.

" … do you hear that?" He asked, his ears raising in alertness as she did the same. Both cats stopped their quarrelling listening to Jackie's sound and smooth breathing, "it's the sound of the host sleeping under oh so helpful watch." He hissed as they both looked at the host, seeing that she had fallen asleep during their little fight.

Sabre grabbed Jackie by the shoulders and shook her up, "wake up, host!"

"Hmrm … 5 more minutes … ," Jackie murmured, keeping her eyes closed while hugging Sabre firmly.

Sabre growled and spritzed Jackie's face a couple more times before shaking Jackie way harder. When Jackie whined in the back of her throat but refused to open her eyes, Sabre gnawed on her neck that ended up giving the host a hickey-like mark. Jackie only let out an annoyed groan and continued to stay bunkered down against her, not giving up yet on sleep.

"So you now try marking host for self? A female and not a male? Your heat truly desperate, stray," Jaska didn't bother to look at her but he had calmed down enough to reckon that he couldn't pay attention to the movie. There were many things going on in his mind. His brother one of the primary ones, "hey, stray, what happened to my little brother?" He asked in a rather nonchalant way, trying to be indifferent.

"What I wish happened to you instead." Sabre said in an equal tone that held far more weight behind.

" … what happened to my brother, Sabre?" Jaska asked more seriously, looking back over to her and actually used her name for once.

"That was the same thing he wondered for a while," Sabre growled with agitation, obviously not liking the topic and not willing to tell Jaska anything.

"Tell me" Jaska growled menacingly, staring at her, "fine, no tell. I find out one way or other," he growled, curling his spine up and stretching himself out a bit before Sabre got up with Jackie in her arms.

" _Your_ turn to take care of the host," Sabre smirked, carelessly throwing Jackie forward over Jaska's extended body. With the stretch ruined the tiger roared and struggled with the squirming host as she pushed his shirt up and laid against his furry chest, perfectly comfortable where she was. Jaska struggled not to throw Jackie across the room and attack Sabre to force the answers out of him as he glared at her, ignoring the host's idiotic giggling.

Just when he had managed to get a grip on Jackie and the height of the tension was about to explode in a fight, a loud crash in the kitchen made both felines jump literally ten feet in the air. Instincts and training kicked in as they both ducked for cover, Jaska throwing Jackie away and back over the coffee table and Sabre jumping on a wall to bounce towards the ceiling beams. Both of them had their fur on edge and were sending sharp glares into the kitchen before seeing Kit pop his head over the counter. In his mouth he held a cookie along with a half dozen more in his little arms, staring back at the big tiger and host in the floor. Kit's ears flickered, realizing he was caught.

Sabre's expression changed to a she frowned before moving through the beam and dropping in front of her cub with a growl. Kit yipped in surprise, dropping half his cookies before scrambling away, dropping crumbs onto the ground as he pranced into Kroc's room with his remaining goods and leaving the two cats to let the fact sink in that a small toddler nearly made them both go feral.

"Your pup bad educated. Too spoiled," Jaska huffed, annoyed that the crashing of the cookie jar startled him as much as it did.

"He saw worse experiments that you or I, you uncaring brute. I'm letting him enjoy life while he can," Sabre turned to him with an spiteful look.

" … da," he said with a tired huff, looking back over to the host and seeing her slumped on the ground, lightly snoring, "ugh, host, wake." Jaska lazily growled, rubbing his eyes. He was a little tired himself but he needed to stay up.

Sabre heard the little snore and went to Jackie, still very bothered at the insensitivity of the damn tiger, and proceeded to shake Jackie.

"Wake up host. Don't make me force you awake por las malas," Sabre growled, noticing she had slipped in language.

"Hmrmm … five more minutes … ," she murmured before Sabre shook her even harder. On a whip of her head back, both felines heard a loud and audible crack as Jackie tensed up, eyes open and awake in surprise. The Extraspecies stared at Jackie, falling into a cold sweat before the host slouched, trying to fall back asleep once again and was only held up by Sabre's grasp.

"WAKE UP!" Sabre began shaking her even harder like a rag doll, making the host's head whip back and forth.

"STOP!" Jaska hissed, catching Jackie's whip lashing head before steading it and glaring at Sabre, "what you try to do, break neck?!" He hissed, watching Jackie's eyes roll around a bit, clearly very dizzy from the shaking.

"I'm _trying_ to wake her up!" Sabre hissed a worried answer before looking desperately for the sparty bottle.

"And you call _me_ brute? Ha, you know not you more strong than humans," Jaska hissed.

Sabre's ears perked before setting down. She knew she was stronger, but she didn't suppose she was using that much force on Jackie. She said nothing but stopped moving Jackie so roughly. Jaska took it as a win on his side.

They both paused at the same time, listening to the silence before seeing Jackie had once again taken the opportunity of the distraction to fall asleep. Sabre found the bottle and quickly began spraying Jackie's face again continuously, watching the host squirm and flinch under the cold spray.

"Uggghhh nooooo … ," Jackie softly cried, tipping her head forward and against Jaska's chest, rubbing the water out of her eyes as she dried her face off on his shirt.

Jaska let out a groan and then growled, directing Jackie back over to the couch. This was going to be a long and annoying night.

* * *

Time passed and for the rest of the night and the next day until it was night again where they watched various movies, more or less by stealing the remote from each other while one dumped Jackie towards the other, using her as the main distraction. Dumisa had kept away except for a quick glance to check on if Jackie could prepare him some snacks and Kroc had passed to get Kit something to eat and check the cats weren't trying to kill each other again. During all this time, the cats had barely spoken again to each other at all except for constant growls and hisses while using Jackie as the middle man to keep the tension between them at bay. Jackie's complaining hardly made the mood better as both cats ended up ignoring her or pushing her whenever she started to annoy them.

When Sabre tried to sneak away to take a nap and leave him with the host, Jaska growled and threw a pillow straight at the leopard's face. "Stray. It _your_ turn to look after host."

With a low roar Sabre ripped the pillow away and glared at him, and then she threw a couple pillows at him that ended up hitting Jackie in the face when Jaska used the host as a human shield.

"Guys, guys seriously-," Jackie started but Jaska grabbed her face and pushed her head down as he got up; the only effective way to keep her quiet for a little while the two felines found out while watching her.

"Quiet host." He however felt just a bit guilty about the pillow, and the wounds, and the drugs. Well, no. It was actually the stray's fault. "Better yet host, why don't you tell stray to go away and don't come back?"

"So, host, why don't _you_ tell the stripped menace to get back to the lab to see what else they change on him? Maybe that would be an improvement."

"I could say same to you, mangy _rat_ ," Jaska snapped back.

Jackie glanced between the two of them before finding her opportunity to escape. While their attentions were firmly locked onto one another Jackie slipped off the couch, crawling across the floor and retreating back into her room to hide and get some sleep.

Sabre's tail lashed and then she let out a growl while standing up and getting ready to pounce. "Hey host! Why don't you remind 'dog parts' that he was too eager to get in me?"

"Why not you remind 'ragtag fur' that she was begging for getting f***, host?" Jaska walked over, also ready to tackle her and continue their fight.

"Don't you think that this gato arrabalero needs to be neutered, host?" Sabre snarled.

"Perhaps synthetic heat hole who can't control to wait for condom should be spayed. I'm in right, don't you agree, host?"Jaska hissed back.

They were very close to each other, growling and almost ready to continue their death glare match but when they expected some stupid comment from Jackie, only silence answered them.

"Where's the host?" Sabre said, looking around as Jaska's ears flickered, hearing her shuffling around in her room.

"Feh, smart host." Jaska growled as he turned his back to Sabre and went to find her. The bedroom was empty but they both heard Jackie moving around in the bathroom, making them both turn with a growl. "HOST!" Jaska barked, grabbing the handle and finding it locked.

"No! Leave me alone! I'm so tired I'm going to _die!_ " Jackie shouted back, trying to get comfortable in the tub shower and get at the very least a minute of sleep. Jaska leapt back before shouldering the door, finding it barricaded with the shelving unit that was inside Jackie's bathroom.

"If you don't open the door 'por las buenas' then you're going to be dragged out 'por las _malas_!" Sabre didn't warn; she promised.

"Open door, host, before I break!" Jaska shouted, punching the door and cracking it.

"No! You _both_ suck!" Jackie shouted back, covering her head and trying to ignore them. That shelving unit was heavy but it wouldn't hold for long; she knew that. She just had to get away from those two bickering cats for a little bit. She was exhausted and desperately wanted sleep.

"You can die if you fall asleep, host. Until 24 hrs have passed, you can't sleep," Sabre said, preparing the spray bottle again.

With a loud snapping Jaska broke down the door, making her flinch and press herself tighter against the bathroom ground. Stupid stubborn cats! She remained where she was as Jaska stomped over to Jackie as she stayed curled up inside the tub, refusing to get out.

"You are going to be awake host. One way or another," Sabre growled, angry at Jaska's presence and projecting it on Jackie.

"No!" She shouted, covering her head childishly and holding completely still. If she couldn't see them then they couldn't see her. She knew that wasn't true but that's what she was going with for now.

"Be not hard on this, host. I'm in no humor," the tiger growled, too annoyed and worked up by his own troubles to think much about the host's behavior.

"I said no!" Jackie shouted, shying away from them. She was literally about to drop dead in her exhaustion. She just couldn't take staying up any longer.

Sabre then turned on the cold water, making Jackie jump with a shout, waking up fully now. The sudden movement as she got up caused her pain in her sides as Jaska grabbed her arm, dragging Jackie out of the tub with a snarl.

"What you think you doing host! You want to open your wou-" Jaska couldn't finish before Jackie let out a pained shout that made him immediately release her as she fell onto the ground, coughing and sputtering as she gripped her sides, breathing hard as the two felines lowered their ears. In the flurry of their anger the thought that she was truly hurt by their attacks had slipped their minds. Sabre knelt down besides her and pulled her top aside a bit, smelling the fresh blood before seeing it staining her bandage.

"Seems like you opened up the wounds. It needs to be cleaned," Sabre pulled Jackie's tank top off while Jackie struggled. "Don't worry host, despite the brute's behavior now, it doesn't seem that bad." Her eyes, however, said otherwise.

"As if I only one! Who drenched in cold water?" Jaska snapped back at her as Sabre hissed.

"That stretching is what made her wounds reopen!" Sabre hissed back, her claws pulling out as she glared at him.

" _THAT'S ENOUGH_! Both of you! Honestly, bickering like annoying idiots while I'm in _extreme_ pain over here is worse than waxing that primadonna Dumisa's scales!" She hissed, shakily standing up while bitingly glaring at them both. "Piss off and go away. I'll keep myself awake the rest of the night since you two clearly aren't going to do it." She said, hugging her sides and tacking on a pained 'ow' as she grabbed a towel, shivering as she tried to dry herself off while holding back tears. Jackie took care of them night and day and they seriously couldn't even help her this one night? She was still very light headed from the medicine and tired but the cold water and pain woke her up pretty good for now. She took in a deep breath, peeling up her shirt a little and looking at the red gauze over her stitches. Ow … this freaking hurts.

Both cats stopped growling at each other to look at their host. They had indeed been too stressed out by the other's presence to properly care for Jackie, their disgust with each other taking the better out of them. They could try and wait til the host was out of danger. For the moment, they did their best to ignore each other and approached Jackie.

"I said go away. I can handle myself." Jackie growled with her eyes shimmering a bit, clearly hurt both physically and emotionally. The felines mildly wondered if it was also the pain medicine making her more emotional at the moment but she wasn't wrong. They neglected the host most of the night, treating her like a nuisance and still keeping her between them since they wouldn't willingly speak with the other without wanting to rip the other's throat out.

"Stop, host. I take care, da?" Jaska said, glancing at Sabre.

Sabre narrowed her eyes and bared her fangs at the tiger but didn't make any attempt to stop him from checking Jackie.

"No." Jackie stubbornly said as Jaska tugged her shorts down a bit to look at her upper hip. She jolted a bit as he peeled the gauze up a little bit to peek at the wound.

"Stitches rip, host. Let me care." He said, wrapping his arms around her legs and waist before carrying her into the bedroom with surprising gentleness.

Sabre meanwhile took out the first aid kit from the bathroom and then tossed it to the bed near the tiger and the struggling host along with some powerful pain pills. "If you don't keep still, I'm gonna sit on you."

"I'll pull on your tail," Jackie threatened with a frown as Jaska pushed her against her bed and hugged her legs, dragging his tongue up her hip and startling her. "What the- Jaska, what the hell!" Jackie shouted, jolting and trying to push his face away.

Sabre got on the bed and pinned Jackie's wrists to her sides while moving as far away as the tiger as it was possible, "bastet saliva is somewhat antiseptic, host."

"So are the wipes in the first aide kit!" She pointed out as Sabre grabbed her cheeks and poked the pills into her mouth. Jackie grunted as Sabre covered her mouth, making her swallow them before Jackie realized it. " … Sabre, what did I just swallow?"

"Some painkillers mostly. Now calm down host." Sabre murmured, nuzzling Jackie's cheek.

"How am I supposed to calm down when you're licking me?" Jackie growled before Sabre held her ribs down and also licked her wound.

"Just calm down host." Sabre's hand reached for a pillow and then set it over Jackie's face, but as soon as her tail accidentally touched Jaska's, that had also been moving around, both cats let out some growls at each other.

" … ugh," Jackie breathed, taking the pillow and then leaning back against it, "will you two stop fighting for a little bit at least?"

"Da." Jaska said, sliding his hand around her leg as he licked around the stitches carefully. Jackie's leg twitched, catching Jaska's attention. "Hold still, host." He said with a hidden, mischievous smirk. This could be at least a little fun.

Sabre didn't answer, but her hand grabbed Jackie's mound to move it up so she could lick better the host's ribs.

"Gah ... hey, let go of that," Jackie growled rather weakly, brushing Sabre's hand away.

"Then you hold it up." Sabre said as she dabbed her tongue against the wound. Jackie grumbled in annoyance and held it up, letting Sabre more easily reach her skin with excessive care.

Jaska's hand slid to her inner thigh, rubbing her leg with slow and deliberate motions. His lips brushed over her leg, admittedly getting a little excited. Sabre was still releasing those annoying pheromones that were extremely hard to ignore. Jaska's gaze slid over to Jackie's face, seeing her close her eyes and try to ignore them before he smirked and began licking around her wound while petting her thighs a little more vigorously in a massaging motion.

Sabre saw his actions and, determined not to lose, moved her hand and made swirling motions over Jackie's belly while her tongue got a little more adventurous above the wound and closer to the base of Jackie's mountains. Upon seeing Jaska getting so excited, she couldn't help but remember grooming sessions with Aleksey. The thought excited her as she moved up and began rubbing her head a bit over Jackie's breasts more and more with each lick on the host's flesh.

"Stop petting me, it's weird," Jackie sighed with her eyes still closed, trying to twist her torso away but Sabre held her still with ease and continued to give her attention.

Jaska started moving his licking slowly towards Jackie's inner thigh and got on a more topping position, too close for Sabre's comfort. In response the leopard turned aside and stood over Jackie in a way that made her breasts rest above Jackie's face. Jackie cracked her eyes open, sensing the shift in position before finding the fun bags hanging in front of her face and startling her. With a frown Jackie tried to move Sabre but if Jackie pushed Sabre's arms, assuming she even had the strength for it, the leopard would fall over her, so she had to resort to push Sabre's breasts away with a grunt of annoyance.

"Off, guysh … ," Jackie muttered, her body still feeling incredibly heavy.

Jaska looked up at the sound of the host's whine to see the human fondling the leopard's plush weights. The sight excited his hormones as he let out a low growl call to try and contain himself.

Sabre immediately perked and let out a growl of her own. Her pupils contracted and her ears flattened against her head as she hissed at him, getting ready to pounce or swipe at him.

Jaska blinked, staring at the feline. The stray cat had misinterpreted again but still he would not be the one to back down. "You think host be enough for heat, stray? Even if she try it won't satisfy."

"The heck you're talking about, menace? Sabre growled, flicking her tail from side to side in anger.

Both cats looked at each other in the eyes and kept their gaze up before they began growling angrily towards one another but before things escalated once more, a birdy alarm sounded signalling the 'keep the host awake' period had ended.

"Can I sleep now, _please_!?" Jackie pathetically begged.

"Da, host you can sleep now," Jaska said and laid down on the side of the bed, trying to get comfortable. He was exhausted at having to stay up so long and take care of her.

Without looking at the tiger, Sabre took the other edge of the bed so Jackie was between them. Before the felines finished settling in the host was already dead asleep, too tired to care about the cats bedding with her. Both cats observed and then they fell into an uncomfortable silence. Jaska's tail arched its tip slowly while Sabre's tail batted fast against the bed. The repetitive tapping of her tail bothered Jaska before he let out a sigh.

"Calm, stray. I very tired." Jaska yawned, nuzzling his head against the host's damp hair.

Her response was only a growl of warning, showing she did not want to talk at all. Jaska contained a growl of his own and instead sighed. Admittedly he was tired and a bit worried for the host but more than that, he was weary from the news on his brother.

"Why so angry, stray? I feel your hate more toward something else other than I being a 'faker striped menace," he said, flicking his orange gaze up to her in curiosity.

Sabre growled, "You are despicable. To use Aleksey's name in that way." Her tail lashed even more angry, "and when he was looking for you so desperately."

"Then tell me about it." He encouraged.

"You don't deserve to know anything." She snapped and, clicking her fangs shut. His proximity unsettled her a lot. He resembled his brother even in the scent.

"I thought it be easiest way to get information of brother but you too deep in heat to answer. If I f*** you again, kitty, will you give answers?" He offered with a wry grin, thinking that the offer would convince her. After all, she was restless and the heat was most likely getting too strong to resist. She needed some relief and he was nicely offering it to her after she insulted and fought him. Once she was calm and satisfied then they would be able to get over the initial problem. After that, she would probably calm down enough for them to speak like 'adult cats' as Smith had said.

"What!?" She snarled with indignation , "Ha!" She snorted, filled with utter disgust and resentment, "Aleksey could be smooth for f*****. You dare ask for it after what you did!? You are even more of a freak than I am, chimera." Her ear were back against her head and she was bearing her long fangs, "If you are so arrogant as to even think that I'd want anything with you when you've tarnished Aleksey's name and how you did me, then you better return to the lab to fix that head of yours. You most likely deserve it." Sabre was beyond offended, the stripped menace wanted to f*** her still? Did he had no shame!? Obviously not.

"This time I bite harder." He threatened with a sneer as he moved to get up. This was something he wasn't gonna tolerate listening to. He jumped over Jackie before Sabre could move out of the way and kicked her right off the bed. With a fast lurch Sabre incorporated to slap his cheek with her claws. He roared ready to fight and she responded with a hiss, but before the fight continued, the mumblings of the host made them glanced down at the bed and remind them where exactly they were. If they fought now the host would suffer the worst of it.

While Jackie complained in her sleep, Sabre took the chance to get away instead of fighting, leaving the fuming tiger behind with the host. He growled and laid down next to Jackie, staring at her form.

"Stupid stray," he growled in frustration. Was his status as a chimera so bad that even an experimented bastet in heat refused anything to do with him? He growled and accommodated the hosts, wondering if what Smith had said about someone getting past the chimera thing was really possible. He looked down at the sleeping host as his hand slid up her soft belly, staring at her without much emotion in his eyes. Was his host truly different? Would her view on him change if she knew he was a chimera?

He leaned forward, kissing her jaws and watching her carefully, seeing that she was dead asleep without the slightest inclination of waking up anytime soon. His ear twitched a bit as he leaned over her a little more, licking the hickey Sabre had given her earlier while grabbing a breast, flickering his tail back and forth as he thought of all the other humans he's f***ed in the past, mostly hookers he had to pay for just to get some companionship.

His lips parted, nipping her skin and beginning to rub himself on her. He was so tired of knowing he'd be rejected by any bastet and being forced to pay women to release his tensions. Wasn't there a female somewhere that would not mind him being a chimera? Would the host be an option as Smith had suggested? He licked her collarbone, sliding his fingers down and hooking a finger around the waist of her shorts.

The vibrating phone made him pause as he stared at Jackie's sleeping face, barely casting the phone a glance before recognizing the number of Smith calling him. He stood to his knees, taking the phone and sitting over Jackie's waist as he flipped the phone open.

"Da?" He asked in a low and bothered tone, staring at the sleeping host before narrowing his eyes. What was he about to do to the host? Was he really as desperate as the bastet suggested?

" _The host's period of non-sleep is over. You're free to let her sleep and get some sleep yourself."_ She reminded him, hearing only silence on the other side of the phone. " … _how are you, Jaska?"_ She asked.

"I want to spend night with you, Smith. I need it," Jaska said, lowering his ears as he knew what he was asking her. She had done it before when he was at his lowest point of depression, when he first found out that he was a chimera. She came to comfort him and pet him but then he turned on her and … things happened from there. Regardless of why she did it, he was thankful. It made him feel … wanted.

"You have a room there Jaska, why do you need it?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Because stray is in heat and I no want to be near." He said, slouching a bit and glancing off to the side.

"So Sabre is in heat?" Smith made a pause, that was a situation she also hadn't planned for, "and you don't want to be near a female bastet in heat? That's unusual."

"Da. She intolerable." Jaska complained, knowing Smith would listen to him at the very least.

"Anyways, I'm on a setting some stuff and won't be home for a few days. You can always sleep with the host," she nonchalantly suggested before pausing, "and I mean only sleep, not the other kind of sleep."

"You seem not to mind both." Jaska said, bothered by the silence on the other end of the line before she spoke up again.

"I warned you not to mix the job with other situations." She warned in a dangerous voice as Jaska sneered a bit, disliking what he was asking but he didn't know who else to call.

"So you slept with me as part of job?" Jaska asked, feeling his chest tightening in disgust with himself. He was manipulating her words and he knew it. She did it because she knew he was on the breaking point. Whether it was out of pity or fear he really didn't know; that was the first night he went feral in a long time but he remembered it perfectly.

"That's a situation I'm not mixing with here, Jaska. I doubt a bastet in heat in your territory is that annoying. Calm down and we'll speak later. Go to sleep, and if you do try to sleep with the host, remember she is not like all the other women you've met."

" … da," he softly answered before hanging up, letting out a heavy sigh before laying down with his back to the host. He was too comfortable to leave and too heavy hearted to go anywhere else. He was also too annoyed with himself for considering about sleeping with the host and too sensitive about the leopard's words and rejection, not to mention he was deeply hurt by the news of his little brother. He let out a heavy sigh; he truly felt like moving wasn't even worth it but he'd settle that later; for now he only wanted to fall into dreamless sleep.

His spine curled a bit as the host's hand grabbing his tail, making him glance back as she nestled herself between his back and the sheets, thoroughly enjoying the warmth he provided while cuddling with his thick tail. He stared at her for a few moments before sitting up, rubbing his eyes. He could not stay here. All this stress needed some kind of release and the host was not a viable option. He untangled himself from Jackie's grasp, letting her hug the pillow instead as he walked off, thinking on waking up the crocodile for a spar.

* * *

I've figured I've made you all wait long enough, thanks for being so patient! _**10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter! :D


	10. Chapter 10

Jaska woke up on the floor of the crocodile's room with a deep muscle ache. He barely was able to gather his thoughts before his eyes rolled back into his head. There was not an inch on his body that wasn't aching from the beating he recieved. With a sore groan he slowly sat up, rubbing his aching head.

Last thing he remembered was going to _nicely_ ask Kroc to spar with him because he really needed to vent out. Between the d*** stray's hormones in the air, his dislike for the clouded leopard and having to take care of the host, he was very stressed. With a growl he got up, dialing the number for Ms. Smith while ignoring the dull, thudding headache.

Smith answered at the first ring. " _Jaska? Morning. What's up?"_

"Send car in hour. We need talk." He growled before hanging up, tossing the phone aside and doing his morning stretches right there before he got up to go take a shower in his own room.

He was barely reaching the door when Kroc called him out. The tiger paused, glancing back at the crocodile as he hopped from foot to foot on the mat with a damaged punching bag hanging from a chain.

"Have good night sleep, mate?" Kroc spoke up with a grin, sparring with the punching bag without looking up at the disgruntled feline.

"Niet," Jaska briefly growled with all honesty and no humor. With his head a fuzzy and aching mess he hadn't even registered Kroc was in the room too.

"Well, that should teach you not to wake a sleeping crocodile. I was having a good dream before you dropped 500 pounds of weights on my back." Kroc huffed, still seeming annoyed by how Jaska woke him up.

"You not wake with nicer ways," he grunted in annoyance. The Siberian tiger did a lot more than that trying to wake Kroc up; from calling his name to kicking him over and over again before he tried throwing weights on top of him to force the reptile to wake up. Unlucky for him, Kroc was not happy to be woken up in the middle of the night and ended the sparring with one hit tail hit before curling back into a ball and going back to sleep.

" … ever need a sparring partner I'll happily repay ya for the weights." Kroc laughed, pausing in his punching to crookedly grin at the aching tiger, "just don't mess with my weights next time." He said with a gruff chuckle, whipping his tail around and slamming the 200 pound punching bag off the hooks and across the ground, spilling sand over the ground before he huffed. "d*** it, broke another one." Kroc huffed in annoyance, walking over to the closet before pulling out a spar.

"Then wake up easier next time" He sighed, slumping out of the room before returning to his own room.

He crawled out of his clothes, slipping into the bathroom to get ready for the day and hopefully get rid of some of the scent from the stray cat that seemed to cling to everything including his own fur.

The hot water relaxed his scratched muscles as he let out a heavy sigh, flipping his tail around and closing his eyes to enjoy the sensation. At first he thought having a host would be bearable, perhaps even nice but then that stupid stray showed up and turned everything upside down. He growled at that, and now Smith planned to have her join the special forces? He sneered, shutting off the water before shaking himself. Not if he had any say in it.

He dried off his fur vigorously, amounting himself to a large puffball before he brushed it out, making his coat look glossy and soft but not as soft as the host managed to always get it done. He paused with a slight growl, remembering what he almost did to the host last night after he had accidentally hurt her in that stupid fight.

"D*** stray's fault," he hissed. It was definitely the fault of the stray and her terrible attitude coupled with the smell of heat. She needed to go away.

* * *

When he got out of the apartment, Smith's car was out waiting for him but she was not there herself. Not too long after he was outside Smith's big office, reviewing arguments in his head while making up counter arguments to whatever she could think of. He was determined to kick that stray out of the house.

Without even knocking he entered, seeing Ms. Smith on the couch while petting a black furred feline Extraspecies who would be early 20's in human years. He was a lean but muscular jaguar that was mindlessly purring with a happy smile on his face while in Smith's arms.

"Hello, Jaska. You seem rather unhappy. Is the host a problem?" She asked, grabbing the black jaguar's cheeks and squishing them together while he deeply purred and leaned against her with the biggest smile on his face. The jaguar remained where he was but leaned his head against her hands, breathing a little irregularly as his tail flipped around in his excitement.

"Host no much problem, but str- clouded leopard is," he calmly stated, feeling a little pang of jealously towards the jaguar in Smith's arms. He knew first hand how good Smith was at petting but seeing her pet other felines in the sorts of ways she pet him bothered him.

"Sabre? How so? Did she attack the host again?" Ms. Smith asked as she looked at the jaguar with a faint blush. Her warm smile bothered Jaska as her fingers stretched the jaguar's ears and made him softly yowl with a needy groan, his hips twitching.

"A little lower, Ms. Smith, if you please. And harder … ," he needily pleaded, kneading licking knee in his pleasured state as she scratched at the base of his ears and made him groan rather sensually.

Jaska stared at the duo, finding himself growing more annoyed. Smith's antics of being a cat lover was certainly nothing to be messed with. He ignored the younger feline who sounded as if Smith was molesting him to his liking. "Niet, the clouded leopard hasn't attacked host again but she a danger," he crossed his arms, "she go feral any moment and her scent gets over host."

"Well, that's why you're there, Jaska." Ms. Smith said, kissing Eztli on the forehead while squishing his plush cheeks and tugging on his short whiskers as the jaguar gave her a little lick, "and I thought you would enjoy the scent and the prospect of a female bastet in heat, particularly if it's on the host who makes your coat look beautiful. Although I don't think she groomed you this time, did she?"

"Do all hosts pet as well as you do?" The jaguar panted, interrupting the conversation without much care for it since he was still in a dream world of his own. Ms. Smith smiled, sliding her palm down his neck and making him let out a low key, "nyaaaa~"

"It's rude to interrupt." She teased, completely distracted with the jelly lump of fur before her. With one hand she grabbed his tail near the base and pulled while with the other she tugged at the tip of his rounded ear before scratching it, which only caused the jaguar to let out a sexy moan. He began to lick at Smith's lap, leaving a wet patch of saliva on her pencil skirt as she pushed a finger in front of his mouth to push on his upper lip. He leaned forward, sucking on her digit with a lewd groan while his tail raised up, curling over his spine. Smith looked down at the black jaguar with a cheerful smile, seeming to be enjoying herself, "yes, Eztli, it's a requirement for hosts to be able to pet nicely."

"Do they … ?" he asked and coiled, trailing off as she caught his flickering tail and pulled on it a bit again, making him yowl rather loudly before he clung tighter to her, shakily breathing in his excitement before he ushered something quickly and quietly in Spanish.

"The ones in _my_ programs do," Smith proudly assured him and hugged him while continuing the petting. Jaska let out a low growl, pissed off that he was being ignored before Ms. Smith looked up to him, "and you complain about a female bastet in heat right there in your territory? Why would she be a danger if you are there to teach her to control her instincts? Maybe even ease them"

Jaska remained silent in his annoyance. He couldn't get pass the little detail that he would avoid teaching her anything but there was another card he could play, "because her scent affects all males in house and if scent on host then there danger of trespassing on contract."

Smith smiled and let out a chuckle, "not on her particular contract, remember?" she looked at Jaska with a sharp smirk, "I thought you wanted kittens. Isn't this your chance to get with a good kitty and start trying for that family?"

Jaska's ears lowered in annoyance as Eztli purred even louder. "I'll give you kittens … if you really want them." Eztli murmured to Smith, half delirious under her hypnotic petting as he twisted on his back.

"You think I make kittens with the stray?!" Jaska roared in anger, smashing his fist against the nearby desk and glared at Ms. Smith, deeply irritated by everything that was happening.

Smith remained calm and continued through her petting of the other cat who remained oblivious to Jaska's anger, "well, Sabre is barely entering heat so in a few days I doubt either of you will resist. But of course ... there _is_ another option," she said with a cheeky smile, "didn't you say that the scent gets on the host too? Don't worry Jaska, I know it might take you a few tries but yes, I know you can make those kittens." She encouraged with a grin and a thumbs up in his direction.

"Not under current circumstances, Smith," Jaska hissed, getting close to Smith to get his point across but instead nearly jumped out of his fur when Eztli latched his claws onto his hips, leaning in and sniffing his stomach with a deep purr.

"You smell good." Eztli noted, after tugging the tiger's pants down a small ways, the jaguar unconsciously began to lick the fur on Jaska's hip bone. Jaska tried to move away but the strength of the jaguar surprised him. Before he could pry the clingy feline off, Ms. Smith gently held Jaska's wrist to keep him where he was while Eztli numbly licked him with a panting smile.

"That's the scent of a bastet in heat, Eztli. Jaska is living with one so he carries the scent around with him," Ms. Smith explained as Jaska held still, torn between ripping the jaguar's head off or just calmly stepping away. Ms. Smith, however, refused both those options by holding his wrist. It wasn't her strength that held him in place but rather the consequences of knowing what she would do if he backed away from her.

"A bastet in heat? I've never met one," Eztli said offhandedly and began rubbing his head against Jaska's hip while sniffing more and more intensely just before biting him rather hard with with the pleasure reflected in his face.

Jaska roared and pushed the Jaguar's head off, snarling at him, "what you doing!? You want to fight for stray? Go and _have_ lab rat! Take her away if want!" He angrily shouted as Eztli shook himself out a bit and returned to nuzzling Ms. Smith shoulder while his nose remained in the air and sniffing Jaska's scent.

"But it smells nice, cute and inviting." He purred, rolling around on Ms. Smith's lap with a carefree smile as he stretched.

"Be nice Jaska. Eztli actually has not met other bastets either," Smith warned, clearly not willing to tolerate Jaska attacking the possibly drugged jaguar, "you're the first bastet friend he's making."

With a sudden and unpredictable lunge Eztli tackled Jaska onto the ground, purring as he rubbed his head against Jaska's chest and held on with a startlingly firm grasp despite being smaller in size than the Siberian tiger, "smells very, very nice and beautiful. I want to meet this scent."

"What you trying? Move away," Jaska snarled. The purring of the feline was alarmingly friendly but the definitely not platonic moaning was making Jaska _very_ uncomfortable.

"He's just trying to show his affection, Jaska. Why not return it? Eztli is perfectly friendly." Ms. Smith happily smiled while holding her phone camera up and taking pictures, her head in another world as she watched the big cat Extraspecies cuddling on the ground. Eztli rolled over the ground with a purr, stretching himself out as Jaska glared at Ms. Smith.

"I want stray _out_ of host house!" He shouted in anger before he jolted, claws extending from Eztli grabbing and biting Jaska's tail playfully but hard. He was acting like an overgrown kitten that sounded as if he was the one in heat, but if Jaska did anything to peel the menace off, Smith would have the tiger's balls on a plate in a heartbeat.

"Really Jaska? Aren't there things you want to ask her?" Smith grabbed some papers from her desk and set them in Jaska's hand in a professional manner, but in the other hand continued to take many pictures with a blush prevalent on her cheeks, "she will go to another host only if she chooses so. And even if she does want to leave, she still needs to sign her registration into the program so it's your mission to see she signs."

"Mission now, is it?!" Jaska angrily shouted, crunching the papers in his claws when the Jaguar grabbed his tail again and began sucking on it while rubbing his body over Jaska's, his purring shifting into sensual groans. Jaska's face paled, tensing up in response to the jaguar's unusual behavior. He definitely did not like what was going on but did not know what was worse; the jaguar being about two seconds away from dry humping him, or Smith handing him the paperwork for Sabre to sign as if it was _his_ job to look after the stray.

"You said you wanted her out so it should be your duty to make sure the paperwork is right in the beginning or else it will cause a big mess for me." Ms. Smith explained as Eztli slid his hand up the tiger's tail and scratched at the base of his spine.

Jaska, with all the dignity he no longer had, turned tail and fled from the other cat and the room. Before Eztli could follow, Ms. Smith hugged him from behind and pressed her finger against the tip of his nose before he turned around and hugged her rather affectionately.

"You're going to be just fine, Eztli. I promise," Ms. Smith smiled as he rubbed his head into her shoulder, his ears lowering in nervous apprehension, "there will be no mistakes like last time, rest assured." She whispered, feeling his grip tighten as he buried his face against her shoulder and curled into a protective little ball.

* * *

Dumisa laid down in his room and stared at the men's fashion magazine, rather unimpressed with his own current attire. He liked the clothing at first but the shirts he bought with the host were boring him and didn't make his scales shine as much as they ought to. They were simply too boring of a design made for the general population and not for himself; while the shirts here were nicer than the ones he had in Africa, most of them were not long enough for his torso. He propped his chin up, nearly bored to tears as he mindlessly looked through the clothes he could not have because they wouldn't fit a lamia properly anyways.

Dumisa sharply exhaled through his nose, trying to get the thick scent of Sabre's heat out of his nose as he popped a hard boiled egg into his mouth. Her scent was so strong he was almost suffocating on it. Lamia do not give off such a potent smell; instead they gave off one that was subtler and traveled further. Being trapped here in the house with the scent that screamed the presence of a needy female was going to drive him insane.

He reached for another egg in the bowl next to his bed but felt nothing there. With a sigh he glanced over, seeing the fox kit had somehow crept his way near him with his silent stalking. With an unwavering movement he looked back at the snake with a smile and moved back a little bit while hugging the bowl of boiled eggs rather protectively. Dumisa stared as the little toddler munched on the eggs, keeping eye contact with Dumisa as though expecting the snake to do something about it.

Rather than reacting Dumisa simply turned his attention back to the magazine and continued to gloss over the featured articles with the 'high in fashion' for humans. The fox could go ahead and have the eggs; he really didn't care either way.

Kit meowed to call Dumisa's attention and tried eating another egg in front of his future playmate but Dumisa ignored the fox. No matter what the kit did, from edging closer, taunting him, pawing at him and quickly retreating, meowing relentlessly and using every trick in the book the fox could think of, Dumisa steady ignored him and instead kept flipping through the pages of the magazine.

Finally out of ideas the kit sat in front of Dumisa, looking defeated and began pouting with a soft meow.

Dumisa glanced up at him, staring without much of a care for the little fox boy before flicking him on the head with a lightning fast move. Kit let out a small cry and held the injured spot as Dumisa pulled his bowl of hard boiled eggs back over before popping another into his mouth and flipping through the magazine without another look up.

The fox's lips twitched and then he start crying, sad that Dumisa was refusing to play with him. The black mamba ignored him as the fox's crying steadily grew louder, finally tired of trying to play with Dumisa and now simply just wanting attention from the poisonous snake.

Dumisa sighed as his tail wrapped around the crying Kit, startling him before holding him up in the air. After a few moments of silence Dumisa loosened his grip, letting Kit tumble down his scales before the fox jumped off, tense and looking around Dumisa's bunched up body. He gasped in excitement before he ran around his body, treating it like a giant jungle gym as he dipped under curves and crawled through holes all with an excited squealing.

After finishing reading the magazine Dumisa lazily yawned and tossed the useless scrap of papers aside, bored as he laid down. Seeing the discarded magazine, Kit picked it up and passed his hands through some pages, then, stuffing it in his mouth he ran over to Dumisa's head and insistently pawed at him.

Dumisa cracked an eye open, seeing Kit dancing back and forth with the magazine in his mouth before running away to the hole in his wall from Smith's last entrance that had not been repaired yet. After a few moments the young fox's head popped back into view, looking back to see if Dumisa was following. The snake sighed, deciding to indulge the little furball for now and followed him. Not that he had anything better to do and some movement might do him well; this lazy lifestyle was making him grow softer along with the host's delicious food.

The little kit ran out the door and down the hall, dashing up the stairs into the attic, which stair where mysteriously pulled down.

Dumisa raised an eyebrow but followed. The place was full of dusty boxes with strange objects he could only assume were related to 'Halloween', 'Easter', Christmas and a few other names he did not know that were written on the boxes. The black mamba hadn't know where Sabre was staying after leaving the tigers den, but apparently it was as away from everyone as possible. This place had her scent strongest in the house and was surely her new sad excuse for a den even though the only livable thing here was a makeshift hammock made out of old bedsheets.

"Sabreee, your kit stole my magazine," he lazily huffed, trying not to breathe so deeply the scent of her stifling heat as he effortlessly slid his torso into the room. Hmph … this room was so small and the scent was so powerful he thought he was going to choke on it. This scent only bothered him deeply; he had smelled enough hormones to last a lifetime.

Sabre was nowhere around. The room was empty except for Kit who was pointing to some sketch books lying around on the ground. He stood at his ready, tail flickering back and forth as he waited for Dumisa to play with him. Rather than pay the kit attention, Dumisa popped open one of the sketchbooks, and upon opening it he found a drawing of a male lamia resembling him without a face with rather crisp looking clothes on it.

The fox meowed contently, happy that Dumisa had gotten what he was showing him and that resembled the magazine he had stolen from the lamia.

Dumisa leaned forward, cupping his cheek in his hand as he glanced through a few other sketchbooks and took an interest at the designs concepts for Extraspecies clothing. _("What? Is Sabre going to start a line for Extraspecies clothing?"_ ) He miffed, tossing it aside before glancing through the others and finding one to be entirely of lamia, both male and female. After a few moments of staring at it, his attention was caught.

"Just to pass the time, I suppose." He sighed before collecting the sketchbooks. Kit's tail stopped wagging as Dumisa retreated out of the attic and slithered back to his room with the sketchbooks in arms and the fox in tow behind him.

Back in his room, he picked up a pencil himself, getting comfortable before looking through the books. At times he added some sketches in the empty pages while leaving notes in others about how the tight seam would make it hard to move, how low collars should be, clashing patterns and other things for each of the Extraspecies in general that she drew for. They weren't that amazing but they were interesting ideas, nonetheless.

While Dumisa was busy with the sketchbooks the kit continued playing around then snake as the male lamia shifted his long body for him to jump, evade and climb the shifting gym. The kit's playing hardly bothered the snake at all as he continued to gloss through the pages with a bored expression on his face.

Some time after, a growling call was heard and the fox stopped his mad running on Dumisa's back to answer the call, then he went back to play with Dumisa and very soon Sabre came into the room, pausing as she saw Dumisa looking through the sketchbooks with a pencil in his hand, tapping his lower lip before adding something to a blank page.

She gasped and her fur stood on edge, "those are my notebooks?" She meekly said with some hint nervousness in her tone.

"They're interesting." He said, startling her, "your design concepts are good but there are some alterations you need to make if you want them to work for different species, in most particular the lamia; for example, the silk tops for the girls. The bodies themselves are often elongated so you have the measurements slightly off from the average lamia side and the stitching here would have to be reinforced if you didn't want it to rip while on the lamia." He said absentmindedly, glancing through the pages before yawning, "I added some notes and sketches for improvement in the back pages and some on the design pages for you of how to fix them." He said, yawning again before laying his head on his arms.

"Ahh … mmhh … thanks?" Sabre said as she took the notebooks in her arms and Kit ran to grab onto her legs.

"And now you owe me, so take me out. I need some fresh air." Dumisa stretched and stood up.

"Eh? Go out? Mmhh … Dumisa, Jackie can't take you out now." Sabre stated. He knew that he was supposed to be accompanied by his host if he wanted to go out.

"You heard me. It's suffocating in here and I want to go out but since the host is busy healing I can't go out. So, instead, you should take me out." He reasoned out. It was her fault her accumulated scent was driving him this insane so the least she could do was get him out of the stuffy house for a bit.

"Are you sure?" Sabre eyed Dumisa and then looked down at the yawning pup. He was getting tired from his playday and needed his nap. Dumisa had been caring for the pup and had been checking her sketches and adding helpful feedback.

"If I wasn't then I would not have asked." He sighed.

Sabre hugged her notebooks close to her body and smiled. "Alright, just let me drop Kit with Kroc." She could take the chance to get out and away from anything close to the stripped menace. She had avoided every single place he had passed by since his scent reminded her too much of her beloved Aleksey. She needed a distraction and by the looks of it, Dumisa did too, "I know a place we can go. Would you like to go see more designs? There are some prototypes already you could even try on."

"Prototypes?" He asked, interested.

* * *

Jackie was walking down the hall, heavily yawning after just woken up from a very long and well deserved rest. It was beautiful; she slept in until 11:00 today without interruptions after having been forced to stay awake but now was the time to work. Jackie hitched up her sweatpants a little bit and began getting to work cleaning up after the kitties watched over her for the day. They were terrible caretakers but they did try. She'd give them effort points for that and for not killing each other. Although as to why they hated each other so much she still had no idea.

After almost an hour of cleaning her attention was turned to the living room. The furniture were all moved and angled badly from all the messing around last night. She let out a sigh and pulled her hair back into a bun before she began to move the furniture. Her sides ached horribly but the stitches were still good the last time she checked him.

"What are you doing host? You should be resting," Kroc said, startled her as he came behind her and saw her picking up all the debris.

"Cleaning up the house a bit. I'm feeling a lot better so I might as well clean up a little bit before taking a nap." She said with a shrug, pushing the couches back into place. The cuts into her side ached badly as she stopped, taking a mild rest before leaning her back on it and pushing it with the least amount of stress being put onto her cuts.

"Human wounds take long to heal and you were hurt badly. Leave this and go to sleep more." Kroc's voice was gentle but firm.

"I'm fine Kroc, really I am. Do you need anything?" She asked, turning around and was started to see him so close. She craned her head up, staring at his otherwise menacing position towering over her. But, knowing he was as cuddly as a scaled teddy bear she really wasn't intimidated. Out of everyone he was the calmest and more reasonable of all the predators in the house.

"Why don't you come and soak with me in the tub then? It's relaxing and the salt water will help your wounds," Kroc pressured, clearly intent on making her relax for a bit. Jackie lightly smiled, not quite ready to give in to his demands just yet.

"Maybe another time, I really want to clean up some more before the others get home." Jackie said, wiping off the table with a clothe.

Kroc sighed, flickering his tail back and forth in thought before rethinking his plan, "fine, host. I just want you to wash my scales. It's hard to reach my back." He explained, turning around and pointing to the ridges and thick scales on his backside.

"Ah~ you got me, alright. I'll go get changed and join you." She said with slouched shoulders. Kroc could be pretty insistent when he wanted to be. He left to return to his room as Jackie walked back to hers, putting on a swimsuit and grabbing a towel before heading into his room.

From out of nowhere Kit ran in front of her with a bathtub duck toy, squeaking it in his mouth before dashing into Kroc's room. Surprised, she followed after Kit and looked inside to see Kroc's current pool turned into a large bath with bubbles in it as Kit dashed over to Kroc and hopped over the water with the rubber duckie. Kroc caught the little fox in midair, gently and slowly set him on the shelf of the current pool because he was unsure if the tyke knew how to swim or not.

"So Kit is joining us?" Jackie lightly laughed, walking over by the edge and dipping her foot in. Kroc rubbed his neck with a soapy rag before he glanced over at her.

"You bothered by the tyke?" Kroc asked, raising his arm to help Jackie into the pool so she didn't slip. She took his supportive arm, stepping into the water slowly with a smile.

"No it's fine. The more the merrier." She smiled before stepping onto the shelf under the water. She sucked in a fast, pained breath at the stinging sensation of the water against her wounds but otherwise beared with it. "I just thought he'd be with Sabre or that Sabre would be around with him if he was getting too close to a pool."

"Sabre left with Dumisa and asked me to take care of the tyke," Kroc shrugged and looked Jackie up and down. The sheela looked good in her swimsuit. After another look he noticed an extra bump on her head that wasn't there before the cats took care of her. He frowned with narrowed eyes. He knew he should have stayed up to watch her instead.

" … left? what do you mean left?" Jackie asked, her face paling as she ignored Kroc's inquiry about her health. "Please don't tell me Sabre and Dumisa snuck out, Kroc." Jackie groaned, slouching deeper into the water.

"They just went out. Don't worry, Sabre knows how to move around," he assured but didn't mention more.

" … ugh, I seriously can't leave those two alone." Jackie sighed, rubbing her forehead and groaning when she touched the bumps there.

"You can if they are together. And you should worry more about yourself. How are those wounds?" Kroc said, clearly planning on ragging her for this.

"Sore but otherwise alright. The salt in the water stings a little bit but it'll help," she sighed, tenderly rubbing the bandaged wound to check on it and ensure it was still firm.

Kit happily splashed around in his own little world, letting the ducky float away a few inches before leaping into the air with a grin and attacking it. The wild squeaking of the rubber duck's distressed cries only made Jackie laugh as Kit tussled around with it, coming up for air with ease before pawing playfully at his favorite toy.

"You sure you're fine? You were cut right," Kroc also watched the cub with interest, noticing his prancing around and careful studying of his prey. He'd be a fine predator one day; just not a water predator.

"I'm fine, I'm fine really. You don't need to worry," Jackie laughed, leaning back against the wall with a smile on her face.

Kroc studied her, noticing her leaning to the side slightly and coddling her left waist where her ribs were sliced open. And from the smell of it, seems that Sabre got her scent of heat onto Jackie too. He deeply inhaled, his eyes sliding open with a slightly predatory glint in the narrow slits of his pupils. His large hand held her shoulder as he turned towards her, surprising her.

"What? You want me to wash your back now?" Jackie asked as he leaned in, surprising her when he leaned his snout against her chest and deeply inhaled. The host jumped, startled as his rather intimidating jaws parted and deeply and slowly inhaled her scent. "Uh … Kroc? What are you doing?" She asked as his snout pushed against her breast. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she slapped him across the head, knowing what little damage that did. "KROC!" She thundered loudly.

Kroc's eyes, out of her line of sight, widened in surprise before he whipped his head back, startled by the sudden awakening out of his feral state. He almost went feral? From Sabre's scent alone? No … his eyes turned to water, staring at the nearly opaque violet. The combination of the scents were messing with his head. That was all. His eyes caught sight of Jackie, seeing her crossing her arms over her bare chest with a deep blush on her face. "Huh?" he said, tiling his head back before noticing a piece of fabric stuck in his jaw.

"What do you think you're doing?! Give me my top back!" Jackie shouted, reaching up for her missing piece of swimming attire before she ripped down on it, mistakenly tearing the breast fabric against his metal lower jaw and rendering it useless. His jaw barely jerked from her sudden grab, still too startled to properly respond to her as he stared at her naked covered chest.

Thinking about it, he had never looked at a woman lewdly before but right now at this moment he was having a hard time thinking about anything else. All his years of training, constant wandering and never having a set territory for himself had never let him find to a suitable female. And now that Sabre's unusually strong scent was over the host's skin, his mind was wandering into many 'what if's' for his likes but he simply could not stop them.

"Kroc, are you listening to me?!" The host nagged, dipping under the water in embarrassment as she continued to cover herself, "why did you r-rip my suit off?"

"I… I did?" He submerged in the water for a second, soaking his nose in the lavender scent to drown out the host's sexy smell before emerging, "I'm sorry, I merely got close to smell that Sabre's scent was on you and I guess it was too strong to fully resist."

"It's _still_ on me?! Dang it!" Jackie whined covering her face before quickly covering her chest again with a deep blush.

"It err… makes you smell good? You may not be well built but your soft complexion is also nice, host." Kroc awkwardly tried to compliment the host in some way as a slight blush rose to his cheeks in response.

"W-What?" She asked, put off by his complement as her face scrunched up before she put that out of her mind, "wait, go back you mean I smell 'nice' to you too?" Jackie asked, eyes wide, "I-I thought smelling like Sabre would only affect Jaska! It affects you too?!" Jackie was dumbfounded by this horrifying discovery. If the scent led Kroc into ripping her top off she could only imagine what it would lead that perverted prima donna Dumisa to do.

"Yes. Her scent is unusually strong and very sweet. And it does affects me too, more so because it's everywhere now." He knew it was also affecting everyone quite a bit, but since he hadn't ever met another female bastet in heat he wasn't sure if it was always so potent.

"W-Well is there any way to negate it?" Jackie asked, going to make a hand motion before quickly hugging herself again in embarrassment.

Kroc shook his head, "No. Other scents may cover it a little but they can't overpower it, cleaning a lot might dismiss it but not much to make any difference. Only thing is to wait for her heat to end."

" … a-are you sure?" She pleaded, begging for any way to get this scent off of her, "well, is there any way to make it less potent to the other guys then?" She asked, giving him the puppy dog eyes as if it would help him remember some special technique to get the scent off.

Kroc shrugged, "Perhaps if she were to get some relief the effects would lessen because they may be so strong as to call for a mate. But the only one who would know if there's a way would be another cat."

"Host, I need brushing." Jaska achingly sighed, walking into Kroc's room as if invoked merely from speaking his name. It wasn't hard for the tiger to find her when she was caterwauling in such a loud manner. His muscles still ached horribly from Kroc's devastatingly blow last night and he needed a good brushing. Also Smith giving him the proper documents for Sabre and learning there might be yet _another_ cat in the Extraspecies family here, he needed a nice thorough brushing from a host as a distraction.

Jackie stiffed up, turning to look at him with wide eyes as he noticed her covering her chest up before seeing the black fabric still stuck in Kroc's teeth. It wasn't hard to put two and two together.

"So host goes to crocodile now?" He said with quite the stoic face.

"W-What do you mean by that?! " Jackie shouted, her face brightening to a red blush before Kroc's arm wrapped around her waist. She jolted, started as he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her while staring at Jaska. Kroc could only imagine how the powerful scent would affect the male feline so trying to cover her with his own scent would make it manageable to Jaska to the point he wouldn't 'attack' the host.

"Denying obvious, host? Didn't take you for _that_ ," Jaska sourly growled before turning around and leaving.

"Hey, Jaska what was that supposed to mean?!" Jackie shouted back at him while keeping her top firmly hugged to prevent Kroc from feeling anything, "Kroc, let go this is embarrassing!"

" … five more minutes, host."

"GAH!"

* * *

Meanwhile in another place, Sabre opened the door to a shady vessel building and invited Dumisa to climb the stairs towards the upper floor. Dumisa sneered at the amount of dust that was around the entrance but otherwise ignored it. Dust was easier to clean off than sand so it did not bother him too terribly.

"Welcome to my studio," Sabre grinned and let him in, presenting her arm proudly around the space of the room.

"It looks … ," Dumisa started but paused, examining the spacious room. He had not been impressed by the outside or the first floor and the second had been empty but now that they were at the top he saw it was actually quite nice. Simple and functional yet cozy. Although a bit plain for his tastes he supposed it fit the feline well, "what do you do here?"

Sabre looked inside at the hangers with fabrics and clothes among the other accessories around, "well … ," she trailed off, seeming flustered as her cheeks gained some color, "I'm trying to create a line of clothes for extraspecies." She closed the door once the entire of Dumisa was in, "human clothing won't fit everyone and even in the extraspecies world there is little real fashion that is not copied from human trends."

Dumisa had heard about a new line called WYLD that began existing mysteriously recently. He hadn't expected the cat to be related to that. "I see … so why are you doing this? I could appreciate the effort but it seems rather … ," he trailed off, at a loss for words from seeing how excited she was. He sighed. No matter what he said she wouldn't really care. She was in her own little world right now.

"I'm also trying to make a good buck." She said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh? Now that's interesting." Dumisa said, flickering his tail back and forth in amusement. "And how you expect to do it with the ban on extraspecies working or earning money in this country?"

Sabre chuckled and crossed her arms, "that's pretty easy. I don't do it here; I sell my designs to my own company that is settled in another country with more friendly laws, commision parts of the process everywhere and then ship back, while another company I set in a fiscal paradise takes care of any other trouble. Basically, since I'm not being paid here I'm free to do as I can."

"You seem awfully aware of human laws and customs," he said with a suspicious glance in her direction. Her smile remained, letting it roll off her shoulders as she pretended to pay it no mind and instead jumped topics.

"Would you like to see the models I have for Lamias here?" Sabre walked to a closet and pulled out some models for him to try on.

He perked up a bit, interested and successfully distracted, "well, I don't see why not. The material is fine and nice, not like a cheap brand would be." He said, pulling some shirts from the pile to get a better look at them.

They were passing the time and actually enjoying each others company. Chatting along while he modeled and give hints for Sabre to write down. Dumisa was being showy and enjoying the cat's total attention until Sabre's cell phone sounded.

She turned her back to Dumisa and started speaking in spanish with whomever was on the other side of the line. The conversation then caught her attention as she began pacing inside the room while not paying attention to Dumisa.

He stared rather openly at her, crossing her arms in annoyance. Was she done with him here now that she had some other distraction to use? His eyes narrowed, pissed off with the thought more than he should have been. However, he felt that he wasn't done just yet. He slithered in front of her, trying to look inconspicuous as he tried on another shirt and pose a bit before she turned her eyes away, still speaking into the phone and ignoring him.

"Oh? En esa direccion? ( _oh? In that address?_ )" Sabre said, calculating some prices mentally.

Dumisa's eyes narrowed, seeing she was not paying the slightest attention to him even when it was she who asked him to model for her. Hardly a minute ago she was properly paying attention to him but now that she was finished with him, he was free to leave? Is that it?

"Y lo quieres vivo? Eso va a costar màs _(And you wanted it alive? That will cost more)_ " Sabre scratched her chin in thought.

Determined not to be ignored Dumisa slithers in front of her, showing her the jacket he was wearing before she casually turned away and continued her pacing. He remembered about how the lamias ignored him after they used him. His sharp teeth clicked together in his own stupidity; of course others would treat him the same just as other lamia have. Dumisa glared at her in annoyance, genuinely hurt by the thought before taking off the jacket he had been modeling and setting it on a chair. Deftly and without a sound he slithered down the stairs, confident he could find his way back to the house by following their scents in the allies.

"Claro, el pedido estará listo en 3 días, incluyendo toda la informaciòn que quieres… _(Yeah, I'll have this ready in 3 days including all the information you want)_." Sabre finished her conversation and turned around, "sorry Dumisa, it was an business call- Dumisa?" She looked around but he was nowhere in sight. Her eyes widened at the opened door and she quickly glanced out of the window where she saw the end of his tail rounding a corner on the street. She didn't even bother to run down the stairs and instead hopped out window and quickly climbed down to chase after him.

Dumisa glanced over his shoulder, seeing the feline running up to him. Did she perhaps now what to make amends? As if he'd be interested. His eyes narrowed in her direction, letting out a hiss that made her steps falter a bit before he suddenly shot through the alleys at an incredible pace.

Sabre was shocked to see the snake suddenly running from her but chased after him quickly through the allies. She ran in the alley and jumped to a wall and bounced on it to the wall across and over, getting a hold on a rail and using it to propulse herself and try to land on Dumisa. He was fast. And although she could do a quick incapacitating precise attack like the one Kroc had received in the arena, she didn't want to get things bad with Dumisa. So she tried blocking him or tire him out. Each time she nearly grabbed onto him, he simply maneuvered out of the way, surprising her with his reflexes and fast movements that would have outclassed her own if she was not trained for it.

People screamed in surprise at Dumisa's fast charge while he easily got passed them, crossing streets at an incredible pace. His face paled, startled at the large cars on the road as he clicked his teeth together in a sneer and slipped past all of them in an attempt to lose the feline. He did not want to talk to her at all yet she insisted on chasing after him. If she was so insistent then she was going to have to catch up first.

Finally reaching the park Dumisa began to slow down. Both his and Sabre's breathing was heavy as he came to a slow stop, hunching over and breathing rather heavily. Getting this tired so quickly … how pathetic. He berated himself with an angry hiss as Sabre Jumped down from a small balcony towards a tree and then along his side. His expression soured as he turned away from her but she leapt in front of him, blocking his escape route. Seeing no other options and being too lazy to continue running, he met her gaze with a glare of his own before folding his arms and firmly frowning at her. They both stayed in silence, waiting for the other to speak up first. When Sabre caught her breath she started.

"W-Where did you think you were going!? You went out into the middle of traffic you could have been hit by a car!" She shouted at him.

"Hmph, and what would you care? It's not as though you can't use anyone else to model," he snarkily sneered at her before raising himself up a bit and turning away, still trying to catch his breath. Sabre glared at him and leapt in front of him before he snapped his head her way and hissed, exposing his black mouth.

Sabre hissed back at him showing him her incredibly long fangs and stood her ground.

"What? Are you not finished with me yet or do you want more?" Dumisa haughtily snapped back. He was surprised she would not back down while knowing how venomous he was. He would not bite someone when he relatively enjoyed their company though. But he could threaten her all he wanted.

"I don't even understand why you left," Sabre looked him in the eyes but tilted her head and her tone became soft "why did you leave?" she asked, puzzled at his behavior. This lazy snake would take naps just to avoid eating sometimes and now he was racing through the allies and streets to get away from her? Something was obviously wrong.

"You clearly were finished with me modeling so I simply left. I doubt you would want me to hang around after you've finished so I didn't see the point in staying," he sighed, shrugging but his fists clenched a little tighter.

"Why would I want you gone? Modeling or not we were passing the time," she flickered her ears, listening to police sirens going off not too far away from them. It sounded like someone called 911 when they were running around, "let's go back before someone gets to us."

"As if I care. Humans are hardly worth the trouble," he sniffed, laying down with the clear intention of not moving anywhere unless it was to his leisure, "are there more clothes to try on? Is that why you chased me down?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and expression that hardly looked amused. In fact, it looked as though he dared her to speak more to make him only more angry.

"Mmhh … I think you tried it all but we can have a drink. Or maybe we can play cards or something?" She moved closer and looked at him with her big bright eyes, "Please? Let's go back and tell me what happened . Why did you run away like that?"

"Does it bother you it pleases me to run at random times of the day?" He asked, stubbornly looking away with clearly no intention of speaking.

"Truth be frank, you didn't run you slittered, and mind you it was quite fast. And I bet you are at least a bit tired, so let's go back and rest a bit."Sabre grabbed his hand with all the ease and friendliness in the world.

He stared at her rather coldly as she rubbed against his arm, trying to make him loosen up his hold. After a few moments of glaring he lazily sighed, taking her hand and following her back through the more deserted parts of town to the studio. He followed without resisting, refusing to look her in the eyes. What a fool he was to return with her. He would have been content taking a nap in the woods before Smith's stupid task force found him but no, instead he returns with the needy feline into that stuffy space where her scent was going to drive him crazy. It was clear what she wanted but he refused to give in and give it to her. He was tired of being used and was firm in deciding that he would not satisfy her no matter the begging.

Once back in the secret strange studio Sabre took Dumisa to the sofa and sat by his side. The black mamba still remained silent, not looking at her at all nor speaking with her. His body was tense, tail flickering impatiently.

It wasn't her business, but she could no let Dumisa run around the area. That was dangerous for everyone, and while he was with her, and in sort of her territory due to her studio being here, he was her responsibility too. "Do you want something to drink? Anything?" Sabre suggested, analyzing his posture. He was deeply irritated by something but she hadn't the slightest idea of what it was. She was bothered by the thought that if she said something he didn't like she would have to chase him through the city again until he tired himself out.

" … warm milk." He huffed after some silence. He said nothing else and instead was lost in his own thoughts. What a child he was to throw a temper tantrum like that. He was still very upset with himself for giving in this easily but he was also annoyed at his own behavior. It was childish and unlike him, but after he and the cat had been spending this time without her using him like women normally did, he had felt somewhat betrayed.

"Sure," Sabre pet his side and went to the small kitchen to warm a mug of milk she had in the fridge bar. Once it was ready she came back and handed it to him. "Now tell me what upset you so. Going out like that in an unknown territory is not wise especially in front of so many humans."

He took the mug and held it in his hands, enjoying the warmth as he continued to ignore her for a bit.

Sabre then crawled around him and began petting him in a way similar like what the host did, passing her hand through his hair and then lightly scratching his ears. "It's fine Dumisa." After some time of trying to make him warm up she was about to stop before Dumisa let out an aggravated, pent up sigh and set the empty mug aside. "Tell me what I did so I can apologize, nya?" She wondered why she was even bothering so much with his antics. Normally, such behavior would make her do something so he'd get killed or at least deported, but she had been around the snake for days and he wasn't like this normally … and it just bothered her. She had very few people that came close to be considered friends, and she Dumisa along with Kroc where the closest people she had at the moment save for the little fox and the host.

"You ignored me." He simply stated, leaning his head back and letting her fingers continue.

"I what?" Sabre was startled. "Dumisa, I was merely speaking with a client on the phone."

"Does it matter? Show me what other clothes you want me to try on so we can be done with this." He said as he got up and snaked through the other propped up shirts, looking for some that would perhaps fit his form. He simply wanted this to be over so he could return home. Perhaps he would make the host pet him some more; the feline was terrible at it even if she was warmer and softer and her purring was pleasurable.

"Of course it matters, Dumisa. I don't want you to try anything else until you tell me what really bothered you. I hardly spoke for more than a couple of minutes," she passed the tip of her tail on the milk mustache on his face and then sucked the tip of her own tail and looked him in the eyes, " … I won't get you those quail eggs in you don't tell me." She tacked on, hopping it would encourage him to open up to her a bit more.

"I am not so easily bought out, you flea ridden whore!" He shouted back at her, watching her hiss at him in response before her expression softened, seeing the hurt behind his anger masking it.

"I have no fleas, Dumisa. Nor am I a whore." Sabre crossed her arms, "and just so you know I will be getting you those eggs anyways even if you've been hard to deal with."

"We are done here. I am leaving." He hissed, turning away from her but stayed where he was.

Sabre grabbed one of the button down shirts he liked more and handed it to him, "Then at least take this shirt. I did look good on you." She thought that perhaps a peace offering would help here. "For free"

" … What is the catch?" He asked rather suspiciously, keeping the jacket in his hands while staring at it. She was giving him many mixed signals. Did she wanted him to satisfy her heat or not?

"No catch. Consider it a thank you gift for all the suggestions you've been giving me and for a good afternoon if you want. But I really do think it looks good on you." Sabre raised her hands in defense.

His eyes narrowed as his tail flickered, appearing dissatisfied with that answer. "No women gives a man a present without wanting something in return. You want me to satisfy your lusts or not?" He asked rather bluntly, done with the games, "you are sending me many mixed signals. They are confusing me. Is this how all mammals entice the males?" He asked, baffled.

Sabre was taken aback, "What are you talking … oh. You mean this stupid heat." She looked aside to not look him in the eyes. Her expression was at the very least grieving "No Dumisa. I don't want any like that. I can control it. I'm really just been spending the day with you because you liked the designs and wanted to go out." She grabbed her elbow with her hand and swallowed" I really want no male… I…my mate…He's gone, ok. I don't even want this heat. I hate that I feel about to bust, or that everything seems so light, that my body is close to tremble or that I'm about to go feral and lose my mind…. I hate it" She growled.

" … _why_?" He asked, looking as if he just heard something rather shocking, not just at her opinion on her own heat, but at her just passing time with him. He at least did not comment on the lost mate. "I have a terrible personality so why do you want to spend the day with me?" He asked.

"You admit you have a terrible personality?" Sabre attempted a smile.

"Yes, I do. Usually it offends the more annoying women to the point they leave but I had assumed your heat was what was pushing you to ignore it." He said, covering his mouth rather loosely as he looked over her, uneased by the weird turn of events.

Sabre shook her heat "You aren't that bad to be around. I was genuinely enjoying time just talking while you tried all the models I have here. I do think that when you're not being difficult and on the super prickly and defensive you are quite the nice guy"

" … I don't quite understand. If you make a friend it is merely to prosper from their benefits. What do I have that you want from me?" He asked, seeming more and more confused through the conversation.

"I like the win-win approach. I have few close acquaintances, but let's say that I make a friend, and if they prosper then as if you say I benefit from it … then wouldn't it be best if I help them prosper?" Sabre tried a slightly different approach, realizing that there was clearly a culture difference here, "I don't want anything really, but if you want something to fit into your description then consider we made a transaction. You asked me out and to entertain you and in exchange you gave me very useful suggestions. So it was a fair exchange."

"I thought you were using me. I do not like being used." He admitted, his confidence clearly wavering as he frowned, "I do not like the lamia's way of give and take so easily. It bothers me." He said with a huff, glancing off to the side, "I am not sorry that I am not good with emotions."

"We'll, luckily I'm not a lamia, am I?" She grabbed her tail and pulled on it, "see? no scales." She then approached and gave him a quick hug, "And if you don't like that then don't give or take so easily."

"Be my friend, Sabre, and not a partner." He said with narrowed eyes, seeming rather uncomfortable with asking that. He didn't return the hug but he did lean on her.

"I already am Dumisa," Sabre tightened her hug and lightly purred.

" … I don't know the difference." He admitted with a harsh frown, seeming annoyed with himself. "I've never knew what a friend was before since with lamia it is all give and take. I've read stories before and spoken to a few other Extraspecies who had what they called 'friends'. I embarrassingly admit that I do not know what it is like to have someone as a friend without the sexual benefits the females take from me." He sighed, " … I am tired of being used for the mere fact I am a male. They act as though none of my other skills matter with the exception of an erection. It's very annoying actually and makes me very, very angry." He frowned with a hiss. It was hard for him to admit these things but it certainly made him feel better to say these things out loud.

Sabre patted his back. "If you don't know what being a friend means it's alright. You'll just have to discover it with time. You are in a new place with different ways. It'll be alright." She nuzzled him in a reassuring manner, "but consider that I ever do something that upsets you, if you tell me it'll avoid it more easily." Sabre pulled back to look at him in the eyes "Whenever you wanna speak about anything or show all those other awesome skills you surely have, just tell me." She gave him and playful fickle on his nose. "And don't think I would leave you hanging just like that, but I need to attend this and my other business if I'm going to get the money to get you those quail eggs. So don't take bad those phone calls bad, k?"

" … then promise me something, Sabre," he said, turning to her, his tail coiling hard around her wrist. "Promise me that you will never ask me for sexual favors. If you truly desire to be my 'friend' then you will not ask for those things from me like all other females have been thus far." He said with a neutral expression that was devoid of emotion.

Sabre blinked and her face softened a lot more. Then she rose her free hand and set it over her heart, " I, Sabre, hereby swear that I will not ask Dumisa for sexual favors or things I know he does not like."

"Any." He corrected with a frown. "At all. None."

Sabre nodded "Append: I, Sabre, hereby swear that I will not ask Dumisa for _any_ sexual favors or _anything_ I know he does not like."

"Good." He said with a smile so warm and genuine that she could not help but blush a bit. He turned around and poked her on the nose, "I will hold you to that. And I am keeping the shirt." He said with a smirk. He moved around in it briefly before making his diagnostics. "This one has too much baggage in the back, tighten it up a bit to show off the curves of the spine to better fit a male lamia better. But I'll keep it anyways" He stated before slipping it off and setting it on the mannequin again before getting another shirt and buttoning it up. He paused, looking it over and feeling the comfortability before slithering up to a mirror and checking himself out in it. "Out of all the ones I've tried on so far, this is by far my favorite. The fabric is very nice against my scales," he noted, "and the fabric is fine enough that it will not get scraped up by the rougher scales of other lamia as well." He noted, twisting around a bit in the shirt and keeping it on.

Sabre went to the dresser and got out a fedora hat and set it over Dumisa's head. "And this."

"I'm keeping this too. And this." He said, looking over the watch on his wrist to complete the outfit.

"Of course. And you can come anytime and check what I have," She jumped from behind to give him a hug from behind, "you do look gorgeous. I'm happy I can make something you like and that we settled that cultural differences"

"Yeah?" He asked, surprised by the offer and the added hug before grinning and miffing, "I always look gorgeous," he grinned, his ego shooting back up again.

"Yeah," she nuzzled against him, " _more_ gorgeous then."

"I look so good that everyone should admire me more." Dumisa gloated, enjoying himself.

Sabre thought about it. "Well, if you want people to see you then perhaps, and only if you want and like it, you can be an official model for the catalog of my next fashion line."

"Oh? That doesn't sound so terrible." He said, flickering his tail from side to side as he pondered the idea.

"And your suggestions are so good and valuable that I gotta ask you what else can be done" Sabre already started thinking about the new line and how to marked it. Dumisa was handsome and exotic, and out of the poses he had done, he was a natural model too.

"Well, if you could make a few more shirts like this in different colors that would be nice. Other male lamia would be insane not to like this." He noted, patting her on the head, "I like these clothes. Some are terribly hideous but most of them are nice."

Sabre thought of something else. He had apparently enjoyed getting out of the house. "Maybe you can come with me when I go buy the fabric for those so you can choose the colors?" She took a step back to see him again. "That way I won't choose a 'hideous' fabric for it."

"Really?" He asked, seeming perplexed at the offer, "I don't see why not."

"Sure," she smiled, "but I want something in exchange."

"Well, I've already tried everything on for male lamia and I'm bored now. Let's go back home." He yawned before registering the last part. His gaze once again turned cold as he glanced over to her, waiting for whatever she was going to ask him.

"I want to know you to promise me that you will tell me when something bothers you. And that you won't storm off," She went to the big sofa and pat the seat next to her. "When you just suddenly disappeared and rushed away I got worried, Dumisa."

"If I deem you worthy to know of my problems then I will," he yawned again off to the side, showing off his pearly white set of intimidating fangs. He wasn't so trusting as to spill his guts to Sabre yet; well, not more than he already had.

"Dumisa, friends help each other without expecting something in return." She eyes him and pat the seat again, "you can take a nap here"

"Perhaps another time. " He stated in a firm voice, staring at the rather comfortable looking sofa. It was small but big enough to comfortable fit his torso, "and in the meantime?" He asked, slithering over before pushing against the cushions and finding them quite comfortable.

"In the meantime I can pet you. I'm not as good as the host but I'm a fluffy warm pillow that will listen to you. And I could use a nap too." Sabre extended her arms at him and motioned him to come.

"Hmph. If you dissatisfy me you will know the kiss of death. Your petting earlier could do better if you rub behind my ears." He smugly smirked, getting comfortable on the sofa with a sigh as he set his head in her lap.

"Then I better not, right?" She chuckled and began petting his long scaly ears. She was admittedly a bit restless, but she could control herself well and would somehow manage to do so til the damn heat ended. For now she could help Dumisa with his practically pathological need for attention.

Dumisa hummed, quite content and pleased. He was surprised that she had truly swear to him that's he wouldn't ask him to satisfy her heart even though it was obvious she needed it badly. She hadn't even considered it. His eyes cracked open, staring over the floor. Her heat was growing stronger day by day and everyone could literally taste it in the air. It was only a matter of time until she had to take care of it and seeing her relationship status with the tiger specifically being rather shaky, it made him admittedly a little apprehensive. She had swore to it, but could she truly control it? He had no intention of this host situation turning out similar to the one he had dealt with at home. "Sabre?" He asked as her hand trailed over his ear.

"Hm?"

"Really, You swore it. So _never_ ask me something you will regret later." He said, closing his eyes again and letting out a tired sigh, saying nothing more before quickly falling asleep.

"I don't regret Dumisa. One must always move forward and honor their promises, more so if they are to friends." She was determined to fulfill that promise but she wasn't so sure she could control her entire heat. She'd had to come with a solution, no matter what it was as long as she didn't ended up doing something stupid or breaking promises.

When she noticed he was asleep, she curled by his side and took a nap herself, purring contently

* * *

Jaska was in desperate need for some real action to get his mind off of his troubles that he did not want to face. He was going to go insane if he stayed in the house any longer so he was exalted and eager when he got a call from Griffin telling him their team was needed. Some rogue Extraspecies were running and fighting along in the streets, assumingly either illegal strays or those that ran away from their host. It suited him fine either way; he was eager to get into a real fight and vent some of his problems and frustrations.

"You came fast, da?" Griffin chuckled when Jaska showed up. The large griffin had talons sharp as daggers and the strength of a real lion in his limbs. Beside him crouched a figure dressed in black attire, wearing a mask resembling a turtle as he quickly and silently wrote on his notepad. He paused, thinking about it before crossing it out and restarting on a clean page. His tufted black cow tail slid back and forth over the ground as his ears flickered, ruffling up some tufts of hair around his short black horns. After a brief moment Cyan, an Extraspecies who Jaska still unsure of what he was, held up his notepad for Jaska to read.

' _You seem agitated. Is something wrong?'_

Griffin eyed Jaska, seeming unhappy as well. After the last mission ended so terribly he too was worried about his comrade. However, after detecting a familiar scent on the tiger he laughed. "I know why you agitated! I smell some female kitty needy around, wanting some fun!"

"Go hit head against brick wall," Jaska hissed in response, otherwise ignoring him as they searched the park for traces of the rogue Extraspecies.

Griffin raised an eyebrow. Something was off with the tiger but he supposed it was simply anxiety. No one wanted this mission to go as badly as the last. "No worries. We can spar after mission."

Everyone's ears perked up, alert to the sound of a siren going off. Apparently the police had kept around even after the sighting had been a few hours prior. Still, they needed to check the whole area and it seemed that they had just find their targets.

After an hour of searching a ringing came from the forest which meant Cyan picked up the scent trail. Jaska grinned while letting out a growl of anticipation. Quickening his pace he arrived to where Cyan was before he took a deep, strong whiff of their prey. His expression froze, shocked as Griffin landed beside him and took some whiffs himself.

"Oh? Ain't that little hellcat?" Griffin noted with a grin as his tail moved from side to side. He leaned down a little more, sniffing the trail before his eyes scrunched up, "and a snake?"

A heavy string of cursing left Jaska's mouth as he roared in annoyance, surprising the other two with him. Was there no end to this ridiculous torture?! He left the house to avoid her and now here she was, the target of his mission? He then turned around and walked away with a sneer on his lips. "You take care of this. They with my host so take them there."

Cyan suddenly dropped in front of Jaska, crouching down and holding up a note pad. ' _But will she not blame you for them being out without the host?'_ He asked on paper, peering up at him through the mask.

"I care not. That cat trouble; I no bother with." Jaska stated in a hard voice before walking away.

"Feh, unlike you to duck out of a mission, and for a little kitty in heat no less." Griffin snorted in a short laugh, making Jaska's ears lower in anger. "So Hellcat with your host and you not taking chance? What if I take chance then?" He crookedly grinned.

' _Are you displeased by the affairs between hellcat and the black mamba?'_ Cyan wrote, holding up the notepad for Jaska to read.

"What!? Hellcat is-!" Jaska growled before shaking that thought out of his head. That feline was really pissing him off, " _you_ take them to host! I done with stupid stray!" He strongly shoved Cyan aside, making him roll before he fluidly landed on his feet with his ears down. Jaska stared, startled at his own anger before glaring at Cyan as he quickly wrote on his notepad, rethinking his words before hurriedly writing in a flustered state.

"I busy now. Leave alone." He said with a frown before trotting into the forest, soon turning into a straight out sprint away from everything. He was now in real need of some venting, meaning he needed a whore; humans were the only ones he would be getting and he knew where to find the clean ones who would f*** an Extraspecies if paid enough.

"Blow off work … whatever. Cyan, tell host at home about Extraspecies. I make sure they get home." Griffin said as he looked over towards the troubled duo, analyzing the situation from afar. The crowd was beginning to get rowdy and he could see through Sabre's pacing that she was acting strangely whereas the snake seemed rather calm. She seemed … off.

Sabre growled nervously while her tail lashed aside, darting her eyes around the police and the growing loud crowds while she unsteadily breathed. Her fur was on edge and she looked undecided as to get ready to attack or to run away. Still, she did her best to keep by Dumisa even if she was just about to snap at the men pointing guns at them. On the way back home they were cut off from all the other paths but were caught here at the park. Before they knew it they were surrounded, and although she could escape, she would not leave Dumisa alone here.

"People, carry on. There is nothing to see here." Some officers shouted shouted towards the crowd as everyone tried to get closer and get better pictures. With everyone pushing forward and few pushing back, the large circle separating Dumisa and Sabre from the crowd was steadily shrinking. Dumisa let out an annoyed huff, staring at everyone rather bored before glancing down at Sabre and noticing her tense body.

" … Sabre." Dumisa called, watching as she whipped her head around towards him. Her eyes were wide and lips twisted into a frenzy, looking as though she was about to panic and go feral. "Relax, Sabre. They can't do anything to us." He said, curling his large body around her once as a small field of protection for her.

"That's what you think. But this will escalate and we'll need to defend ourselves" Sabre growled and looked around for any possible escape route, but there wasn't any for both of them. They were cornered and that was bad.

"Hey, does anyone know if that snake is venomous?" A voice called out from the crowd, making Dumisa pause as he looked up in confusion, "hey man, you venomous?" The guy called as the crowd quieted down, looking almost amazed as they stared at him. Taken aback, he couldn't think of a reason as to why to lie.

"Yes, why?" He answered before pausing, seeing the nervous expressions on everyone's faces. " … I think I answered wrong, didn't I?" He asked, looked down at Sabre with a frown.

Her pupils were completely slitted and her breathing was fast. She felt completely cornered and was on the verge of going feral.

Dumisa curled his tail around her waist as much as in a hug as to prevent her from either running or attacking. "Stay down, Sabre. I won't let anyone get you." He said with a rather serious expression as he hovered in the air and poised to defend. He felt her claws extending. "Sabre, calm down," Dumisa sighed, knowing they would not be getting out of this without a harsh scolding from Ms. Smith and their host, "it's not as though they can hurt an Extraspecies," Dumisa said with a smirk towards the officers as they angrily glared at them, annoyed by his pompous attitude.

"Hey, hey punk! Bet you can't catch me!" Someone from the crowd shouted as he broke free of the line and ran at the black mamba. Dumisa let out a loud, bone chilling hiss as the man slowed to a stop, looking rather uneasy but kept up a crooked grin. He put his arms up as if he was in some kind of boxing match.

"Go away, human. You're causing a disturbance." Dumsa said with a cold expression as he tightened his body around Sabre. Beneath his scales she felt her tension, not bothering to look back at her. She was already squirming to get out and growling.

"Sabre, relax. They can't hurt us." Dumisa said. He could see she was teetering on the edge of going feral and if that happened then the police might not just hold back their weapons. If he lessened his hold he was sure she would pounce. What was wrong with her?

"What was that? Can't hurt you? I can do whatever I want!" He laughed, "it's _you_ who can't do s*** here in our town, you fat f***ing sausage." The man laughed as he hopped around in front of Dumisa like a stupid rabbit. Although tempted to swat the pest away Dumisa held his proud disposition as he folded his arms and glared at him. "Hey hey, why don't you let the cat out of the bag, eh?"

"Hmph. Small minded idiots are everywhere, it seems." Dumisa miffed with a sneering smirk, holding himself up high and keeping himself between him and Sabre the whole time.

"Hey, get the hell out of here boy! The f*** you doing?!" Someone shouted as a rather muscled man with a leather jacket and too many tattoos to count stepped between Dumisa and the punk.

"What, you a f***ing freak lover too man?" The lanky kid laughed, still hopping around in place and amping himself up.

"Do you not see what you're doing? They are just around doing nothing. _You_ are the one causing trouble, punk!" The man shouted at him as he shoved the kid's chest hard. He staggered back, recovering messily before getting back up with a laugh.

"You can't touch this, you can't touch this, you old f***!" The punk laughed with his lips curled up in a defiant grin. Before the man could charge, Dumisa snaked forward, startling both of them as he looked at the man with the black leather jacket.

"Don't try to reason with him, human. Humans like him are hardly worth arguing with." Dumisa said with a cool gaze as the man frowned.

"It's ridiculous how you have to go through s*** like this in our country. It's disgusting how other people treat others just because they're different. My cousin down in Florida is a host too so I know what it's like for Extraspecies to deal with punks like these." He deeply frowned as the majority of the crowd was shouting at the punk to go away.

"Yolo man, check this s*** out." The punk grinned as he took a swing at Dumisa. With a startlingly hard shove the bulky man shoved Dumisa's shoulder out of the way and grabbed onto the thrashing punk before taking him to the ground. The black mamba's eyes flashed, seeing a break in the crowd as they all tried to see what was going on. Faster than the eye could follow he swooped down, grabbing Sabre before taking off in the blink of an eye.

"Stay where you are and do not move!" An officer shouted at them but Dumisa was already out of sight before everyone could turn around and see what happened.

Sabre's claws dug into his arms as he shot through the foliage at incredible speeds. Hot blood dripped down his elbows, ripping through the shirt she gave him as he avoided running into any more humans by going deeper into the more forested parts of the park. After twenty minutes of hard running he slithered to a stop, breathing rather hard as he tried to collect himself.

"Ugh. I've grown soft." He panted, feeling uncomfortable hot as he pressed his body against the cool graze in the shade. Sabre tumbled out of his arms as he breathed fast and hard, trying to collect himself.

Sabre stumbled a bit, still breathing hard and trying to get a hold of herself. The scent of blood in the air didn't help. Just then, another familiar scent caught her attention before a big figure landed in front of her.

"Little hellcat needs help?" Griffin asked with a toothy grin, leaning over her cheerfully.

Sabre let out a small mew and pressed her nose against his before moving back, still trying to regain all her rational mind.

"Hellcat?" Dumisa repeated with a raised eyebrow, "and you would be … ?" Dumisa trailed off, tilting his head curiously. He's never seen a lion Extraspecies with wings before. And that badge on his tool belt … what was it?

Griffin smiled at the smaller feline's greeting and then he looked at the snake. "You made quite the scene" His tail moved from side to side.

" … Dumisa is my name, you fat pigeon." The black mamba answered with a rather aloof tone as he let out a deep sigh, slumping against the ground for a little bit. Griffin smirked as he walked over to the snake, taking off his canteen from his belt before pouring it over Dumisa's head and body to help him cool off. Although it wasn't much, Dumisa let out a sigh and relaxed, enjoying the cool touching water. Since he could not perspire like mammals could he had to find cool places to rest instead and that water just hit the spot.

"Griffin! "Sabre shook her head and finally went back to normal. She looked at Griffin with surprise. "What are you doing here? " She then caught sight of his badge, " Wait, that ID…!"

"Da." Griffin said with a grin, "we got call about wild Extraspecies. Glad to see safe." He said, trotting over to her and helping her up before his pupils expanded, smelling the clear scent of her heat. "Hmm~ smell good, detka." Griffin purred, leaning in towards her and nuzzling against her as he firmly held her hand.

Sabre shivered and let out a groan, "hi, Griffin." She purred. She really hadn't noticed just how hard her heat was hitting her. She was almost ready to purr back and cuddle against the large male.

Dumisa's tail slapped against Griffin's back, startling him as he whipped around and slashed his claws through the air. Dumisa's tail quickly dodged as he wrapped his arms around Sabre and pulled her away from the clearly excited male.

"I do not believe you should be touching my friend so easily." Dumisa said in a hard tone, hissing in his direction and showing off his black mouth.

Griffin's tail lashed from side to side, "but she friend too, very close friend from arena. Kitty friendly to kitty, and you away from host, da?"

"Hmph, well that's a shame. I'm afraid you pale in comparison." He darkly laughed before setting Sabre down and pushing her away, "now we need to go home. We're not supposed to talk to creepy strangers." He miffed, keeping Sabre in his long arms while he pet her.

Griffin's eyes narrowed as he leapt off the ground, darting past the reptile and landing in front of him with ease. Dumisa frowned, knowing he was too tired to start slithering as fast as he was earlier.

"In what way, snake?" He said with a gleam in his eyes as Dumisa paused, admittedly surprised at how fast he was able to accelerate. Hmph.

"Nothing but a fancy pigeon covered in fragile little feathers. Haven't you heard? Even lions fall prey often to black mambas." Dumisa said with a smirk, holding Sabre closer against his body in a rather protective manner. She trembled in his grasp but whether it was from fright or something else he wasn't sure. Whatever the reason, he wasn't about to let a wild creep have her. The host would probably kill him.

"I skin you for boots!" Griffin roared at him, spreading his wings and clenching his fists tightly. Dumisa hissed and held Sabre tighter, barring his fangs and being ready to strike at a moment's notice. This fat feline won't be able to dodge his poisonous fangs. No one can.

With a sudden and soft "ahhh" moan, Sabre became limp in Dumisa's arms. He had squished her too hard and she passed out. Both males paused, looking down and seeing her languidly hanging in his arms before Dumisa's face paled.

" … Sabre?" Dumisa called, loosening his hold before laying her down. " … Sabre." He said, poking her cheek. " … if you're dead the host is going to kill me. Wake up." Dumisa said, his heart sinking.

" … Hellcat? You no sleeping, da?" Griffin asked, walking over and crouching down. Both Extraspecies stared at her, unsure of what to do. " … Hellcat. I saw you in arena, you tough, you no..." Griffin said, poking her side but she did not react. " … I think she passed out."

"I do too." Dumisa said with a firm frown, pulling on her tail but she did not react. "Ugh. Now the host is going to be annoyingly noisy." Dumisa sighed, picking up Sabre and setting her on his lower back.

"Da. Hosts normally are." Griffin loudly laughed, hopping alongside Dumisa as he followed the serpent through the allies, their fight to the death put on pause for the time being if not entirely forgotten.

* * *

Once they were back in the host's home, Dumisa entered trying to make little to no noise. He moved slowly and very preciously but he froze, sensing a looming presence behind himself as he glanced over and saw Jackie standing in the living room with arms crossed and a pissed off expression on her face.

"Where were you!?" She angrily started, "y-you're not supposed to go anywhere without me! What if something had happened or worse you, if you were caught?"

"Relax host. I was with Sabre getting some air and exercise" Dumisa shrugged

"That's not the point! " Jackie started "And where is Sabre?"

"Hellcat is here." Griffin's deep voice sounded. He was outside the door, holding Sabre and letting her sleep in his thickly bound arms, "so you hellcat and Jaska's host?" He said and made his way inside.

Jackie paused, looking over towards the door and looking up at the Extraspecies standing in front of her with lion's ears and tail but with wings. " … uh, and you are?" Jackie asked, thrown for a loop at the stranger's presence.

"I'm Griffin. Came to bring back snake and hellcat," Griffin entered the place and laid Sabre on the sofa. He looked down at the bastet. She looked cute sleeping and her scent was prime. If he stayed, then his chances of having some fun were practically set.

"And, and why are you holding Sabre? Is she alright?" Jackie asked, walking over to check on her while Dumisa snuck away into his room to get some sleep.

"Hellcat's name is Sabre?" He perked as if to assure himself of that. She had always been secretive, which was fine, she was a female feline after all. "Da, she just fell asleep" Griffin looked around and caught on the scents in the place.

"Right, well that's great but who are _you_?" Jackie asked, sounding suspicious as she uneasily looked up at the hulking mammoth of an Extraspecies. He wasn't as big as Kroc but his muscles were impressive nonetheless.

"I said name's Griffin. I work with Smith." He shrugged, showing her an official badge that looked like Jaska's, "I brought back snake and hellcat before they lost. I stay until kitty wakes up" He grinned.

"Ah, well, that's fine I guess. Do you know where Jaska is?" Jackie asked, concerned for the Siberian tiger. He had been acting very strange lately and she was admittedly worried about him.

"He wasting chance," Griffin chuckled and eyed where Sabre was, eager to relieve her cuddling "busy for a while. He come back on own later"

"Ugh … really?" Jackie said with a frown and sounded almost disheartened. That means she needed to stay up for him to make sure he gets home safe. She knew he was a 'big boy' now and could very well take care of himself but she was still worried.

"Da" Griffin nodded. "You got vodka? I wait here."

"We have soda." Jackie said with a frown, "and I don't want some random Extraspecies getting drunk in my house." She firmly said with a determined gaze.

"I no random. I good friend of Hellcat and Jaska even if they no of each other" Griffin assured.

"Even if they know who you are _I_ still don't know who you are." Jackie said, seeming unhappy with his presence in the house, "for all I know your host could be looking for you and end up yelling at me." Jackie heavily sighed. She really wasn't sure what the 'protocol' was for something like this.

"What you want to know? I work for smith. Want me to call her or you call her? I no leaving until Hellcat awake" Griffin was set up on this. Hellcat was practically free and he had intentions of claiming her attention.

"So I've heard … we've had a camera guy come in here before saying he worked for Ms. Smith too." Jackie said, admittedly feeling a little intimidated by his large size. She was pretty sure he could snap her like a twig but then again, all of her Extraspecies could do that too. "That's fine, I'm not telling you to leave or anything. I'll call Ms. Smith myself. Just make yourself at home." Jackie said, pulling out her phone and called Ms. Smith while glancing at his large wings and tail. His fur and feathers looked a little drab.

" _Hello Jackie, this is Ms. Smith. What's up?"_ Ms. Smith casually asked. The beeping of a microwave and some kitchen noises were heard in the background.

"Yeah hey, I've got a big … ," she paused, looking over his tail and wings.

"Griffin." He said as he determined that hellcats crocodile friend was here too along with the snake, Jaska and someone else.

"Griffin Extraspecies here who says he works for you? He brought Dumisa and Sabre home." Jackie said, continuing to openly stare at his back as he lumbered into the kitchen and began rummaging through the seasoned meats she was saving for Jaska. "Hey hey, leave those be those are for Jaska." She called at him.

"As I said, Jaska losing chance right now." He beamed and began eating a few chunks of meat.

" _Ah yes, his name is Griffin. And if he is there then Cyan and Jaska must be there too."_ Ms. Smith said, her voice sounding muffled from having something be put into her mouth.

"Griffin said Jaska would be home later tonight. And whose Cyan?" Jackie asked, looking up at the rafters to see if anyone was hiding up there. It was empty.

" _Jaska is not there?"_ Smith didn't sound pleased at that, " _well, don't worry about Cyan, he is most likely around hidden somewhere. He' kinda shy"_

"No, he's not so I'm a bit worried about that." Jackie said, referring to Jaska as she thought about this 'Cyan' guy. " … please don't tell me he likes to stalk hosts." Jackie asked, now feeling rather self conscious as she looked around. She frowned at her own paranoia; as if she'd be able to catch an Extraspecies stalking her. They hid themselves too well to ever get caught, which was annoying when it came to the kit's bath time or to get Sabre to do anything about it.

" _Don't worry about that. But since Griffin is there why don't you pet him and show him a host's goodness?"_ Smith said as she evaded the stalking question swiftly.

"Eh? Petting?" Griffin said, whipping his head around with a piece of meat still in his mouth. "No host pets me. But might be interesting," he looked at the girl. Decidedly she looked rather weak and whimpy. How could she pet him nicely if she had no force?

"Well if he wants I don't really care. His fur and feathers look a little-," Jackie started before stopping, realizing he was listening in, "well, night Ms. Smith." Jackie said as she hung up, looking back over to the kitchen and nearly jumped out of her skin to see Griffin standing in front of her with a piercing curious gaze. " … you uh, you want to be pet?" She asked, sounding a little uneasy. His weak spots were fairly obvious to her but she was admittedly curious about where his wings and how they attached to his body.

"Da. I wanna see what little gurl can do" He said. Some nice petting before little hellcat woke up would be a nice distraction in his wait. With all ease he removed off his shirt by slipping it over his head with care about his wings passing through it, and set it aside.

"Huh. You really don't have a lot of fur at all." Jackie said, sounding surprised as she looked over his back. He had a strip of fur down his spine but other than that he did not have a lot… no, actually he did, but it was really short and could hardly be distinguished from the tone of the skin.

"Do pet", he said as he laid down on the ground with his belly against the floor, getting comfortable against the thick carpet. Jackie watched as his wings spread out, his entire body beginning to unwind rather easily as she compared his wing length to the couch size. Holy crap those wings were big and so were his muscles. "Hurry, gurl." He said, stretching himself with a pleased smile on his face. Scenting hellcat in the air and focusing on that.

"Hey, be polite." Jackie said, kneeling by his head as she pinched his ear and pulled on it before she took both ears in hand and rubbed the soft cartilage. His fur, surprisingly, was rather stiff, "how often do you groom?" Jackie asked with a frown. "Whoever your host is, tell them they need to groom you more."

"I have no host. I groom when needed," he huffed

"No host?" She asked, pausing in her petting as she stared at him. "How is that possible then? Every Extraspecies needs to have a host they return to at the end of the day." Although Sabre hadn't one either before she came here but Griffin was working for Ms. Smith. He had to have somewhere to go with some sort of host, right?.

"Need?" He chuckled, "why need? I have place to return and I work for Smith. That all." He of course had claimed the whole arena as his territory, even if Smith didn't knew what that place really was or if she made a blind eye to it.

"But who takes care of you then?" she said, pulling away from his ears. She circled him for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to pet those wings of his. After a brief moment of deciding she sat on the base of his back and ran her hand up his spine.

"I take care of self." He shifted his wings to allow her better access, "do use more force, gurl."

"Alright" she said, leaning over his back as she pushed against the thick knots in his shoulders and rubbed the tensed muscles. A deep breath rolled off his shoulders as Jackie dragged her nails down the fur on his back and heard a slight purr reverberate in his chest. "Better?" She asked, pushing her fingers into his muscles and using her nails to comb through his fur a little better. She stood up on her knees, glancing at the base of his spine before she scratched the fur just above his tail.

Griffin let out a yawn and stretched like a cat over the floor, getting tired already and thinking that taking a nap wouldn't be bad.

"What, getting tired already?" Jackie asked as she moved around to his head. Her fingers smoothly hooked under his jaws as he began petting around his neck.

Griffin inhaled deeply and the scent wired on his nostrils. Quite fast he pulled her in a hug and he began cuddling.

"EEK-!" Jackie shouted, startled as he pulled her firmly against his chest. Her eyes widened, tense and rigid as she instinctively tried to push away from him.

"Your scent is of hellcat. Nice, cute, soft, to love." Griffin closed his eyes and nuzzled against her.

"H-Hey, get off! _Bad_ kitty!" Jackie shouted, trying to worm her way to freedom but his grip was too tight to wiggle free of. _**(Why does Sabre's scent clings to me!?)**_ Kicks and punches had no effect as he rested his head on her chest, curling into a ball while his purring revved up. "Griffin! OFF!" Jackie shouted, grabbing his ear and twisting it hard. He only laughed in his sleep, rolling over so he was laying on top of her. She gagged, feeling his weight crushing her as she tried to claw her way to freedom but to no avail.

Jackie's little screech at Griffin startling her woke Sabre up. She looked towards the living room, seeing Griffin dead asleep and almost suffocating the host as she tried to worm herself free. It was a curious sight to see Griffin like that and she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't cuddled with him before. However, Griffin's presence made her even more eager; he was an alpha male where there was one, so she needed to get away before she couldn't control herself. She crawled towards her makeshift den in the attic in hopes of getting calmer and control the impulses of her heat.

Reaching the attic, she saw someone inside and her kit in the floor looking frightened. The fact the the kit was in a cute outfit filled with bows and frills startled her enough to not attack, but when the little fox saw her, he sprinted towards her and hid behind her legs as the figure turned her way.

"Cyan?" She blinked at the - perhaps satyr - Extraspecies, "what are you … ?" She looked down at the outfit Kit wore. It was cute, too much frilly for a daily wear but cute for a fashion show, "was that made out of the scraps I had here?"

Cyan nodded and then wrote up something in his board.

' _I used the scrap fabrics in here. I couldn't resist the cuteness of this young one. Do you know him? he is not in the records. I also saw some of the sketchbooks. Do you know who made those?'_ His notepad read as he tilted his head curiously.

Sabre blinked at him and thought on this chance. "I did those sketches. Would you perhaps have some sketches of your own?" She curiously asked as she examined kit's outfit.

Cyan looked embarrassed as he wrote again.

' _Not with me but I can draw some of my favorites if you'd like.'_ He offered as his tufted tail flickered back and forth.

" _Can I see them?"_ If those sketches were good then she'd propose him a partnership. He had certainly showed skill into making this outfit out of the rags lying around.

Without a reply he happily hopped over to one of her sketchbooks before opening it to a free page. With a quick flip of his fingers he immediately began sketching down fast yet detailed sketches. Each sketch took hardly a minute as he flipped between the pages, making at least seven before stepping over to her and offering her the notebook.

Sabre looked at the sketch. It was good although a bit too fancy. Toning them down a bit and she could have a new line for her band.

' _Out of all my designs these are by far my personal favorites.'_ He cheerfully wrote, his tail swaying back and forth as she looked over the incredibly fast sketches that perfectly portrayed what each clothing piece would look like.

"They are good," she looked at him, "have you seen the 'WYLD' fashion online? What do you think of those designs?" She knew the line was pretty new, but she was trying to expand it, so maybe he had heard from it.

' _They are nice. Nothing much makes it stand out. The material is good, but not strong enough in some pieces. The base designs are nice though. At least they are for Extraspecies which was nice to see. Why?'_ Cyan asked as he held up the notepad

Sabre nodded "I see. Would you like to help me improve them? It's actually my brand," she said honestly, valuing all the feedback she could get.

' _I thought I recognized some of the designs in the notebooks. They turned out lovely but could be improved with better stitching techniques.'_ He wrote.

"So would you like to partner up? Your design are nice, although a little too fancy for the day wear while mine need a bit more fanciness," she held one of her sketchbooks for him. One of the ones Dumisa had helped her with.

' _You want to partner up with me?'_ He asked, tilting his head in response a bit surprised.

Sabre nodded again "I do. I may know little about you but Griffin trusts you and I like your designs. I think we can work together and create better clothes for Extraspecies rather than rip offs of human designs."

' _If you would like to then I would love to. I have some connections that could help spread your designs through Germany and Russia.'_ He wrote rather cheerfully.

"Awesome, and my contacts in the countries of America are waiting for a new line, especially down south" she then furrowed her eyebrows somewhat "Although we'd need more toned down designs for the general lines. Something that can be used daily."

' _I do have toned down wears but I do prefer the ones with flare. They are more fun to create.'_ He said, taking the sketchbook before quickly sketching out a pants design with buttons on the backside, making it adjustable for an Extraspecies with a thick tail. ' _This is a more recent one I made with a few varieties.'_ He wrote before sketching down almost a dozen different ways the buttons could go.

"Those look nice, although the more flaring ones could be left for a high fashion party line and not the daywear." She grabbed another notebook and sketched some variations for the tail holes and brims.

' _This is nice. I think our partnership is a good idea.'_ He wrote. His expression was a mystery since he wore the mask but she could tell his was happy from his flickering tail.

Sabre smiled happily at her new pal and grabbed kit on her lap to pet him to sleep while she and Cyan discussed ideas for their future lines with excited enthusiasm with fast tapping of pencils. On some moment when he noticed the behavior between the leopard and the pup, he pulled his notepad and wrote:

" _Is that pup yours? what is his name?_ "

Sabre stopped for a second to look down at the baby fox. Now that she had spent some time in a finite territory, already killed the majority of the company's labs escapees, and things weren't so dire, she had really spent time with the pup, and now she knew that he was HER pup. Simple as that.

She stood up to get her pup into the hammock and cover him with his blanket. And after placing a kiss in his head she went back to sit besides Cyan.

"Yes, he is my pup, and he is to get a good name soon. And we need a kids line too… but not so frilly"

After that, they kept on discussing their designs.

Later that night, Jaska returned home. He stopped in front of the door, pausing as his ear flickered. Griffin's chainsaw snoring could be heard through the brick and the thick wooden door of the host's home, further pissing him off. What, did the Griffin come back and f*** with the stray too? He growled. D*** stray would go to anyone right? How did such an alley cat even know Griffin? What was that about him calling her hellcat and about cuddles? He couldn't believe it … or he did, and that pissed him off more.

With an annoyed growl he unlocked the door, stepping inside as he groggily ran his hand through his head. There was Griffin sprawled on the living room couch, on the verge of spilling over onto the carpet while his loud snoring filled the room. And the scent of the stray was indeed around. He let out a new faint grol and heard movements, tensing up as he listened closely. It was too clumsy to be another Extraspecies and sounded light. Which left only the host.

"Jaska?" Jackie called, surprising the tiger as his deduction had been correct.

"Host? What you doing here?" He pointed then at Griffin "What he doing here?" That last one was obvious, he was here for the stray, the d*** stray that apparently didn't consider him a good enough bastet.

"Well, Griffin brought Dumisa and Sabre home. He passed out pretty fast though." Jackie admitted, not wanting to talk about how frightening of a cuddler he was. Well, not that it was bad but it was more so unsettling than anything. And his snores were very loud.

"Then why you still up, host?"

"I was up waiting for you to come home. I was worried," she said with a loud yawn, rubbing her exhausted eyes before getting a better look at him, "are you alright? Your fur is all roughed up." Jackie said, walking over as she examined at the wild tufts of fur that were tied into messy knots.

"No mess with my business, host. I come as I please,"Jaska crossed his arms with an annoyed frown, "if you want 'fine', then tell stray to go away."

"Don't be such a grump," Jackie said with a tired smile, tapping her hand against his arm, "I'll help you brush out the knots before going to bed." She said, stretching before pausing as Griffin's snoring staggered loudly before he rolled off the couch and landed with a hard thud, remaining sound asleep. " … let's groom you in your room instead." Jackie suggested with another yawn before she rubbed her eyes to try and keep herself awake.

"No mess with me. I need to help for brushing. Fur is fine and so I am" he growled.

"It's fine, it's fine really. If you go to bed with knots like that there will be a lot of really bad tangles in the morning and conditioning them won't get them out so easily." Jackie said, taking out the brushes and spray conditioner from the drawer.

Jaska stared at her in disbelief, at a loss for what to say. Did she had some kind of addiction for brushing 'her pets'. That's what they were to her, right? He turned around and walked away with the host following after him in tow with the brush in her hand. With a heavy sigh he slumped off to his room, falling forward onto his bed with a heavy thump. He was exhausted and mentally drained. The sex escort he had spend time with was hardly helpful; she mostly just knotted up his fur and left him feeling disgusted with himself. He needed a good, long sleep but the host was going to keep bothering him for a while. Jaska's eyes narrowed as the host dimmed the lights so it would be easier for him to fall asleep.

"Go ahead and go to sleep if you want. I'll leave after I'm done brushing you; now take off your shirt so I can reach better." Jackie said, letting out another big yawn before she crawled onto the bed with him. The tiger stared back at her, almost dumbfounded by how easily she crawled into his bed.

"You crawl in male's bed with such ease. Seems you want else." He huffed. He really was not in the mood to be near anyone, much less when that annoyingly clingy scent was on her even if faintly. The stray had kept away from him and the closest he's come to see her lately had been earlier from afar in the park. Still her scent haunted him even in his own den. For f***'s sake, the stray's scent was on the host! Was there nowhere he could go where he would not have to deal with that torturous scent and stuck up b****?!

"Jeez, someone's really grumpy tonight. What happened?" Jackie asked, gently brushing her fingers through his fur before spraying the brush with the conditioner. With short and fast brushes she began smoothing out the tangles and knots in his fur while trying not to fall asleep.

"Not host's business." He growled.

"Alright, alright. Just relax then." She said, brushing out the back of his neck while leaning partially on his back. With tired yawns she brushed his shoulders, rubbing his spine and trying to make his tense muscles relax, "you're really tense, Jaska." She noted, scratching the base of his spine in hopes of making him calm down a bit more.

He huffed in response, closing his eyes but trying to relax was difficult. His tail hitting the bed fast and consecutively attested to that. How could he not been tense? He just recently confirmed his little brother had died and that all his efforts were in vain, even if he was alive, what for? He couldn't even know the details of his brother's final moments because the one who knew it dismissed him as a bastet and as a male even when her heat was getting in prime and his instincts drove him double to her; and then Smith was even trying to force him to cooperate with the stray. All of this was building up to a point and he knew he was going to blow at some point.

" … are you and Sabre still fighting?" Jackie asked seemingly out of the blue, popping Jaska out of his thoughts as he tensed right back up. The host frowned. Dang it, stepped on a landmine there. But what else was she supposed to do? Maybe talking to him about it while he's tired and being groomed is the best thing to do.

"Leave me alone host," Jaska emitted a warning growl.

"I'm only asking, Jaska. I haven't seen it but it looks like you're still at each other's throats and I don't get why." The host replied, waiting for an answer but foresaw none coming. Instead she sensed his mood turning sour. Trying to recover, she gently grabbed and began rubbing his ear in hopes of easing him into relaxing again.

Jaska's growl deepened and he tensed more. How could the host not understand? The d*** behavior of the stray cat was insulting in every way to him. More so because this was his territory. He let out a snarl.

" … do not snarl at me, Jaska." Jackie said, hesitant now. He had never snarled at her before and, admittedly, she wasn't sure what to do. The videos did not say much other than to leave them alone but Jaska just seemed so lonely already she didn't want to do that. She reached back, gently rubbing and scratching at the base of his tail.

Jaska had it and threw her off himself and onto the bed, then directed a new snarl at her. He had warned her.

" … please don't tell me you're feral." Jackie said with a paled face, pressing herself against the bed. His piercing gaze and snarling mouth made a shiver shoot down her spine, frightened. Last time had been painful and the wounds had not healed completely yet. Jaska's ears lowered further as he hissed, extending his claws.

 _(If she wants feral then let's see if she leaves alone_ ) Jaska thought and crawled over her with a new angry growl to see how she reacted.

"Wait, wait wait-!" Jackie started, backing away quickly but he easily trapped her against the bed. The host laid on her back, very hesitantly showing him her throat. As frightened as she was she knew she had to show him she was being 'submissive'. Any struggling and he would rip her throat out regardless. Her throat tightened as she stared up at him, not having the strength to call out for help at all. With adrenaline kicking in she was no longer tired; she was only afraid.

Jaska lessened his growl. He could smell her fear and her submission made him want to do something else, but it didn't felt right. Still angry, he pounced over her careful to not crush her limps, he then pushed her around the bed towards the edge.

"J-Jaska, Jaska stop!" Jackie cried, squirming around underneath him as she tried not get impaled by his sharp claws. His loud growling and snarling deeply unnerved her as, out of desperation, she tucked herself into a tight ball and covered her head with her arms. His hands lightly grab her, making her tense up each time as he made her roll a little bit but otherwise remain in the tight protective ball.

He let out a new snarl and lost motivation at the defenseless girls submission. He moved aside and then pushed her off the bed before rolling back over with his back to her to lay down on the bed. "When I say no bother me, host, I mean it."

"Jaska?" Jackie asked, puzzled, "w-were you _not_ feral?" She asked, confused.

"I told you to leave. If you don't I do get feral for real." He didn't bother moving to look at her.

"Th-That was mean." Jackie weakly scolded, rubbing her neck nervously. She honestly thought he was going to make her bleed.

"Life's mean." He simply huffed out.

Jackie glared at him before leaving but paused by the door, " … if you are having problems, Jaska, you can talk to me about them. Not as your host, but as your friend." Jackie said before quickly leaving, still shaken by what he did.

Jaska merely curled up and tried to sleep.

* * *

 **==================== A MESSAGE FROM: Chaos-Dark-Lord, co-writer of** _ **ALWAYS READ THE FREAKING CONTRACT**_

 **Hello everyone. Although it's the first time I'm addressing you directly dear readers, I've gotta say that peeko and I have been having fun writing this story and we hope you have been having just as much fun reading it. Hope you had a great 2015 and that our best wishes for 2016.**

 **-chaos-dark-lord**

 **Hello~ Peeko here! I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and to whatever else you celebrate!** _ **(INSERT FROM**_ **chaos-dark-lord** _ **: Or whatever you don't celebrate too. So happy day off to all non-celebrating people out there**_ **) This 58 page chapter is a special treat for you all; rather than dividing it into three chapters I** _ **((INSERT FROM**_ **chaos-dark-lord:** _ **We)**_ **thought it would be nice for everyone to have a longer chapter to enjoy during the break!** _**10 REVIEWS**_ **for the next chapter~! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

Jackie groggily grunted as she tossed her head back and forth, feeling little skittering paws over her torso. She laid flat on her back, feeling the presence of the toddler sit down on her chest with the clear intention of not allowing her anymore sleep. When the host refused to open her eyes he gently pawed at her chin, trying to get her attention as she sleepily groaned.

Ugh … can't Sabre keep Kit up with her a little longer? Jackie's eyes cracked open, seeing the toddler's figure in front of her, his bright eyes looking intently at her but his figure was still blurry in the darkness.

"Kit, go back to bed," she grumbled before letting out a big yawn and stretching. Before her yawn ended, Kit gently dropped something something feathery and dusty into Jackie's mouth and giggled of happiness.

Her eyes burst open as she gagged, whipping up out of bed. THE HELL-?! She coughed and held her mouth, spitting out whatever was just placed in her mouth as she stumbled over to the lights and turned them on. Laying on the ground was a ripped apart, dead pigeon while Kit stood over it with the proudest and happiest smile she had ever seen on his face.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO! BAD KIT! GROSS!" Jackie shrieked as she twisted around and washed her mouth out with the water on her bedside. Kit leapt off her bed, chest puffed up in pride before he ran away with the biggest, cheekiest grin on his face. "KIT! GET BACK HERE! SABRE, WHAT THE _HELL_!?" Jackie screamed as she dove at him but tripped, face planting on the floor before scrambling to her feet and taking off after the startlingly much faster and agile Kit.

She chased him all the way up the stairs and into the end of the unused top floor where he quickly climbed the pull later into the attic.

"What are you doing in the attic!?" Jackie roared and briefly wondered who had pulled down that ladder. The attic was only used for storing seasonal decorations and old crap. She burst through the top before freezing, seeing all of her storage stuff gone and the room bare and empty with the exception of a ton of pigeons running around and flapping about their wings while Sabre lazily laid in a makeshift hammock out of all of Jackie's spare blankets that had gone missing a few days ago.

"W-What the hell is going on up here?!" Jackie shouted before scrambling inside, turning on the lights and shutting the door so the pigeons wouldn't fly into the rest of her house. "Sabre! What the hell is all this?!"

Sabre looked up to Jackie from her spot and made a shushing sound, making Jackie flabbergasted before seeing the pigeons calm down a bit. Then Kit looked at Jackie and at his mama, got on all fours low on the ground and stalked the pigeons before jumping on one and ripping it apart while the rest of the birds flapped around.

"ACK! KIT! Get that out of your mouth, that's gross!" Jackie shouted as Kit then trotted over to her and presented the dead bird to her all happy and waiting to be praised. Her jaw dropped, shocked at the 'kitty present' before finally getting what people meant by pet cats often bringing dead things to them as little 'surprise presents'

"How rude of you, host. He is learning to hunt and he is being so nice as to give the weakest and most useless member of the household a gift so you don't starve. He is gonna think you aren't satisfied," Sabre said while stretching and looking at the pup with utter pride.

" … ignoring the rest of that," Jackie said as she pet Kit on the head but quickly pulled him into a hug as he tried to go and get another one for her, "Sabre, were you the one that let these pigeons into my attic?" Jackie more calmly demanded, deciding to scold her for that first as Kit squirmed and laughed, treating it as a game before nuzzling against her and trying to dash free unsuccessfully.

"Yeah, just left the window open with some seeds in the windowsill and inside. These birds are dumb as bricks, but easy prey for Kit to practice." The clouded leopard nodded with a lazy smile. "He's young but already got his first kill" Her purr was deep and loving.

"Sabre, birds are to stay _outside_ of the house! Not inside!" Jackie snapped, "they make a mess pooping everywhere and they bring in diseases!" Jackie snapped in annoyance.

"Don't worry, he is gonna get rid of them all pretty fast. He already got a hang of it," she purred with a grin, "just let him go and you'll see. You can get rid of his 'presents' later. Probably with Dumisa; he'd appreciate the little treats if you boil them for him."

"Sabre, whatever mess he makes _you're_ going to be the one to clean them up. And don't let them into the rest of the house." Jackie growled, setting Kit loose as she turned towards the trap door but froze. If she opened them now while the birds were in a panic then they were going to fly everywhere inside her house. In her annoyance she turned her attention back to Sabre. "And what are you doing up here anyway? Why aren't you in your room?" Jackie snapped at her before pausing.

… Sabre never really _did_ have a room. She had been staying in Jaska's room when she was first here which meant that after she was kicked out she took to the attic.

Sabre looked somber. "We're residing here … as away from that tiger as possible." She stated and curled up.

A cold sweat broke out over Jackie's skin as she realized what a 'bad' host she has been to Sabre. She literally had no place to sleep and from the craziness of taking care of everyone, it completely slipped her mind that Sabre really did not have a room to stay in. Not only that, Sabre had actually payed her for their meals and to stay here! Which wasn't right either.

" … I'll call Ms. Smith later and have her set up a room for you. Why didn't you tell me so I could have done this sooner?" Jackie asked, disappointed in herself for not realizing that Sabre didn't have a living space to herself.

Sabre looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You mean to tell me that you thought I'd stay near the stripped emnace after he tried to kill me several times? You knew I had no host and that I was not really gonna stay long. How could you not 'think' I would have to find another place."

"Well to be fair you weren't exactly innocent." Jackie said with a frown, pointing at her side as a reminder for what happened, "and yeah, I'm sorry for not noticing it earlier. But, Sabre, seriously if you're hungry or anything just tell me and I'll get it for you. I had no idea you were staying up here in the stuffy attic."

"Like you getting some room for me 'later' you would more likely forget," Sabre yawned, "it ain't as if you had a magical device for communicating with Smith or a private remodeling contractor … oh wait! Those are called cell phones!" Sabre looked at her hand and stretched her claws without saying more.

"Hey, I was busy." Jackie said with a frown before sighing, "make a list of whatever you want to go into the room after you clean up Kit's mess. I'll uh, I'll just call now," Jackie said, patting herself down for a phone but remembered she left it back in her room. With a frown she slumped forward, hardly able to think with the pigeons going crazy and darting around everywhere trying to escape Kit.

"What if I do want to leave" Sabre eyes her with just one eye "Better yet, what if what I want is the stripped menace to leave?"

"Well, I'm not only your host but I'm Jaska's host too and as much as you hate him I'm not just going to go kicking either of you out." Jackie said with a frown.

"You aren't my host, so do I need to leave then?" Sabre curled further in to take a nap.

"You're right. I'm not your host." Jackie said, walking over to her before hugging Sabre. The kitty jumped slightly, surprised as she started rubbing her ears, "but I really want to be." Jackie said with a grin as she smoothly but quickly pet Sabre down, hitting all of her targeted weak points with surprising precision. Sabre's eyes rolled back as her tail curled, overtaken quickly by the super effective petting of the which she was too weak to deny.

After yowling in enjoyment Sabre managed to muster speech, "hrmmm~ what you lack in memory capacity you make up for with your fingers," she laughed through her purring.

"Yeah, I have my good points too." Jackie teased, kissing Sabre on her forehead, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go down the side of the building and get a phone." Jackie said, letting go of her and walking over to the vent in the room.

"Don't kiss me … I'm not into girls … might make an exception with you … ," Sabre purred as she curled her spine. "You like me, you molested me the other day when you were hurt."

"It's fine if you don't. I'm not into chicks either. And actually, no I didn't. I just like to cuddle sometimes." Jackie said with a teasing grin before just jostling the vent and taking it off. With a fluid step she exited the room before setting the loose vent back on.

Out of the window, Jackie managed to hear her muffled voice, "you groped my breasts, rubbed and pinched my body in many places. It felt weird but good."

"Yeah uh, pretty sure you dreamed that." Jackie retorted before slowly walking along the edge of the building. After a deep breath, she turned around and began climbing down the side of the building carefully. She reached the other building with the Extraspecies where it was easier to grab onto something and had more windows after some struggle, being extra careful in her footing.

It was colder outside and storm clouds were rolling in. She gulped, fearing a thunder storm, and made haste while climbing the side of the building. She's had to climb the sides of buildings before and it was easier now since it has big ledges but last time she had a harness. Suddenly, below her a window opened and she slipped but managed to grab the edge before dangling in front of Jaska. She paused, startled.

"Host! what you doing outside of window!?" Jaska asked, looking her over in complete confusion as she dangled dangerously over the sidewalk streets below.

"Ah, morning Jaska." Jackie said with a shaky smile, trying to get her footing back while trying not to sound terrified for her life. Well, that slip would have killed her or at least broken half her bones.

"How you out there!?" Reacting fast, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her inside his room.

"Ah~ that was terrifying." Jackie sheepishly laughed, hunching over and coming to terms with the fact she just almost died, "ah, are you alright now, Jaska?" Jackie asked, remembering how angry he was last night.

"Host? What happened?" Jaska asked as he eyed her for injuries, but luckily he didn't see nor smelled any blood.

"Well, this led to that and I had to climb out of the attic space to prevent the pigeons from getting into the house," she explained.

Jaska eyed her, judging her sanity and looking into her perfectly sane eyes. She did not seemed under the influence of anything, "Attic? Pigeons?" He grabbed her and set his hand over her face to open up her eye and check if her pupils were dilated. She was saying crazy stuff, had been climbing out the building and was even acting so casually with him when he scared her to death that night.

Jackie grabbed his hand and moved it away. "Uh, yeah. Since Sabre doesn't have a room I just found out she has been living in the attic." Jackie said with a deep frown, "I need to call Ms. Smith and tell her to get a room set up for her." She noted, twisting around to leave before she felt a sharp pain and quickly took her hand to her side.

"Gah-!" Jackie started, startled as she gripping her ribs and leaned forward with a pained expression. With a small stagger she briefly wondered if her careless movement just ripped her stitches.

Jaska quickly set her over the bed and he pulled her shirt up to see what was wrong. "You broke stitch, stupid host!" He sounded worried.

"I wasn't even thinking. I forgot they were there," Jackie admitted with a frown. That pain medicine was pretty strong so she wasn't even thinking when she turned sharply. "How do they look?" She asked, trying to twist around to look at them herself.

"Open and bleeding," he responded, "it was stray's fault. Kick her out, host." Jaska leaned down and carefully checked the wound. It was bleeding but it wasn't that bad. If she didn't move much it would close soon but more stitches might be needed.

"Alright Mr. kitty cat, what in the hell happened between you two?" Jackie asked in an annoyed tone, pinching his ear and lightly twisting it as she glared at him sternly. Pain or not she was going to get to the bottom of why they hated each other so much.

"Stay still, host. I get med kit to stich back," Jaska got off the end and pulled out a red bag from under his bed. It was a very complete first aid maletin. He went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

"Seriously though Jaska, I don't get it! Why do you two hate each other so much? You're going to hurt the others if you two keep bottling it all up and exploding at random," Jackie scolded rather sternly despite her weakened state.

"She always attacking me and I not about to let self be subject to angry little kitty's outbursts." He grumbled, pushing up her shirt and looking at the bleeding wound before passing Jackie a couple pills and a glass of water. "Take pain medicine"

"She's not the only one being stubborn, Jaska," Jackie pointed out in annoyance, "it takes two to tango and you're as much a part of this argument as she," she looked at him with caution, "what really happened?"

"Again, host, _she_ attack first." He growled, pushing the medicine and water her way but she turned her head away.

" … Jaska, tell me what actually happened." Jackie said as he pushed the medicine her way first but she covered her lips, refusing to take it if he did not talk. "Tell me or I won't take the medicine"

"What, you hold self hostage for information? You only one suffer then." He growled with lowered ears as her eyes narrowed, nodding sharply. "Why you want to know? It better to get Stray out of house. She trouble."

"Because I don't want your fighting to spill over towards the others too. Your fighting is causing a rift and it's not healthy. And don't you _dare_ tell me to get rid of her without giving me a reason!" Jackie snapped at him angrily, trying to move up before weakly leaning back down with a sharp inhale. Jaska stared at the host, flickering his ears in annoyance before looking away.

"Her heat scent on you and affecting everyone. You might get r**ed. That no reason enough?" He could try the same arguments he had tried with Smith; the host was an easier prey to fall for that argument. "You get rid of the stray and the scent go away too."

"R**ed?" Jackie asked, staring into his eyes before seeing a protective guard over his gaze, "it's more than that, Jaska. Your hatred of her is more than just her smell alone. It has to be. You're not so stupid as to hate her for some reason like that." Jackie stated with a frown, still holding her hand over her mouth.

"She unstable. Pretty mental. She in heat yet she denies need of male bastet. When I came home from first mission I helped her and she attacked. She can't control self." He blankly said, trying a new approach of danger. Ultimately, the host would ask for the stray to be taken away.

"In need-? Oh. Oooh," Jackie said, her face paling. So they uh, messed around a bit? Is that all? But both of them are taking it pretty seriously to attack each other with just a glance. "Um, well, she uh, well, that's awkward." Jackie said, her cheeks tinging with pink as she tried to think of how she could help with that. How was she supposed to help with something like this? "Well uh, did you hurt her?" Jackie asked rather quietly, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.

Jaska stared at her, surprised by her sudden turn of meekness at the coming of the subject but then growled at her caring for the stray. "I helped her with need." His words were cut and dry, "even when she confused me with little bratja."

"bratja?" Jackie asked, baffled, "you mean brother? You have a brother, Jaska? What does that has to do with Sabre?" She asked as the wheels began turning in the back of her head. Slowly in her eyes Jaska could see her already piecing together what happened from that little bit of information.

Jaska noticed his slip and then cussed in Russian. "I _had_ brother," he swallowed, trying to remain distant as he explained, "and stray know stuff she not tell."

"But, what did you do to make Sabre so angry?" Jackie asked, still not seeing the connection of how he pissed Sabre off to the point she couldn't bare to even look at him.

"She just mental. Brain burned with heat." He cleaned some of the blood off with a cotton pad, dabbing it to clean the wound before gently touching some iodine to her skin to disinfect it.

"I don't believe that, Jaska. You're hiding something," she said with a deepening frown, "tell me that truth. I'm just trying to figure out what in the world happened between you two."

Jaska huffed and took out a needle from its package to pass the threat by it.

"D-Do you know how to stitch, Jaska?" Jackie asked, sounding very uneasy and nervous as she tried to lean away from him.

"Da, so shut up and let me work." He growled, holding her rather roughly and pinning her down firmly.

"I won't. I'm sick of not knowing what is going on. Why can't you just tell me what you did to make her so angry and what she did to upset you so much? It's stressing you out and I'm starting to see bald spots." Jackie pointed out, staring at the top of his head. Without meaning to he reached up, feeling his fur before noticing her faintly smiling in amusement.

" … you fool me, host?"

"About the balding yes, but you really _are_ stressed out. You haven't been eating that much at all and you keep pacing around back and forth growling along the corridors." She pointed out. He blinked, actually shocked that she would have noticed something like that.

"You pay attention to that?"

"Well, you've never done that before so I looked on the internet for some answers before figuring it out. You've been very stressed and I'm trying to figure out how to make you more comfortable here." Jackie admitted as he pinched the skin a bit.

"If you want me better, remove cause of stress. Kick stray out. She no belongs." He said stoically "I no want to deal with her presence, her problems or her secrets. She stray so far, so she better go away and stay that way"

" … I never really took you for someone who avoids problems." Jackie said. Jaska stared at her with emotionless eyes before holding down her waist and sticking the needle in with a swift flick of his wrist. "OUCH!" Jackie shouted, tensing up as she tightly clenched her teeth.

"Calm down host or you'll break thread and I have to stitch again." He didn't want to say that the d*** stray rejected him at every turn and rather went to anyone instead of a bastet for help even when her heat demanded her to ask for his attention, or that she refused to ease his mind about his brother. That uncertainty was horrible. After all he tried and he couldn't even know how his brother had ended. How could his brother ended up mating with that stray lab rat!? Why? What was she really to his brother? Was she lying about being mate of his brother too? Jackie bit her lip, glaring back at him.

" … have you ever felt like you haven't belonged anywhere? That you were lost and no one wanted you? Have you never felt lonely? Have you never felt the crushing weight of not knowing what was happening to you or the unease about your future?" Jackie countered with a stiff frown.

Jaska's nose flared and his eyes widened. He looked at the host but didn't answer immediately. He gave a new stitch and continued until he was done before he finally addressed her. "Why you ask that?"

"Because if you can honestly tell me that you have _never_ felt those things then I will consider requesting Ms. Smith to take Sabre and her kit out of the house. But I must tell you she probably feels that way too." Jackie said with a frown as she firmly stared the tiger down without the slightest bit of unrelenting in her sharp gaze, "so tell me, Jaska. Have you never felt anything like that in your life before?"

Jaska roared and pushed her on the bed, his hands gripped her arms as he leaned down on her. Jackie let out a small, startled shout as she looked up at him, suddenly aware that he was indeed a tiger Extraspecies and the temperament of one too. From her side she still felt the painful heat of the new stitches piercing her side.

"Not my problem, da? It stray's fault. Also fault of clueless pup who fool around dangerous predators and confuse already species-confused mother." He hissed. "She come into territory and entices. She tease with brother's name and then she attacks. She then tell me lil bratja dead and she enjoy torturing me by no telling about Aleksey. She also get stupid heat going and know I capable of help but think I no bastet, no good enough and she goes to _anyone_ else!" He angrily roared with a snarl.

"J-Jaska let go, that hurts!" She breathed, feeling the tips of his claws poking her skin. Jaska hissed at her, his arms trembling. He could feel himself beginning to lose it and beginning to reach the point of going feral himself but he wasn't about to let the host go just after a little bit of that. If she wanted to know then he was going to d*** well tell her exactly what it was.

Jackie squirmed trying to get free of his startlingly firm grip but could not even begin to fathom of actually getting free. These things were horrible, they really were but she doubted all of that was entirely true. It sounded like he had been holding in an awful lot of problems that he needed to talk to someone about.

"Jaska, come on! Be the bigger cat here!" Jackie cried out as he licked her wound, making her voice choke off as he pushed her ribs down to hold her still.

"I Siberian tiger, I biggest cat there is!" He growled

"Then act like it instead of acting like a spoiled brat!" Jackie shouted back at him, kicking his side even though she was sure it did little to nothing against the big guy. Her side ached horribly and she knew she was still bleeding a little bit but she didn't care.

"I no spoiled and this not host's business" He was clearly offended, but he loosened his grip when seeing her squirm in pain.

"It _is_ my business when you start hurting others in the house and yourself! B-Besides, a spoiled brat would let all of his emotions bottled up and explode instead of talking to someone about them! I'm your _host_ , Jaska, not just some maid who cleans your room every now and then!" Jackie shouted back at him, clinging to the fur on his arm with a tight grip. "What else do you think I'm freaking here for anyway?!"

"You here because you idiot who climbed building outside and then got nosy in someone else's business. I no hurt other, less myself. My problems mine to deal with."

"Just so you know, she said the same thing!" She shouted as she tried pushing him away again in vain. "I don't know where she was before she arrived here but clearly it wasn't good if she was desperate enough to leave the kit! A-And your brother was her mate, right? Don't you think she loved him and it hurt her deeply now that he's gone? She's very paranoid and suspicious, why do you think that is? And heat or not I doubt she'd like to go with anyone when she just lost someone important not too long ago!" Jackie shouted at him, breathing hard after her little shout fest. Both of them glared defiantly towards one another as Jaska hissed at her, seeing her unwavering glare cutting through his petty reasoning.

"She invaded territory," He hissed, breathing fast. He didn't want to hear those things but the host's words, despite being a civilian and not knowing any of the sorts of things he went through, still drilled right to his brain as he tried to scramble for any arguments he could possibly use but he could not think of anything that he used before other than the fact he was deeply hurt by everything that was happening.

"It's my house, Jaska, and it's _my_ territory. You are all _guests_ here with your assigned territories being here in this room which is still considered to be _my_ territory." She growled, trying to get through his thick skull. After a moment of glaring she let out a long, tired breath before looking up at him earnestly. "Jaska," she said, reaching up and sliding her fingers through the fur on his neck, "Sabre doesn't even have a room here. She's been living in the attic which is disgustingly hot during the day and bitterly cold at night. I was just up there and found a whole bunch of pigeons up there in the attic because she's trying to teach her kit to hunt." Jackie said, very gently thumbing his fur, "don't you think she at least deserves a fair chance?" She quietly asked.

Jaska had no idea what type of chance the host was speaking about. A chance to go away? A chance to stay here? A chance to apologize to him and tell him about his brother? A chance to keep that a hurtful secret? And what about himself? Didn't he need a chance too? But a chance for what? He couldn't tell anymore.

" … I need to call Ms. Smith so she can renovate a room for her too. At least think about what I've said." Jackie said before turning to leave.

Jaska pulled Jackie farther onto the bed of his den and licked around the wound. He then tried his last feeble attempt at trying to get rid of his problems instead of facing them. "Stray not in the program, so she can't have a room. She better to leave," he growled but his conviction was wavering. His lips hovered over her wound, staring at it rather emptily. "She no sign contract yet. So she should go if she lied about joining deal," Jaska lightly bit her side and watched Jackie nearly jump out of her skin.

"W-What do you mean she didn't? I thought she did!" Jackie shouted as she kicked her feet, "get off, seriously! I need to call Ms. Smith right now. Sabre _needs_ to sign those papers!"

He saw her wound and the blood on it, then he lowered to lick it so the wound would be cleaned. The tangy taste of her blood made his face scrunch up with an unsatisfied frown. "Human blood taste bad … wonder why some like. Maybe an 'acquired taste'." Jaska gave another lick to stop the flowing of blood completely, " … maybe old uncle right, taste get better with more licks?"

"Jaska, stop that's weird." Jackie admonished, pushing against the side of his head. Him saying something about an 'acquired taste' when talking about blood made her uneasy.

Jaska gave another slow and long lick to the wound to tease her. As predicted, she squirmed, "you little squirming prey. I've seen bunnies squirm less."

"B-Bunny?! Who's a bunny?" Jackie growled, tugging on his ears rather gently despite her annoyed tone. She didn't dare even try to hurt the big tiger that could easily bite her in half if he wanted to. "I'm not a bunny." She scolded, mangling his ear. "And you need to calm down too. I'll give you attention after I call Ms. Smith if you want more pets."

Jaska used his weight to keep her still, "no, bunnies die too fast. You prey of other kind," he then sniffed her, "and you do smell like other cat." Tired of arguing, Jaska reached over and gave her his own phone before calling Ms. Smith on speed dial for her. "Here, then. Call Smith for stray."

Jackie huffed and took it, lying still on Jaska's bed while he looked over the wound.

" _What's wrong, Jaska?"_ She asked after picking up the phone on it's first ring.

"Hey, it's Jackie. Why hasn't Sabre signed the papers yet?" Jackie asked in annoyance, "I thought you said you'd get her to sign the paperwork officially."

" _What you mean she hasn't? Jaska has her papers, he was to make sure she signed those and then give back the specifications for whatever she asks for."_ Ms. Smith said as Jackie shot Jaska a dirty glance before looking away.

"Yeah well I just caught her living in the A- _ttic!_ " Jackie's voice jolted as Jaska licked the back of her neck and then blew over it to gave her chills.

" _The attic? Why is she in the attic?"_ Ms. Smith asked as Jackie slapped the back of her neck, looking frazzled as she looked over with wide eyes at Jaska who mischievously grinned.

"Well where else is she supposed to stay? Jaska and her are still h-HATE!" Jackie jolted before covering his mouth with her hand and trying to push him away, "still going at it."

"Something wrong, host? Or something feel amaze?" Jaska grinned. The host's expressions at his playful teasing were distracting enough, so Jaska was ready to play more in order to not think on the things haunting him.

" _Going at it!? Did he mess with her again? She allowed it?"_ Ms. Smith asked, sounding shocked.

"Mess-OF COURSE NOT!" Jackie shouted, glancing at Jaska as he shook his head and waved off the thought before he began to move towards her neck again, leering over at her as she glared at him, daring him to try it, "going at it as in still _fighting_. She refuses to go anywhere near him a-and vice versa."

"You said so host, she keeps away on own will. I have nothing to it." Jaska gave a little lick behind her ear.

" _Put him on the phone. NOW,_ " Ms. Smith ordered as Jaska rolled his eyes, slipping the phone from her hand and putting it to his ear at a little distance in case she screamed, while using his other hand to push Jackie's face against the covers and watching her struggle underneath of him.

"Da?" He asked as he threw his leg over Jackie's waist to straddle her before sitting on top. Her entire body jolted as she waved her arms around, trying not to suffocate underneath his massive weight.

" _Can you explain all the host just said?"_ Smith demanded with a tired sigh.

"Da. Species confused kitty keep away from me, so how can I give papers?" He explained as if that was all. With a mischievous hum he moved Jackie's shirt up a bit to show her back before his fluffy tail traveled along it. The host jumped, slapping a hand over her mouth as she kept trying to struggle.

" _I told you to get her to sign those papers! Have you even asked her yet?"_ Ms. Smith asked as Jackie tensed up, squirming but remained where she was thanks to his weight.

"She keep away so I no even get close to ask." He said with a shrug as he slid his claws lightly down the back of Jackie's neck and watched her shiver uneasily.

" _It's unlike you to make up excuses, Jaska. I told you to consider this a mission for you to complete."_ Ms. Smith ordered as Jaska pushed the heel of his hand into Jackie's lower back and pushed up in a massaging motion. Without meaning to, Jackie let out a soft moan at the way he pushed her various muscle groups in such a soothing manner.

"Da." He said, smirking in a victorious manner as Jackie bulked and covered her mouth, startled at the sound that came out of it before glaring angrily at him.

" _And that means also NO fighting and no violence. No intimidation either. Just get along. In fact, I'm putting Sabre under your direct responsibility. That includes her and her pups safety."_ Ms. Smith ordered.

"Da." He simply answered without much thought, again dropping his smile. That fox wasn't even her cub so why was he responsible for them? She was supposed to be mate of his brother, so where did the fox came from? And why would he need to take care for her? She was an experiment capable of taking care of herself and get her own territory.

Jaska moved back and over Jackie as he held the phone slightly away before he nipped at her ears, forcing her to cover her mouth tighter to keep quiet. Jackie kicked his rear, startling him as she kicked her heel into him again with an angry glare in his direction and a blush on her flustered face. He began to purr at the amusing sight, nuzzling against her lightly and holding the phone closer to her as if warning her that if she made a sound then Ms. Smith was never going to let it go.

After a few moments of silence on the phone Ms. Smith let out a soft, somewhat happy laugh, " _you sound much better, Jaska. It was the right choice giving you Jackie as a host,"_ Ms. Smith said, clearly having no idea what was making him so happy at the moment, " _how are you doing with the host?"_ She asked, curious about his progression.

"She nice host." He warmly smiled before holding the back of her neck firm and lightly biting her ear. Her hand smacked against the bed as if to plead for mercy while he smirked.

" _I can hear that. Well, do you have any problem with your orders?"_

"Nyet." He said, sucking on Jackie's ear before she pulled her head out of the way and clapped her hands over her ears to protect them, amusing him with her defiance.

" _Fine, then I'll leave you to play with the host … and after that go give Sabre those papers and explain stuff to her. She doesn't know certain things a bastet should know and needs some guidance,"_ she said as Jackie kicked the base of Jaska's tail and made him let out a loud growling purr from the pleasurable spot. " … _Jaska,_ _ **how**_ _are you playing with the host right now?"_ She asked rather dangerously.

"We're playing fine." He said, rubbing her shoulder and tugging on her hair strands for fun as she waved her hands around to pull her hair.

"Jaska, seriously-?!" Jackie demanded in a low and pissed off whisper before sealing her lips up tightly as he tilted the phone in her direction and smirked.

" _She's not like the women you're used to playing with, Jaska. Remember that if she sends in enough complaints even I won't be able to protect you from the board."_ Ms. Smith reminded him, " _especially if she is hurt again like last time due to your passionate incompetence."_

Jaska let out a tired groan as his ears flattened on his skull for a second, "was not my fault, was intruding cat's fault." He tried blaming the leopard girl but he wasn't so keen on it anymore.

" _She can't control her instincts. You can and you went feral too after chasing her cub. Any person with a brain knows that is a bad idea. There is NO excuse for you."_ She scolded him.

"She interpret wrong." He said in annoyance before rather heavily sitting on Jackie's back and making her let out a pained grunt and stiffen up, taking the full bearing of his weight before he lifted up a little bit and watched her lay there in a bit of pain.

" _And you fought her rather than talk it out."_

"When feral, only thing she understand is who is alpha." Jaska explained as he licked Jackie's cheek, watching her tuck her face into the covers and swat his head away. He shuffled back, pinning her legs and rubbed her back as an apology for sitting so heavily on her. His eyes glanced over her wounds, seeing them still intact.

" _Oh really? Alpha my a**. She would have killed you or get killed by you"._

"My point exactly." He bit Jackie's shoulder in annoyance.

"OW!" Jackie loudly barked before gasping and covering her mouth again while her other hand smacked his nose. The tiger popped his head back, snorting out a smile and toothy grin as Ms. Smith remained silent. Surely she heard the host that time.

" _What are you doing to the host? You know what, go and apologize to Sabre or at least assure her you won't attack her again. And you better not! Only then you can keep playing with the host."_ She then hung up on him as Jaska stared at Jackie's back and watched the nibble on her shoulder start to bleed a little bit. Feh, he played too roughly.

"Goodbye, Smith." Jaska said in a flat voice as he tossed the phone aside and licked the blood droplets on her back.

"What the hell is wrong with you why did you bite me?! Idiot!" Jackie shouted, really beginning to struggle for real now and try to punch him.

Jaska growled in annoyance at himself for getting so out of it so easily, "kitty's fault. She angers me," he then looked apologetic as he stared at her wound, " … I sorry for rougher play, host." He smirked again, "I'll correct it," he tried to lick her new wound before her elbow flew around and caught him in the cheek, making him look at her with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not a freaking chew toy or someone you can push around. I am your _host_ , Jaska. Respect that much, at least. " She hissed, digging her nails into his other arm but it felt like nothing to him with his thick fur in the way.

Just then both of them froze up as a little scratching on the door was heard, followed by a couple thumping sounds before the door was opened and Kit came in after apparently having climbed and jumped to try and open the door knob. In his mouth was a dead pigeon with a couple more in his tiny little hands. He entered with caution and left them on the floor, then meowed pleadingly towards the tiger as his ears went flat against his head before the pup turned back and ran away.

Jaska's tail flickered back and forth, staring at the little gifts before his eyes narrowed.

" … what, what was that?" Jackie asked, knowing the there was no way Kit could mistake Jaska for being weak.

"Peace offering." Jaska scoffed before pinning her stomach down and continuing with his not so gentle treatments before the tapping of paws made his ear twitch up, in come running Kit with more dead pigeons before he set them on the ground and scampered back out of the room.

"Peace?" Jackie said, baffled. Is this what animals in the wild do? Kroc gave Sabre a slice of that meat chunk before too and Sabre mentioned something about it being peace offering. Was this the same type of thing?

"Da," he said with a frown. Jaska was surprised by the kit's boldness.

The kit then approached and saw Jaska's tail hanging over the edge, moving slowly as if all had been forgotten with the dead pigeons and there was no problem anymore before he he started playing with the stripped tail, annoying Jaska before the tiger heavily sighed.

"Such a mood killer," he huffed, flipping his tail around as Kit bit at it. Jackie slowly began to get up before making a dive for freedom but Jaska easily caught her, pushing her back against the bed and lightly nibbling her shoulder as punishment again. He deeply laughed and kept her pinned. He was admittedly enjoying this. She was so meek and cute but he kept in mind that she was still injured, even if the cuts were more shallow now.

"So close!" Jackie complained before her eyes flashed, cupping his cheeks and surprising him before she began to furiously pet him as a distraction from biting. Jaska began purring louder and rested on Jackie's chest while closing his eyes, ignoring the pup playing with his tail. She let out a stiff sigh, thinking she was safe for the time being as his chest reverberated with his deep purring. After almost five minutes of nonstop petting Jackie spotted Sabre approaching quietly in the room towards them, taking chance that Jaska was 'distracted' enough for her to get Kit without endangering him if a fight broke out.

Just when she reached Kit, Jaska spoke and startled the smaller feline.

"I have paperwork for you to sign, stray. Sign and give conditions-," he started as he twisted around to look at her before she let out a fierce and protective roar in his direction.

Jackie jolted and covered her head, waiting for the inevitable attack before she heard Sabre's claws digging into the hardwood floor outside the room. With a hesitant peek out of her arms she looked up, seeing Sabre gone and Kit too. That roar sounded scared, not angry like before, " … I think she might be a bit scared of you."

Jaska huff in annoyance before turning back to the host. "I no say stop. Pet me, host." Why would the stray be scared? She was ready to fight at any moment.

"I-I've got other things to do than pet you all day!" She complained, smacking him on the head before she crawled out from under him. He grabbed her, dragging her back and hugging her against his chest before letting out a huff.

"Fine. I let you go, detka, if you take papers to Stray cat." He said and pointed out at a big packet that was on his desk near the paper shredder. "Changed mind, I owe brother at least giving stray those papers."

"Done." Jackie immediately said, taking the papers as Jaska dutifully let her go with a sigh.

"Not even hesitation? Hurt feelings, host." Jaska playfully teased said as Jackie made her escape out the door.

Quickly the host headed over to the folded up stairs before heading up them with the papers firmly set against her chest. Jackie slowly slipped into Sabre's 'room' before pausing. She was just scared by Jaska so she should at least announce herself first.

"Sabre, I'm coming in." Jackie said, waiting for a response.

"Can you take a bath first? You smell like the grumpy cat," Sabre called out from the attic.

"I'm not waiting, Sabre," Jackie said, ignoring her request and went ahead in. When she came in she saw Sabre mindlessly laying in her hammock, not saying anything in response but the agitated motion of her swinging tail showed she wasn't exactly happy at the moment. Her breathing also was noticeably deep. "Sabre, you need to sign these papers. If you do I can get Ms. Smith to renovate your room for you so you're not stuck in the stuffy attic." Jackie tried to ignore the dead pigeons lining the walls like trophies as she approached the leopard. "Come on, sign the papers, Sabre." Jackie said, walking over to her and showing her the proper paperwork.

"If I do I'll have to deal with the grump striped danger," Sabre looked aside towards the vent with her nose high up before crouching flat on the makeshift hammock. Her fur was still up, "I'm reconsidering this deal. He's too dangerous, it's probably better that I … that we go," she closed her eyes with a dead expression.

"Well, if you want to leave I won't stop you. But I'm serious about wanting to be your host, Sabre. Both you and your kit." Jackie said with a genuine smile as she walked over to her, "but before you sign the papers I do have a question; why do you hate Jaska so much?"

Sabre huffed. "Because he deserves it."

"But why? What did he do, exactly?" Jackie pressed on, wanting to hear it from her own mouth.

"Something despicable, then he attacked me and my pup … on various occasions," Sabre hissed through clenched fangs, "it's not hate anymore. It's survival. He wants me dead or gone."

Jackie frowned, realizing she wouldn't be getting anything out of Sabre asking like this. So instead she tried something else, "hey, Sabre … Jaska's brother, Aleksey, was your mate, right?" Jackie asked, trying a different tactic as she set the papers down before carefully approaching the clouded leopard.

Sabre looked at Jackie and then inhaled deeply before swallowing, her eyes watering somewhat "Yes. _Was_ … he's gone now. What of it?" Her tail swayed and its tip rolled and unrolled relentlessly.

"Come here." Jackie said, sitting on the side of the hammock as she gently took Sabre's shoulders. The feline weakly resisted as Jackie held her close, giving her a warm and reassuring hug. The host was no stranger to losing a loved one. She's lost too many loved ones, but she wasn't sure if for Extraspecies a 'mate' was like a husband or if it was something deeper than that. Whatever Aleksey was to Sabre, she cared for him a lot and was still hurting very deeply.

"The stripped menace is horrible, host. His brother was nothing to him and he wants me away because I have a connection to him, I think."

"Jaska is hurting very deeply too, Sabre." Jackie said, rubbing her back and hugging her tightly.

"Don't imagine things, host. When he learned Aleksey died he just dismissed it, and before that he even dared used his brother's name to … to force something bad to me when he came here. I want nothing to do with something like that. He doesn't think of me as a bastet, probably not even as an Extraspecies."

"You're being just as stubborn as he is, Sabre," Jackie sighed as she continued to rub her back reassuringly, "you both can't keep avoiding the subject. You're right about me not knowing about all the details but I know enough to know you both lost someone very precious and that you are hurting deeply. And if you don't face it then you'll both just keep hurting." Jackie said, squeezing her in the hug. "You'll be just fine. I'm here for you."

"Leave it, Jackie. I shouldn't even call you host. It was nice staying here for a little while but I should probably go. That menace will kill me and my pup if I lower my guard."

"He never would. You should have seen kit playing with his tail earlier after kit brought him a bunch of dead pigeons; it was adorable. And he did not do a thing at all to hurt or even hint at hurting him. I think you're being too stubborn and paranoid to see the real him and he's doing the exact same thing." Jackie sighed.

Sabre growled, "I saw the real him when he took advantage of me, host, and used Aleksey's name. H-He … he frightens me." Sabre muttered softly, clutching tighter to Jackie. "He looks and smells so much like Aleksey that it frightens me"

"I think the real him is buried under a bunch of bricks inside his head." Jackie said with a light, ill humored chuckle, "give him a chance, Sabre, and he'll do the same for you. If you can't at least learn to be friendly with him, then at the very least try to tolerate him. He's not such a bad tiger; he's just grumpy a lot." Jackie teased with a grin as she gently rubbed Sabre's ear.

"I don't want anything to do with him, host. You can't convince me otherwise." Sabre huffed, rubbing her head against Jackie's chest.

"Then~ what if I do this?" Jackie said with a grin, wiggling her fingers. She gently slid her hand over Sabre's stomach, making her huff in annoyance before she rolled onto her side. Jackie grinned and pet her back and shoulders, running her hand over her cheek gently and making her purr, "see? I'm a good host and you know it. You _don't_ want to go," Jackie grinned as, with her other hand, she held the pen, "sign the papers, Sabre."

"Nooooo … ," She meekly cried in a weak tone that was lost between her purrs.

Jackie pulled back, making Sabre look back at Jackie as she set the pen aside and cracked her fingers. She lunged at Sabre, half laying on top of her before she vigorously pet and scratched Sabre's sides.

"Get off," she weakly growled. However, instead of moving away Sabre began rubbing herself on Jackie. When Jackie got one hand at the base of Sabre's tail and the other scratching her side, with a roll of her eyes Sabre rolled onto the ground as Jackie followed her, continuing with the fast and high intensity petting. The host straddled Sabre's hips with a cheeky grin and grabbed the pen, setting it in Sabre's hands with her hand over the paperwork as she rubbed Sabre's cheeks.

"Sign it and I'll pet your tail too." Jackie encouraged as Sabre messily scribbled over the page with a faint signature before Jackie stopped petting, opening the tab to the next page. "This one too." She said, reaching under Sabre and tugging on her tail before scratching at the base.

Sabre let out a soft cry as she lightly dug her nails into the paper before flipping around onto her stomach and signing the next page with almost teary eyes filled with pleasure before Jackie dragged her back a little bit by the tail and continued petting. She felt weak and light and cared for; it just felt all too good in her weakened emotional state.

"This one too." Jackie said, opening to the next tab and trying to direct her back to the paperwork

"N-N-Not fair," Sabre whined as Jackie scratched her legs, making her cry out again as Jackie overlapped Sabre's hand so she signed the next page again.

"It is _completely_ fair." Jackie countered with a grin as Sabre spread her legs a little bit before Jackie scratched the inside of her thigh and listened to the thick purrs rolling around in her chest. Sabre twisted around onto her back and spread her legs as Jackie scratched up and down her leg, making her stretch her muscles, "keep signing, Sabre." Jackie reminded her as Sabre dragged the rest of the paperwork over and began signing each page seemingly at random.

"H-Higher," Sabre panted as Jackie held her hips and rubbed them, watching her toes curl and stretch. Her claw on her foot came within inches of her eye before Jackie leaned back, moving up so she sat between Sabre's legs by her knees to prevent getting her face impaled by her claws. Those things were not something she wanted to mess around with. Sabre's tail lashed around as Jackie pulled on it, watching her signing scribble right off the page before she let out a loud yowl, eyes rolling into the back of her head.

By the time it was done, Sabre was laying on the floor twitching in a pile of furry mush and blushing madly as Jackie flipped through the papers victoriously. The signatures may be all over the pages and scribbled but she was able to get Sabre to sign them all. Jackie grinned and set the paperwork aside before looking around the filthy room full of dead pigeons and feathers.

"When you're done purring make sure to clean all this up. I'll bring you some trash bags, a dustpan and a broom, alright?" Jackie said with a grin.

"A little longer~," Sabre pleaded, hugging Jackie around the waist and nuzzling against her with a continuous stream of purrs. Jackie smiled and sat down, rubbing her ears and helping her come down from her delusional state that allowed Jackie to get her signatures.

"So are you going to be a good kitty from now on?" Jackie asked, cupping her furry cheeks and squishing her pliable face together before almost losing it in laughter. This was seriously hilarious but it made her wonder if anyone else could make Extraspecies be reduced to such an out-of-it state. She took pride as a host to be able to do that.

"Yeah … and regarding that second part of the contract, host, if I'm staying then you're mine now." Sabre claimed, puzzling Jackie before she ignored Sabre's weird comment. Second part? She didn't know what she was talking about but she shrugged it off.

"Well, it's been fun but I need to go call Ms. Smith and _you_ have a mess to clean up." Jackie said, pushing her head off as she laid there for a little while longer.

"Nya~ noooo … ," she held tight, "more … I need petting, that's why I'm staying here despite the stripped menace ... your petting and because you know of Antain."

"Another time, Sabre. I still have other things to do." Jackie said before pausing, "Antain?" She asked, "is that what you named the kit? Antain?" Jackie asked.

"Mmhh … mmhhh," Sabre nodded and nuzzled her face cheek to cheek with Jackie, "he needed a real name."

"It's a good name. Now clean this up," Jackie said with a grin before heading down the stairs and into Jaska's room.

The tiger's form perked up a bit as he turned around, his eyes locked onto the paperwork as she let out a victorious grin. "Got all of them."

"She going somewhere else? Choosing new host?" He asked, no real ill in his words.

"No, she's staying." Jackie said with a grin.

Jaska huffed and went back to his nap. He had been thinking and had decided that at the very least he needed to hear about his brother; even if that meant letting the stray stay around. "I'll give those to Smith. Now come, host. You smell too much like stray."

Jackie quickly moved to the door not wanting to be Jaska's toy again for the day. Jaska frowned, seeing her escape and feeling too lazy to pursue her as he laid back down. Before closing the door the host directed him a last look, "will you settle things with her, Jaska?"

Jaska snorted and dropped on his bed before Jackie shut the door, leaving him to himself.

Jaska stared at the wall of his den, trying to collect himself. Why should he bother making up with Sabre? She's just a stray. A stray … who was his younger brother's mate. Jaska's frown deepened in annoyance as he restlessly tossed and turned on his bed, unable to get the pain of what happened to his little bratja out of his heart as he tried to sleep away his thoughts.

* * *

Jaska's eyes cracked open, his heart aching worse than before. He really hated that stray. She refused to tell him anything to ease this pain. With a deep frown he got up, stretching his legs as he walked into the hallway to try and clear his mind.

A playful mewl made his ear flicker slightly as he glanced down the hall. With the silent stealth natural to a silent killer he crawled down the hallway silently. The smell of the stray hit him before anything else. He glanced around the corner, spying the stray playing along the kit with a few balls of colorful yarn like a common cat, happy as a kitten could be. He stopped for a few seconds and then he let out a heavy sigh and headed back to his room, needing a drink.

He was seated at his desk and took out a couple bottles of vodka. One was a special imported brand in a skull shaped bottle that his little bratja used to like. He hadn't opened it because he had been too busy with missions and wanted to save it for a special occasion.

Taking a swig drink out of the normal bottle he gulped it down before looking towards the bunch of dead pigeons in the floor that the little fox had left as a peace offering. It seemed that the bigger cat here had been the small fox.

With an annoyed sigh he picked up the skull shaped bottle and two nice glasses before he headed into the living room. He tried to remain aloof as he stepped into her line of sight, refusing to look at her as he tried to form words in his head.

Sabre was laying on the sofa along with the cub but upon seeing the tiger she stopped playing with the yarn and pushed Kit behind the piece of furniture while she snarled and let out a roar, her fur all on edge and her pupils slitted. Her claws were out and digging on the sofa as she snarled a new warning. Her shoulders shifting and her muscles ready to pounce.

"This is … present from Aleksey to me. Before everything, went wrong." He said, flickering his tail back and forth as he continued to advert his gaze from her rather awkwardly. He took another step and her hiss made him stop. "I had for 10 years, and drink has aged 3 fold that before so, it good drink." He took another step forward. She didn't hiss but still growled in warning, "I not opened yet; but tonight good night to drink. Peace offering, da?" He sighed and set the glasses down on the coffee table before he sat in the opposite, smaller sofa where she had been when taking care of the host.

She still growled at him and was obviously on edge. Her tail lashed and her nostrils flared with her fast breathing. She didn't take her eyes out of every single movement he did. And since he was on the sofa that was directly in front of the entrance of the room she couldn't try grabbing Antain and run for it.

He filled both glasses before and took his seat again away from Sabre, leaving the other glass on the table for her to take, something that she seemed to have no intention of doing even though he took shots of the one in front of himself and proved it wasn't poisoned.

Sabre stared at him, startled as he began intoxicating himself with more and more shots. Each time he tossed his head back he took more shots until on his 8th one he hoarsely coughed, swaying slightly as the alcohol began to already hit him. Antain stared at the tiger before gasping in excitement. He dashed away from Sabre and tackled Jaska's tail, grabbing it firmly before gnawing on the white tip. Sabre growled on fear for Antain to get back and she almost pounced but the tiger hardly reacted at all other than slumping against the back of the couch with an emotionless expression on his face. She waited for something to happen but he just stared emptily at the ceiling.

Although he did not react Sabre was not sure if he could even feel the young fox biting his tail after taking straight shots of the very heavy alcohol that she could strongly smell from where she was at. Perhap this was a chance to grab the cub and escape.

Sabre cautiously began moving forward, looking for the right moment to grab her cub and run away. A strange, almost muffled croaking came from Jaska's throat as she paused, startled as his arms trembled.

" … I miss my little bratja, stray. I miss him so much it hurts," he said, his voice forced and haggard as he choked back tears. The ceiling blurred from the tears budding in his eyes but he kept his teeth clenched, refusing to let them fall.

"You don't. You don't even care about using his name to f*** a stranger." She growled softly. Her own emotions coming to the surface at the mere mention of Aleksey. "You don't even care that he died looking for you."

Jaska did not answer nor respond at all as he sucked in a deep, shaky breath. "I not there for him when he gone. I not there when he died. I not there as comrade, nor as older brother." He continued, his Adam's apple bobbing in pain, "I not there to cover, to protect. I lost little bratja when I captured because I not strong enough." He continued, seeming to be speaking to the air as his thick fur absorbed any possible tears he could have been shedding.

Sabre was immutable. "No, you weren't there, still he tried looking for you only get killed for doing so." Her tail lashing from side to side with her body still tense. He may look as if he really felt the pain of losing Aleksey but that didn't change the fact that he had f***ed her under his little brother's name or that he had not done anything when she revealed the truth of Aleksey's demise. She could feel tears also starting to form in her eyes. Did he honestly think he was hurting inside in comparison to her own pain?

His lips parted but no words came out. He remained silent, tired and broken in so many ways he could not count. He could not deny the words she was speaking nor did he have the energy or power to try to deny any of it. He took it all in, trying to remain numb to the pain before he roughly grabbed the bottle and took three deep swigs of it to get rid of the pain before he slammed it against the table, both pieces remaining intact, and hunched forward while covering his face as he struggled not to fall completely to pieces right then and there. It hurt so deeply that he did not know what to do with himself. There was no whore that could make him forget or drug strong enough he could take. There was no comfort in anyone else being there with him. He was simply alone, facing what had happened to his little bratja all alone.

All he had was his memories with his little bratja and all the years he missed with him.

There was so much he didn't know, so much he couldn't do now that it was all too late. All that time captured he always wondered where his brother went. If he had gotten away. But now he knew that his brother had gone in his search, so it was still his fault for not preparing for that scenario. What had happened to his little bratja during that time? "I ... I not even know Aleksey had mate."

"And you not care for that. You used his name in your favor." Sabre stoically countered, yet her heart ached. She was shaking, her fists tight against her sides.

Jaska did not respond; he couldn't. If he dared to speak he would fall into a sobbing despair of pathetic worthlessness right there in the host's living room. Softly he called out in pain with a very low toned, aching cry that sounded more like a dulled tiger's call of pain. He continued with the loud, pained cries of a mourning tiger, trying to keep silent enough as to not awaken the host or the others.

She began answering the call in her own pained and soft cry but managed to stop and look away. "What do you want, menace? He's gone." She finally couldn't control it anymore and she started sobbing. The sole memory of Aleksey was too strong for her and her fear began falling over her cheeks as she cried. Around her legs, Antain held onto her and looked around the room, sensing the tension but unable to pinpoint what was distressing his mama.

Jaska's crying calls became quieter but remained, sounding them in a lower pitch than the average human ear could hear as he trembled, struggling with his emotions to reign them in but they continued to run rampant. Instead of dulling the pain the alcohol was bringing it right back to the surface stronger and more powerfully than he could handle.

Sabre was rigid and her sobs were the only sound beside his low call. She wanted to refuse it. She wanted to refuse to accept this scene before her of the tiger mourning over the loss of his brother now. What right did he have for mourning over his brother, who he abandoned? He was captured and, and taken away from him but that was no excuse! He had used his brother's name to f*** her, to have his way with her! He had hurt her and had threatened her and her cub. What if Antain was Aleksey's pup? Would he had done that?

Her brain desperately tried to wrack together excuses and explanations for Jaska's behavior but could find none. Deep in her heart she knew, however, that he was truly mourning the loss of his brother. There was nothing false in his low, agonized calls and there was nothing fake in the tears being shed which he hid. All of it was real.

"You still want me away, menace. I'm a reminder of Aleksey's death, aren't I? Is that the only reason why you want me dead too?" She growled, her claws extended almost as she wanted him to attack her and prove her right.

"Whoever say I care enough for you to want dead, AH?!" He roared angrily at her, turning to her with the pained eyes of a tortured man inside, "who say I want _dead_?! You only one who think I want stray, you, dead too!" He shouted at her angrily and she cowered, preparing for an attack. Instead, however, he grabbed a pillow from the couch and bit into it and spilled the feathers over the floor as he redirected his rage to the pillow instead before tossing it aside.

"You've done nothing but that, menace! I am nothing but a lab rat to you. It doesn't matter what I was to Aleksey, I'm at much a reminder that he's dead!" She let out a pained growl.

"HOW?!" He thundered at her, "I ignore! You only run, stray! You think you only lab rat here?! You think you only one hurt by Aleksey, my little bratja, being killed?!" He roared angrily back at her, "you not reminder, you pain in a**! I only wanted information but you stupid heat wanted more! _You_ thought I Aleksey! _You_ crawled into bed! _You_ came with scent of heat to satisfy, stray!"

"I want nothing! You are the one who crawled and f***ed me! I was hallucinating with a d*** fever! It's your fault for resembling him so much. I may be a reminder of his death to you, but you are worse for me!" She grabbed a pillow, her claws ripping it before she threw it at him with feathers flying everywhere as he swat it away. "You think it's easy to have someone that resembled the person I love most r*** me or attacking me at every chance!? Trying to kick me out of the refuge I found for me and my cub?"

"How I _not_ resemble Aleksey, I his brother!" He shouted, getting huffy as he appeared to take a few notches down before he took in a deep breath, collecting himself before heavily exhaling with a pained frown, "I older brother … I older brother who worked years to escape that _f***ing_ pit in ground and could not save even little bratja from _f***ing_ humans!" He choked out a hiss as he ran a hand through his hair, struggling to collect himself together as he began pacing back and forth continuously in his stressed and anxious state. His chest was heaving as he was trying to control to control his emotions.

Sabre roared and her wails intensified, her sharp gaze fixed on the tiger. "Why did you r**ed me then? If you care for Aleksey, why use his name and your likeness for something so vile?" She ripped and threw another pillow.

"Because no creature want experiment like me before!" He shouted back at her with his voice full of pain, "because I _happy_ someone pay attention! I happy female found me to be good mate! You think any bastet let me near after experiment?!"

"Aleksey wanted me, didn't he?" Sabre referred to herself, she too being an experiment.

Jaska stayed silent, instead loudly breathing as he looked her over with his face broken up in pain and noticing her expression mimicking his.

On the floor Antain was playing with the feathers from the pillows and flipping around in the soft tufts without a care in the world. He had sort of accepted the adults behavior towards each other but since they had exchanged peace offering then everything was fine and he could play around. Suddenly, a shine over the coffee table caught his attention. The present the big cat had given his mama was there all abandoned.

Both felines growled and huffed with soft groans and prustens. They looked at each other in the eyes, but before either feline could catch their breath and resume screaming at each other their ears flickered, hearing heavy glass sliding. Their heads snapped over towards Antain, seeing his fingers pulling on the glass skull bottle towards himself, clearly unaware of the consequences if it were to hit him in the head.

In a matter of instinct both felines lunged for the little boy. Jaska's hand cupped the little fox, protecting his head and pushing the bottle back as Sabre's overlapped his furry knuckles. Their heads impacted hard, making both felines see stars as they staggered back with hands on their pained heads. Antain looked at both of the felines before seeing some more feathers fluttering around, gasping in excitement before running off without a look back at them. After some time and silence, Jaska spoke up.

" … I am sorry, stray. I hurt you and I … I cannot ask more forgive." He said with lowered ears, sounding very meek with the stench of alcohol being strong in his breath.

She looked away not willing to be suckered in with sweet words, "I'm not sure I can forgive you."

"Then what I do to help forgive?" He asked, looking up to her with a frown.

"I don't know." She kept her gaze away and tried breathing through her remaining sobs.

"Then … start off to tolerate each other? A truce?" He asked, tilting his head a bit, "host right about one thing; fighting hurting others. If we keep fight, it hurt Antain too." He said with a frown as he looked over at the fox kit running around in the feathers wildly in his excitement.

Sabre inhaled deeply and held her elbow with her hand. "Truce then," she then looked at the bottle drank its remains in one go, accepting the peace offering.

Antain's growling caught their attention as they both look over to him, spotting him messing with one of the small emergency balls of catnip that Jackie had hidden everywhere to use on them. Their eyes widened, startled before both of them lunged to try and prevent him from opening it but then, without warning, the little catnip bomb popped, sending catnip everywhere. Both Jaska and Sabre land in a messy heap, purring and immediately pressing their noses into the carpet to inhale as much as they could of the catnip.

Antain watched both adults rolling around on the carpet before he happily imitated them with a happy mewl, tossing catnip into the air while rolling around in circles.

Both cats began rubbing each other and licking the pup as much as each other between happy purrs. The effects of the catnip mixed with the alcohol lasted longer and when it finally started to dissipate, both cats were too tired and disoriented to do anything but cuddle and prepare to take a long kitty nap.

* * *

Jackie very loudly yawned, walking down the hall with a smile. Last night was the deepest sleep in a long time. She was happy she decided to take some sleep medicine and now she felt perfectly refreshed and ready to go. A deep set of purrs made her pause as she glanced into the living room, seeing pieces of catnip strewn across the floor among the many, many feathers and ripped pillows.

"My pillows!" Jackie cried, startled as she rushed over and saw the two feline culprits happily laying on the carpet, purring and cuddling with one another while Antain slept on top of them both with a happy little smile.

Sabre cracked her eye open, still purring as she looked up to the sight of the host looming over the both of them with her fists full of the feathery evidence left of her pillows.

"Hrmm … morning, host," she said with a loud yawn before Jaska pulled her closer, cuddling up to her in her sleep. Sabre happily returned the gesture, ignoring the host as she walked away. The feline closed her eyes, enjoying the last bit of sleep as Jackie's footsteps came closer. After a moment she felt Antain being lifted off of her and out of the way but before she could react, cold water splashed onto both of them.

Loud roars and yowls rang through the house as both cats leapt away from their resting spot. Sabre leapt up onto the wooden beams up above as Jaska jumped to the right, landing on the couch and breaking right through it as he tumbled onto the ground. He held his aching head, horribly hungover as he let out a low groaning growl.

"JASKA!" Jackie shouted, making Jaska let out a pained cry.

"Raaauhh! What, host?!" Jaska irritably snarled still feeling tispy from last night but with a killer headache.

"Why are there feathers all over my living room?!" Jackie angrily demanded, pointing to the feathers that covered her living room.

"Ugh … quiet, host. Head hurt." He groaned, laying down and curling into a ball as his head spun.

"What, did you hit your head while ripping apart my pillows?" Jackie venomously snapped before gasping loudly, spotting the big skull of a bottle with clearly alcohol inside of it. "Were you drinking last night?!" Jackie demanded, picking up the bottle and gagging at the mere smell of the cork.

"Please, host … head hurt," he pathetically growled. He cracked his eye open, spotting Sabre making a sneaky escape with Antain down the hall before he let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't you go sighing! What did you do?!" Jackie demanded, just imagining the costs of the repairs that she would have to take out of her budget to pay for all of this. Jaska did not answer at all and instead curled into a tighter ball, groaning in annoyance as he covered his ears and did his best to ignore her. Jackie glared daggers at him before she looked around, more so disappointed in herself than in the felines themselves.

 _Note to self: never, never take sleeping medicine or else you'll sleep through the cats ripping apart the living room._

* * *

I hope you enjoyed! **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter :D ALSO! There is a poll up on my profile; I am interested to hear who you guys ship in this fic! Thank you :D


	12. Chapter 12

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Jackie asked with some attempted enthusiasm, seeing Jaska, Kroc and Dumisa in the living room lounging on the couches with rather bored or annoyed expressions. Although none of them answered or gave indication of listening they did not try to retreat back to their rooms and hide to try and avoid being examined. She wasn't told until that morning but apparently the host and the Extraspecies under a single host needed to go to Smith's office monthly to get a physical done plus an interview to ensure the host was doing a good job. Jackie paused, looking around and up into the beams searching for the missing two Extraspecies. "Where's Sabre?"

"She not coming." Jaska shrugged, appearing to be rather uncaring as he looked away with a sigh. He knew this could cause problems with both the host and Ms. Smith but he also understood why Sabre didn't want to go. Her previous examinations ended with her being turned into what she is now.

"Ugh, I'll get her," Jackie huffed, turning to go and drag her downstairs from the attic. After they leave for their vacation trip to the beach tomorrow, Ms. Smith promised to have Sabre's room ready for her. Which was good but then Jackie would have an even more difficult time dragging her out of her room to socialize every now and again when it was needed to. She marched down the hall and right up to the attic's entrance before she pulled on the rope to pull down the stairs, watching it crack open a small bit before a furry arm shot down and slammed it shut. "Sabre, come _on_! We all need to go and get the examinations done!" Jackie shouted up at the feline. "Even I will have a check up!"

"NO! Antain and I are not going to any hospital and you know why, host. So _drop_ _it_!" Sabre's growl came from up in the attic along with a snarling roar. Heavy objects being pushed around made it sound as if she was going to barricade the entrance, alarming Jackie as she tried to pull harder on the rope.

"Sabre, you'll be fine! Don't try to barricade me out!" Jackie shouted up at her, already making plans to get in through the vent in the attic before a sudden voice right behind her made her yelp in surprise.

"Move, host." Jaska, who had walked silently as the feline he was, said; stepping in front of her before he grabbed the rope and pulled it down with a loud snap. The hinge snapped like a twig, making the ladder fall down with a loud clattering snap and stay there as Sabre tried fruitlessly to close it again. Sabre jumped back with a hiss as Jackie popped up and glared at her with Jaska at tow.

"Come on, Sabre, we're going to be late!" Jackie scolded, stepping into the attic. Antain playfully hopped around, oblivious to the argument as he caught sight of Jaska and immediately leapt onto his shoulder before nibbling on his ear. Both Jackie and the clouded leopard glared at one another as Sabre let out a fierce hiss, making Antain hop up with an excited gasp before scrambling back over to his mama after her call, tripping and tumbling but easily recovering as he jumped behind her and began playing with her fluffy tail.

"If you think you can drag me out of here-!" Sabre started with a roar before Jaska slipped into the attic as well, earning an annoyed glare of betrayal from Sabre as he looked to her.

"It be fine, da?" He encouraged, knowing Ms. Smith would chew him out if Sabre did not come along. He knew she was afraid to come but the examinations were necessary for her own good; Antain's too so they could avoid trouble for the host and himself.

Sabre hissed, her claws out and her long fangs showing. "No! I'm not risking it," she loudly snarled.

"Sabre … ," he called her by her name and she seemed to be willing to listen to him. After a moment of staring he glanced behind her, "... cub is pulling on hammock," he said with a sigh and Sabre turned her head to see that Antain was biting on the hammock's edge and pulling his blanket off. Jackie took advantage of the distraction and walked up to Sabre, quickly grabbing her ears and vigorously petting her head while bracing herself for the incoming claws.

"Hey!" Sabre growled, trying to move away but her body was giving up. "Let me go! I'm not getting us near any medic!"

"Come on, don't be such a grouch!" Jackie teasingly grinned with a laugh, holding Sabre close while thoroughly petting her. It was so funny how weak everyone was against the host's petting and as much as Jackie wanted to use her special powers all the time she knew she could only get away with so much.

"No … too risky," she muttered, leaning against Jackie and madly purring while closing her eyes.

"Jaska, get Antain." Jackie said, hugging Sabre as her face rested against Jackie's breasts.

"Da. Come, cub," Antain grabbed his blanket and tripped over it but Jaska caught him and lift him off the ground, wrapping him with the blanket while Antian yawned. With an adorable smile he cuddled up to his favorite blanket, purring and curling into a little furry ball of enjoyment.

"Need help, sheela?" Kroc offered, poking his head through the opening as he looked around curiously around the bare attic.

"Good timing." Jaska said, walking over near the entrance while hugging Antain.

"Yeah, help me carry Sabre to the van." Jackie said as she half dragged the happily delirious feline across the ground, her sharp claws digging in the wooden floor and leaving marks before Kroc scooped her up with ease. "Thank you-," Jackie started before Kroc picked her up too, cradling them both with one in each arm while he stepped off the ladder and let Jaska get down.

Sabre shook her head, the effects of the petting passing out. "Let us go!" She growled and began twisting and trying to escape the iron grip of the saltwater crocodile. The snarl in the back of her throat began turning serious as her eyes grew wide, frightened.

"Nope." Jackie grinned, grabbing Sabre's shoulders and petting her fully.

Sabre's slitted pupils became wider as she closed her eyes and began purring through the petting with her hot furry body rubbing against both Jackie and Kroc. The moment they reached the living room Jackie peeked outside from Kroc's arms, seeing the black cars already there. Perfect timing! She eagerly grinned, keeping Sabre distracted while Kroc held them both with ease.

A knock on the door sounded as Dumisa opened it, letting in two sharply dressed Extraspecies, an Ogre and a Cyclops who smiled at them all.

"Are we ready to leave now?" The cyclops asked with a smile.

"Yes, all set." Jackie grinned, hugging Sabre's face against her chest while continuing to pet the hypnotized cat.

"Good, because we're already a bit late **,** " She said while looking at the host, finding it strange she was being carried by one of the Extraspecies while having some fun with a female Extraspecies at the same time.

They all followed the two drivers outside to the big black vans parked in the alleyway and off the street. The tall Ogre opened the door, allowing Kroc to crawl inside with both girls in arms while Jaska, Antain and Dumisa got into the second van available. They all fit comfortably together in the vans as they bunkered down for the ride.

Sabre, getting a moment of lucidness from Jackie's temporary pause in petting, tried jumping away and out of the van in her last desperate attempt to flee.

"Sabre _no_!" Jackie shouted, diving on top of her as Kroc grabbed Sabre's ankle and held her within the van as the doors shut. Given no other option, Jackie attacked Sabre's weak spot and grabbed her tail. "Be good!" Jackie scolded, dragging her nails into the base of Sabre's tail.

Sabre turned around to slash Jackie but she stopped her claws mid air. Her claws trembled as Jackie earnestly pet her hard and fast, making a deep and shaky purr escape her trembling chest as she let out a loud yowl.

Jackie furiously tried getting even closer to increase the petting, but Sabre tumbled around and onto the floor of the van with Jackie falling over her. The leopard girl rolled to get away, but Jackie also rolled with her and through intense petting on the back of Sabre's cheeks, the hosts managed to get and remain on top while Sabre kept on twisting underneath of her.

Throughout the tumbling Kroc sat still, staring at them both rolling around one another as Sabre slowly and surely lost the will to escape. His expression remained mostly stoic, not able to put a word to the strange situation he was watching. They were not trying to hurt one another so he did not bother to interrupt them. The flashing of the driver's phone, however, annoyed him a bit as he glanced over at the blushing Extraspecies Cyclops as she continued to take many pictures of the duo. With a heavy sigh Kroc leaned back, bunkering down for the long drive as he tried to ignore the alluring scent that was settling on the air.

After an hour of driving through heavy traffic they arrived at a large building which did not look like a hospital at all. Rather, it looked almost like a large mansion straight out of a safari theme. And inside the building they were met with many people dressed casually. It didn't look or smell like a doctor's office at all which was good. Regardless, Sabre tightly held onto Antain as he curiously looked around and playfully squirmed, wanting to start running around and exploring but Sabre didn't let him out of her grasp at all.

Around them were many other hosts and their Extraspecies but Jackie couldn't help but notice most of them were herbivores and not nearly as many Extraspecies attached to a single host. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she stuck out like a sore thumb with all her carnivores, which were being avoided by any near herbivore.

"Alright, reptiles over to the left and mammals to the right." A man said as the group divided with Dumisa and Kroc going to the left and Jaska, Sabre and Antain going to the right. Jaska setting his hand over her shoulder, more so preventing her from trying to run away than to give support. She flinched under his touch, holding Antian closer but moved towards him, letting his bigger body be a shield for her. Something that Jaska noticed as much as the light growl coming out from her throat or the nervous shifts of her tail.

"And hosts, please come with us up the stairs. You will be interviewed individually for assessment on the wellbeing of the Extraspecies in your care." The man finally said as nurses and doctors came from the halls and began taking the Extraspecies into the back by groups.

"Be good you guys." Jackie reminded them, walking forward and up the steps while everyone else was taken down various halls.

The large hallways were nicely spaced and some of the doctors and nurses, she noticed, were also Extraspecies. While the sight of it was strange it also felt strangely calming. She brightly smiled, feeling rather happy from both humans and Extraspecies getting along nicely. She wished everyone had this sort of disposition.

Jackie and the other hosts are taken into a large waiting room where they all received tickets, Jackie being one of the last ones to get hers. Looking around, Jackie was surprised at the number of hosts that were actually families with only 2 or 3 others from what she could see were single hosts such as herself. She followed everyone else's lead, taking a seat.

"Now serving number 1." The nurse behind the counter said after about 10 minutes of sitting and doing nothing as Jackie looked down at her number.

… 43. She let out a loud sigh, slumping in her chair in defeat. This was going to take a while.

From behind the corner of the busy waiting room, Ms. Smith appeared with a black jaguar Extraspecies at her side. His jade eye widened, taking in the array of humans as his ears lowered, looking slowly between them all.

"See, Eztli? Your host is right there." Ms. Smith pointed out quietly, gently rubbing the top of his head as a black jaguar peeked out from behind a corner and stared at the dual eyed woman who was supposed to be his host. With lowered ears he stared at her with a nervous frown, not seeming very keen on meeting her while he shyly used Ms. Smith as a human shield.

"She … looks different than the … the other human," Eztli forced himself to say with a somewhat nervous gulp as his future host let out a deep sigh and thumped her head back against the wall, appearing to be annoyed and bored out of her mind, "but she doesn't looks that friendly. She is not even near any of her charges." He noted as he looked around, "wasn't Jaska supposed to be with her?"

"He is being examined along with the others." Smith said before seeing his face. Ms. Smith's eyes glinted as she took a fast picture, quickly putting the phone away as Eztli looked around to see where the flash came from. Without much warning, Ms. Smith cooed and gently grabbed his cheeks before working him into a soft thrumming purr, "come now, Eztli! Jackie has a very impressive track record and houses a total of five Extraspecies, all predators. You are going to be her sixth." Ms. Smith smiled, gently rubbing his ear as he opened the file she had given him to look at who else he would be rooming with. "And amongst them there are kitties like you."

"So at last I'll meet other bastet besides Jaska, right? The one that smelled good? And this others..." Eztli said as he flipped through the different pictures. None of them looked mean at all. "… the snake Dumisa, is smiling, so he probably is friendly, and the crocodile doesn't seem bad either."

"They are all friendly enough but keep in mind they are still predators, most of them the apex predator of their country or region. You too are a predator, aren't you?" Ms. Smith playfully teased, poking his cheek while rubbing his ear between her fingers.

"I am … but, but you know I don't know much how to act it," he sighed, disheartened, "Jaska will teach me, right?" He cutely asked, looking up at Ms. Smith with a frown.

"Just follow your instincts; as long as they are not urging you to hurt one of them." She reminded him before rubbing his neck, "go greet your host; you're free to do as you please since your examinations are already done. If you ever need to call someone, just call me." Ms. Smith gently reassured, kissing his cheek before turning and walking away.

Eztli looked her go away and then observed the host. He wasn't in the mood to deal with humans nor did he want to so, after some hesitation, he decided to go meet his fellow predator Extraspecies instead.

Silently he crept back down the hall towards the examination rooms, looking at the signs for direction of either going to the mammals section of the building or the reptile's section. After some debate he was still undecided on who he would meet first, and without giving it any more though, he flipped a coin and then turned to the left, going towards the reptile section of the building.

Eztli trotted quietly down the halls, peeking into rooms to find more and more reptile Extraspecies but none like in the pictures he had. He wondered where they could be before spotting their names on the white boards in front of the door. He grinned, bouncing in place in his excitement before taking a deep breath to calm down as he opened the door and saw their measurements being taken.

"You seem to have grown quite a lot, Kroc." The doctor mentioned with a light smile, trotting down his notes.

"And so has Dumisa but not in very good ways." The nurse lightly giggled, poking Dumisa's stomach.

"Hi!" The black jaguar said, before excitedly jumping into the room, making both Extraspecies turn towards him and immediately appear bigger, whether they consciously did so or not, recognizing the appearance of another predator in their midst.

"Oh, are you lost?" The nurse asked, curious.

"Nha, I'm Eztli." He greeted with a cheerful smile, twitching his tail back and forth in excitement as he looked up to the Extraspecies staring at him.

"Ah yes, Eztli! Marty did your examinations earlier. How are you, dearie?" The nurse asked sweetly before Dumisa lost interest and looked elsewhere, growing bored rather quickly. "What brings you here to the reptile wing?" The nurse asked.

Eztli walked passed the nurse and up to Dumisa, making the black mamba glance down at him with a rather neutral gaze. "I'm here to meet my new roomies. Ms. Smith assigned me to your house. Nice to meet you." He politely greeted with a grin.

"Oh? A new cat?" Dumisa asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing over him and not appearing to be very impressed. The black mamba leaned towards Eztli, watching for his reaction while his mouth parted to expose his black mouth and fangs to test the newcomer.

Eztli smiled and moved forward at the supposed greeting gesture of the snake, and corresponding the reaction, he leaned forward to press his nose Dumisa's and give a quick little lick to it and demonstrate his friendliness.

Dumisa's head jolted back, startled and certainly put off by the assertion of dominance from the black furball. His frown deepened, tail flickering back and forth as he studied what he thought to be the black leopard. "Do you not know a black mamba when you see one, leopard?" Dumisa asked with a raised eyebrow, sounding rather snarky as he tried to figure out the leopard's game at trying to intimidate him. Rather than intimidated, Dumisa was perplexed and curious at his actions. Most leopards ran at the sight of a black mamba or at least did their best to avoid a snake as poisonous as him.

"I'm not a leopard. I'm a jaguar; a Balam, duh," he kept smiling, happy that the lamia had acknowledged him in friendly way and have started conversation. Eztli pointed at the rosettes on his spots that were barely seen through his black fur, as though it were explanatory enough for the snake.

"Jaguar? Where are those from?" Dumisa asked, puzzled, "you simply look like an overgrown black leopard to me." He pointed out before leaning forward and flickering his tongue out, tasting the air about him. This black feline certainly tasted different from any leopard he had encountered before, was bigger and far more muscled.

"I'm from this continent, Center and South America," Eztli proudly and happily answered.

"I didn't realize they had felines here in the Americas unless you're pulling my tail," Dumisa countered, "you couldn't be the apex predator of South America, would you?" Dumisa asked. He had heard about larger leopards being in South America but found it hard to believe that they really could be an apex predator anywhere considering how naturally cowardly leopards were in Africa. The idea was interesting, regardless.

"Yes I would … except I've never been to South, I'm from the centroamerica," Eztli scratched the back of his head, "but we have cool snakes and there are bears, wolves and others too. Not to mention there are humans." At that last word, Eztli's speech was a hiss. Before Dumisa could make a note of it, Eztli spoke up again, "and your file said you are a black mamba, si? You are the first lamia I've met." Eztli said with a cheerful smile, his eyes curiously glowing. With Dumisa's ego satisfied he leaned back, grinning as Eztli looked over his large body.

"Yes, I am indeed a black mamba. Feel free to admire." Dumisa grinned, posing himself rather indifferently to better show off his scales to the curious jaguar.

"Ha. Maybe if you trained more there would be more to admire." Kroc lightly jabbed with a grin as Dumisa smirked at the comment, raising himself into the air over Eztli and stared at the saltwater crocodile.

"It's a shame your rigid and ugly scales reflect your personality, Kroc. From the size of your bulk I would almost dare say you are compensating for something." Dumisa teased back.

"Mate, if scales reflected personality then your scales would look plastic toys from all the polish you use," Kroc laughed back as he walked over to the duo, looking down at Eztli.

"Polish? Do reptiles polish their scales?" Eztli asked, puzzled.

"Only lamia really do. They need to look attractive to attract a mate." Kroc gruffly chuckled as Dumisa appeared bored again with the attention taken off of him. He turned away with a yawn before the nurse gently grabbed his jaws and parted his mouth, taking a look inside before beginning the oral portion of the test.

"Oh." Eztli walked towards Kroc and seemed to examine his metal jaw. Kroc's slit gaze watched the jaguar's surprisingly clumsy movements, paying close attention to the way this 'predator' acted. For an apex predator he did appear to be rather skittish, something he found strange. "This looks extreme. I only got a few piercings," Eztli noted as he then showed the rounded piercing on his tongue and flicked his left ear where three studs rested.

"Mine wasn't on purpose," Kroc said, his cheerful personality seeming to darken a tad before he shook it off with a huff.

"Mine wasn't either ... well, not on my purpose," he looked away before once more looking at Kroc up and down. "You're bigger than a caiman." He noted, tilting his head curiously.

"I'm a saltwater crocodile. Biggest of them all," Kroc said with a toothy grin as he was guided onto a scale where his weight was taken. His gaze lingered on Eztli, sensing something was off with the black feline, "jaguars are apex predators, aren't they?" Kroc asked, tilting his head.

"Yes?" Eztli said, not knowing what he was getting at.

"You're a strange one, mate. You don't act like an apex predator." Kroc said, completely at ease as he stepped off the scale and let the doctor take his height.

"How so?" Eztli answered as he stopped, startled..

"You're acting too hesitant. Relax," Kroc suggested with a smirk, "we'll get along better if you don't hold back."

Eztli scratched the back of his head, "oh … well, it's just that it's the first time I've met a lamia or a crocodile Extraspecies so I'm not sure how to act. Also, I'm your new housemate, so I just wanted to be friendly and start things well and thought it was better to not be so straightforward."

"I heard earlier," Kroc said with a frown, "be too nice and you'll get pushed over. Remember that." Kroc grinned as the doctor tugged on his metal jaw, making him open his mouth as the doctor took a look inside and began poking around with a strange metal instrument.

Eztli was about to say something when steps were heard out of the room. Eztli tensed up, listening intently to the single pair of tapping squeaking shoes that sounded remarkably similar to what his last 'host' used to wear.

"Hey, Kroc, Dumisa, you here?" A voice, assumingly the host from how she called them with such a familiar tone, came from the hall.

Before she entered, Eztli jumped out of the way and behind the door to hide. This caught the attention of both Dumisa and Kroc as they suspiciously stared at him, tensing up without meaning to while knowing the host was approaching this predator who was in a position to jump her from behind, yet his posture was nervous, even scared.

Jackie poked her head into the room as she saw her reptile Extraspecies, "how are your tests coming along?" Jackie asked as she stepped inside and walked between them. As soon as Jackie was inside, Eztli slipped away from the room without being seen by the human host.

"Fine enough. They're almost done." Dumisa said, stretching himself out a bit with a smirk, "I'm surprised you came to see me. Could you not wait any longer?"

"The waiting room was killing me so coming here was second best." She teased with a grin as Dumisa miffed.

"Judging by your sarcasm you were not bored enough, it seems." He sighed as she walked over to him and gently pet his jaws as he hummed in response.

"Maybe, maybe not." She teased as he leaned against her and let out a hum, only wanting to enjoy her petting for the time being after being poked and prodded by the doctor's rather clumsy hands.

The nurse's voice interrupted.

"Well, Kroc, it seems that your muscle circumferences have gotten a little bigger and you've been eating much better. You're healthier than when you first entered the program, that is for sure." Kroc's male nurse said with a proud grin as he wrote down Kroc's new measurements.

"That's because I don't let myself get soft, mate." He said with a cheeky grin.

"So Kroc's all checked out?" Jackie asked, turning to the doctor.

"Not yet, miss. I need to take your metal jaw off to get a look at how your wound is healing up." The nurse said towards Kroc, firmly but gently grabbing Kroc's lower jaw before lowering him to the bed before taking off the lower jaw. Kroc stood back up, looking into the mirror to get a look at it before his eyes widened, seeing Jackie in the reflection and realizing what she was seeing.

The moment Jackie saw his lower jaw she froze, startled at the sight of the horrible scarred tissue and missing lower jaw of the crocodile. Before she could comment he turned away from her, refusing to look in her direction. Jackie had always wondered what was underneath his metal jaw but she had no idea that he didn't have a jaw at all.

The doctor began checking around, and after some of it, he touched a tender spot and made Kroc let out a hiss. Jackie felt awkward just standing there, hesitating before walking over to him and gently rubbing his arm to comfort him.

"Kroc, are you alright?" Jackie said, peeking down at his missing jaw. Yikes … such a terrible wound. Figuring petting would be for the best and make him more comfortable, she stepped in front of him and began rubbing his neck more and chest.

"Pardon me." The doctor said, thankful for the distraction as he looked around, pressing her hand against his neck and watching the reaction with a trained eye while the host pet him. Kroc's thrumming filled the room as his eyes slid shut, holding still for the doctor as long as the host's hands continued to rub him nicely. After the doctor was done, she set Kroc's jaw back in place and took a few steps back to write down some notes.

"Hey, Kroc, are you alright?" She asked again, lessening the petting and trying to see him but he kept looking away and turning so she wouldn't be able to see his face.

"Please let me handle this, Miss Penske. Meanwhile, tell me what you've been giving him for food." The doctor interrupted before Kroc could answer.

"Oh, right, right. Sorry." Jackie said, backing away as the nurse pulled his head back down and continued to inspect the rest of him. "I've uh, mostly been feeding him seasoned steak, chicken and the occasional duck or goose when it's half priced." Jackie answered.

"Oh? I suppose you've been giving all your Extraspecies that, then?" The nurse that was still checking Dumisa interrupted.

"Yes, for the most part. A lot of it is uncooked since they prefer it like that but I cook them sometimes for a short while just to toughen it up a bit." Jackie explained. "How is Dumisa doing?"

"He is very healthy, no signs of any illnesses or signs of unhealthiness. The only seeable potential problem was his weight gain. He's put on nearly 100 pounds, or rather 45.3592 kilograms, since he joined your house." She said as Jackie's eyes bulged.

"WHAT?!" She shouted, looking down at his stomach and still seeing his 6 pack smugly shining.

"Oh please, we lamia add and drop weight like it's nothing," Dumisa said, brushing it off like nothing but he looked a little bothered by it as well, "we're snakes, we always keep on growing." He miffed, acting like it was nothing.

"Dumisa, 100 pounds isn't nothing!" Jackie shouted, mortified. She honestly could not tell the difference, however.

"To lamia it is. While it's unusual to gain weight so quickly for a lamia it's nothing to be too concerned about other than watch his intake a little more," the nurse reassured her, "the more problematic concern is that his muscles have deteriorated. He's not as strong as he should be for his weight and size class. This is simply due to a lack of regular exercise so I would suggest giving him more stimulation to exercise more and take him to the park more often." She said as Jackie stared at the nurse. He was talking like Dumisa was an overweight dog or something. Dumisa also seemed annoyed but rather than argue about his weight he turned his anger to Jackie instead. A hard smack against the back of her head made her jump before she held her head, staring incredulously at him.

"You need to stop making your dishes so delicious, host. It is your fault I happened to put on weight and become sluggish." He hissed at her in annoyance as the nurse got the paperwork together.

"My fault? It's not my fault you keep sneaking snacks in the middle of the night! You think I don't know where they go?! I'm the one who has to buy more all the time!" Jackie accused back at him.

"Then it's you fault for buying them in the first place," he snapped back with a small twitch of his cheek before forcing himself to frown more.

"Because you never eat anything else! Honestly, it's your attitude that needs work." Jackie snapped back at him with a smile. Through their arguing she could not help but feel amused by their bickering. As annoying as he could be it was fun to argue with him and she could tell he felt the same. It had been a while since they had been able to bicker playfully like this since the others came to the house.

Their playful bickering was interrupted by the doctor who cleared his throat, making them look over to him.

"Host, if you will," the doctor said, holding up some paperwork.

"Yes?"

"While it seems Kroc's wound is healing up nicely I've noticed some of the exposed nerves are not healing as well as they should. Here's a prescription cream that you can take from the Extraspecies store in the front of the building to take home with you. I suggest putting a generous amount on his lower jaw at least twice a day, once when he wakes up and once before he goes to sleep." He said, handing her the piece of paper as she took it from him.

"Thank you." Jackie said, looking intently at Kroc. The large Extraspecies glanced away, his face seeming to redden a little.

"Sorry you had to see that, sheela," Kroc apologized, "not a pretty sight."

"But are you alright?" She asked, more concerned that it might be hurting him, "does it hurt at all?"

"Nah, only hurts when it's hit," He said with a shrug.

"Well, alright. How did you get it?" She asked, hesitant.

"Just a fight." He evasively said with a shrug.

"Oh, Jackie?" Someone from the hallway called, making her turn towards the nurse. "Please come with me, we have some paperwork for you to fill out." She said.

"Oh, sure. See you guys later." Jackie said, following the nurse down the hall as a pair of bright green eyes glued to her and watched her retreating figure.

From a well hidden spot Eztli saw his future host walking away from where the reptiles where. He took a deep sniff of the air and decided that he really didn't want to meet her yet. She didn't smell like the horrid perfume _that_ woman used. She smelled like all her Extraspecies and then a not too bothersome human scent, that luckily was almost completely hidden by the scent of the female bastet that he had smelled on Jaska… _(_ _I should probably go see Jaska)._

With that, he walked Across the hall to the mammals sections, where he located the friendly tiger he had met that day in Ms. Smith's office.

Both Jaska and Sabre were getting their examinations done in the same room along with Antain who played with the doctor and his tools more than anything else. Sabre kept a death glare on the man, growling every time the doctor got a hold of any instrument, daring him to try something with her little kit as the nurse continued to try and accurately take all her readings without angering the feline or getting her arm ripped off by the bastet, which she wasn't succeeding much at because the female bastet was too aggressively nervous.

"Calm Sabre, da?" Jaska said with a bored yawn, weighing himself for a bit as the doctor wrote down his current weight before measuring off his height. He still wasn't sure it had been a good idea to drag Sabre here, but it was something necessary.

The response he received from her was a growl. Below the growling warnings she was pretty nervous and not willing to let them take samples. She knew her blood was clean. She was a full bastet now so they won't be able to find any anomalies but Antain was a weird case and she was not going to let them have a chance to find out his secret.

"Well Jaska, it seems that you are in excellent health with exception to your weight gain. It appears you put on almost 30 pounds in the past month. Not very healthy." The doctor said, going over his notes.

"So all the mass is not just fluff?" Sabre teased her eyes still set on the doctor near Antain. "Grumpiness is getting you fat." Sabre chuckled.

"That's not what the scale says." The straight laced doctor said with a smile before returning to the counter and filling out some paperwork. Jaska turned to Sabre with a frown.

"I would not say fat, more like a little more husky than an average Siberian tiger should be." The nurse cheerfully replied as Jaska's ears lowered in annoyance. "And I would not be laughing at him, sweetheart. You yourself are a tad heavier than a female of your height should be."

"I what?" Sabre turned to the nurse and then down to her belly. It _was_ actually slightly bigger but she did not think she was gaining too much weight at all.

"Ha. Hormones getting _you_ fat." Jaska smirked.

"It's hormonal. Just the stupid heat's effects." She puffed, her tail lashing aside.

Jaska simply rolled his eyes and turned back to the doctor with a heavy sigh before he felt a lean arm wrap around his waist and the other grab his butt cheek. He looked back, thinking for a moment it was somehow Sabre but saw a black furred figure instead.

"Jaska, amigo! I missed you!" A deep male purr startled Jaska as much as the 'playful bite' that came after it on the tip of his tail. "I found you. Now we can be closer friends!" he said with a cute smile before nibbling his tail with a low groaning, "nyaaa~."

Jaska roared in response to the bite before he immediately grabbed Eztli's head, claws extended and poking into Eztli's skin. "Off." He snarled, his grip shaking as he resisted the urge to squeeze the other male bastet's head harder.

Eztli purred and let out a moan while rubbing himself on the tiger, "guess what? Smith has put me in your house group !" He eagerly cried, purring as he nuzzled against him.

Jaska's face paled. He did not think Smith would honestly put this pervert in the same house he was in.

"Who are you?" Sabre asked, entertained at the sight of the male cats. The new guy seemed to know Jaska in a very 'close' way. Her gut clenched and her instincts became more intense, all her attention on the males before her. Here was her heat telling her of a new male bastet in the proximity. She didn't know how she should react but her body began acting regardless.

Eztli perked up, sniffing the air before walking over in front of her and sniffing rather obviously before he blushed, his tail flipping around curiously. "You smell nice." He deeply purred, pulling her into a tight hug with her legs on other side of him. Sabre tensed up, startled as he began running his hands over her back and burying his face into her neck while pressing her to his strong chest. "Nyaaa~ why do you smell so good, señorita?" He groaned.

Sabre blushed deeply, feeling compelled enough to not push him away. "I uhh … mmhhh … I'm … did you said señorita? Do you speak Spanish?" Without knowing how, she was already leaning on him, her legs a little weaker and her heart pounding faster inside her chest. A soft purr beginning to come from her.

"Si, español es mi lengua materna. (Yes, spanish is my mother tongue)." Eztli happily answered and hugged her more tightly, his mouth giving a small pull to one of her ears as his hand caressed her back. Sabre let out a groan, locking her legs behind his back to hold him closer, sniffing his fur and becoming very aware of his masculine scent. She instinctively began rubbing her cheeks on his chest and getting her scent over him with most rational thoughts already gone from her mind with her expanding and hazy gaze.

Jaska came fast and peeled him off. "You, out." He snarled, grabbing Eztli by the scruff of the neck and peeling him off of her, glaring at him while he continued to blush harder. Jaska could only glare at Sabre in annoyance at how her heat was reducing her to such a state of an easy target. And knowing what Smith would say, he knew he was responsible for her if anything happened to her or, the more likely, she did something stupid.

"Ahh~ Que rudo, Sr Tigre… más por favor. (You are so rough, Señor tiger … please give me more)." Eztli groaned, handing in the air as his tail continued to flip around while Jaska continued to glare at him, unable to help but think this was somehow turning the jaguar on.

A roar and a screech made Jaska drop Eztli and turned to look at the doctor, who had come too near Sabre and had almost gotten his throat ripped when he tried to take a saliva sample.

Sabre lunged forward to sink her teeth into the startled man but Jaska's arm shot out, making her bite his forearm as he grabbed the scruff of her neck and temporarily paralyzed her.

"Calm, kitty." Jaska said, petting her cheek before laying her down on the long cot. "You alright?" Jaska asked towards the startled doctor. Sabre's bite could have seriously injured him and that would have caused complications for Smith and the whole program. He was going to have to suggest to Smith to enter Sabre into a more serious program for learning how to deal with her aggression and past problems.

"Yes, I'm quite alright. I only needed a saliva sample." He said, holding up his q-tip.

"None for her. Just general." Jaska said as the doctor nodded. The tiger let out a snark, seeing the blood on his forearm seeping into his fur. D*** that hurt. The punctures were deep. Luckily she had not pulled the bite to rip, even so he might need a couple stitches.

"It would seem I have no choice," he said with a nervous laugh, tossing the q-tip away and writing a note in Sabre's papers. "Still, I suggest we run some tests due to her condition."

At the words 'run some tests' Sabre's fur stood on edge. Before she could lunge at the doctor, Jaska quickly hugged her and began grooming her head.

"No, none. Have problem? Speak to Smith." Jaska said as he continued to rub Sabre's back, trying to make her bloodlust recede.

"How cute!" The nurse happily said, blushing rather happily as she stared at the cuddling kitties.

Eztli, seeing this and thinking it was completely normal and proper, sat at the other side and also joined by grooming her neck and shoulders while hugging her. If this is what regular felines did to one another then he shouldn't be an exception. He hugged her closer, finding himself very happy with his new Extraspecies roomies he will be living with. They all seemed to be very fun and he looked forward to learning things with them.

Sabre breathed hard and squirmed, which prompted them to lay her on the cot and hug her between them, their weight making the cot sink down. Jaska nuzzled her, caressing her belly while Eztli licked her flickering ears as he rubbed her shoulders. After a bit of this, she began purring and twisting beneath the viable males. Her earlier murderous streak came to a strangled halt, taken over by the pleasure starting to bubble up in her. She began alternating between licking Eztli's jaws and Jaska's forehead, her hands rubbing their legs.

Eztli smiled at the positive reaction and his purrs joined hers. Somehow, he and Sabre began licking Jaska's arms where she had profusely bit. Jaska stopped himself, staring at them before glancing back at the doctors and seeing one of them taking pictures with her phone before he deeply frowned. This was not the time nor the place to do something like this and Sabre was getting too excited.

"Enough." Jaska said, pulling away from her and dragging Eztli away as Sabre laid against the cot, purring and moaning as she turned onto her side and closed her eyes, containing herself as Antain mewed and playfully batted at her face before his little tongue licked at her ears as well, repeating what the adults were doing before he mewed and climbed over her head and hugged her with a warm smile.

A knock on the door distracted them as they looked over at the closed door.

"Hey, this is Jackie Penske, Jaska's and Sabre's host. Can I come in?" Jackie's voice came from behind the door. Before she entered Eztli went out of sight and Sabre set Antain on the cot before she hunched and then jumped over Jaska, making him fall to the floor as she began nuzzling against him, licking him and rubbing on him lovingly while deeply purring. The nurse, too distracted by the kitties, and the doctor, busying writing down notes, did not answer the door while Jackie awkwardly stood outside and waited.

Jaska's frown faltered, slightly flushing as Sabre clung to him so needily and desperately. In a moment of lapsed thought, he reacted accordingly and hugged her tightly back, his chest rumbling with hums as he nuzzled her back. He loved the feeling of a woman being held in his arms. It was beginning to get on his nerves how badly he was beginning to realize that he wanted to have a mate, a good one that would last. His tongue gently licked her ear, not wanting to let go of this idea of his while it snuggled up to him in his arms with deep purrs and welcoming warmth.

Sabre hugged him tenderly, her lips murmuring so softly that only Jaska could her. "'Leksey … ," she groaned before burying her face on his fur and inhaled deeply, her embrace tightening with want and need.

" … I not Aleksey." Jaska said with a deep frown and lowered ears. He passed his hand over her back, understanding she was again confusing him with his brother. More than lust, he was receiving love. Although his chest felt warm from the given affection he knew it was not for him. D*** it, she really loved Aleksey. His frown deepened as his ears lowered, sad uncertainly settling in his thoughts knowing that she could mistake him for his brother often while like this. For once he felt a bit jealous of his little brother, but truth was that his brother wasn't around anymore. He considered, and decided that he did want to have someone for his very own … he very much so looked forward to the day. With a soft lick against her head he pulled back, letting out a heavy sigh. D*** humans … why did they have to f*** with his body?

"Um … hey, I'm coming in." Jackie said, sounding a little bothered as she stepped inside, seeing the nurse taking pictures and the doctor typing away on the computer before she saw the state her kitties were in; Sabre was laying on top of Jaska, panting with a deep blush on her face while Jaska caressed her back.. "So uh … what's going on?" Jackie asked, confused.

"Nothing much, dearie. Just some feline cuddling." The nurse sweetly smiled, taking pictures as she moved around the duo.

"Um, right?" Jackie said, staring at Jaska and seeing his darkened and almost deadened expression on his face. What in the world? "Jaska, are you alright?" Jackie asked, kneeling down beside both cats as she gently ran her hand around the back of Jaska's neck to try and loosen him up.

Jaska huffed and looked away, not looking at her at all as he decided to ignore her. The host was constantly prying into his business.

"Hey, come on, smile kitty cat." Jackie teased with a grin, cupping his cheek and petting him a little more vigorously. This grumpy cat couldn't stay mad for long after her petting and she knew that.

Jaska let out a huff and leaned on Jackie's hands as much as he let himself be cared for by Sabre. The combination of both Jackie's fervently petting hands and Sabre's needy rubbing made the tiger blush slightly. While loving the attention of both girls, he could not try to fake he wasn't enjoying the attention or that he wanted more. Much more.

Jackie grinned and ran her hand down through the fur on his arm, reaching his forearm before feeling something wet. The tiger let out a hiss, pulling his arm back while Sabre rested on his lap. Jackie's eyes widened, startled as she saw the bite mark in his fur. "Jaska, what happened?" Jackie asked, walking over to him and looking over the clear bite marks and bloodied roughed up fur. "Did Sabre bite you?! Why? And … uh … what's up with Sabre?" She asked, seeing Sabre lovingly cuddle against him while purring with glazed over eyes.

"It was my fault really, I apologize." The doctor said as Jackie started at the bitemark in Jaska's arm.

"I took not care. She fine now." Jaska stated with some pride more than a mere fact. He was about to say something else, but his lips were hijacked when Sabre kissed him deeply and unsuspectedly, her tongue tangling with his and soon both kitties were purring like motors.

Jackie was turned to the doctor, carrying on their conversation and not even realizing what they were doing practically on top of her.

"What do you mean it was your fault?" Jackie asked, perplexed.

"It seemed I overstepped my bounds so I apologize." The doctor said with a sheepish smile. By the time they turned to Jaska, he had pushed Sabre away with his good arm, letting her lick and rub against it at her leisure as the doctor took a look at his arm, "I'm sorry Jaska, but it looks like I'm going to have to stitch that up," the doctor apologized as he went to rummage through his drawers.

"Jeez, Sabre, why did you bite him?" Jackie huffed, gently tugging on her ear and making her softly yowl as she stretched over Jaska's body and clumsily pawed at Jackie's pants before lightly and playfully biting her. "Sabre!" Jackie admonished, seeing her enlarged pupils and happy smile before Jaska stood up, dumping Sabre onto Jackie as the feline hugged the host.

"S-So cute-!" The nurse said, deeply blushing while taking more photos in her excitement.

Sabre rolled and seemed ready to pounce back on him but Jackie began petting her so Jaska could get with his examination, the leopard rolling onto Jackie's lap and pawing slightly towards the tiger while enjoying the pets.

"Take care of cat," Jaska said with a heavy sigh as the doctor pulled out a small electric razor and needle and thread. With her fingers petting Sabre, Jackie watched as the doctor shaved a small patch of fur off of Jaska and began stitching him back up as he held still with his arm out, hardly seeming bothered by the needle piercing his skin.

"Hold still." The doctor said, pulling Jaska over to the table and continued to thread the needle through his skin.

"Da," he answered in a bored tone as the doctor stitched him up.

"I'm done examining Antain." The nurse suddenly spoke up. Sabre's head shot into the air, as though suddenly aware that Antain was indeed still in the room before the nurse set the little boy down, watching him scamper towards Sabre before immediately cuddling into her arms with a giggling laugh and purr.

Sabre came out of the cloud as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her. She quickly began examining Antain to check for anything, ignoring the petting in favor of her attention towards the cub. Antain hugged her and cuddled to her, and Sabre began cuddling him back.

Jackie understood the petting wasn't needed anymore and left Sabre, letting Antain cuddle with his mama as she happily returned the affection before Jackie walked over to Jaska. He barely glanced over at her as she looked over his arm, seeing his partially shaven fur. For the strangest reason she was suddenly reminded of Jaska's stress and how if he continued to be so grumpy, he'd end up getting more and more patchy until nothing was left. Unable to help herself she snickered, turning around before trembling in her laughter.

"What so funny host?" Jaska asked without fun.

"Pffft … n-nothing, nothing really," Jackie snickered, refusing to meet his gaze as her grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Host," he started with a dignified look before ordering, "tell."

"No, it's just … well, I know how you've been stressed lately a-and I started thinking about what you would look like with patchy fur," she said before laughing even harder, holding her stomach as her entire body shook with the ridiculous notion.

"What!?" Jaska roared, his eyes wide and his mouth agape, "I too fluffy to get patches on fur!"

"Oh? Quite the contrary, it is common for Siberian tiger Extraspecies to get patchy fur as they become older. Are you starting to show signs now?" She asked, surprised.

"I not old!" Jaska growled; he was mature but not old.

The nurse's comment and Jaska's retort sent Jackie over the edge as she leaned against the counter, laughing until it hurt from the aching laughter.

Jaska's roar finished helping Sabre focus. Without anyone noticing, all their attention on the tiger, she made a signal for Antai to remain quiet and she slid out of the room with her cub.

Jaska let out an indignant growl.

"Relax, relax! You'll just have shorter fur," Jackie laughed, reaching up and sliding her hands over his cheeks.

Jaska's narrowed soon went hazy as he let himself be pet and calmed down. His eyes slid shut, enjoying the petting with his anger abated before, without warning, Jackie pushed his plush cheeks together and squished his face. The sight of which, once again, sent Jackie roaring onto another fit of wild laughter from having taken advantage of his weakened state while being pet.

Jaska moved his head back and then grabbed Jackie's face between his big hands to squish it so it made a funny expression. "How you like, host?!" Jaska growled back at her, squishing her face around as she found herself unable to stop laughing.

Jackie grabbed his hands, finding them unmovable as her lips pursed still with her loud laughter, "I~I~I'm not s~sorry~!" She hysterically howled, almost on the verge of tears at finding this so funny.

"Jackie, is it? As the host you were going to get the report anyway but I suppose I can save myself an explanation later at the end." The doctor said, clearing his throat and making the attention of the room turn to him. Jaska let out a huff, pulling his hands away from the host's flushed face as she cleared her throat.

"Alright, uh, that's fine. So what's the verdict for my felines?" Jackie asked, getting out the last of her chuckles.

"Nothing too terrible but both felines have put on weight rather quickly. Sabre put on a couple kilos and Jaska here put on twice that." She said as Jackie brushed her hands over his stomach to still feel his abs. She deeply frowned, annoyed as she traced the outlines of his cookie cut abs beneath the thick fur. So not far … Dumisa could put on almost 100 pounds and still have a six pack and Jaska too? Were humans the only ones that ungracefully put on weight?

"Host … if you gonna touch then you should pet," Jaska smirked and pull her so she was against his chest, "I no mind if you wanna check me out."

Jackie stared up at him, petting his sides before against feeling and dragging her fingers over his muscles. He purred, leaning down to nuzzle her, " … how can Extraspecies put on so much weight to be considered fat and _still_ have perfect muscles?" Jackie complained, having little to no shame in feeling Jaska's stomach up in front of the doctors.

"I fine. I not fat." The tiger huffed in annoyance, ears pulled back. "You feel that, right? Then he grinned leading her hand down towards between his legs but staying a bit above, "I big elsewhere too."

"Why, do you store your fat in your shoulders or biceps instead?" She teasingly retorted, pinching his nose and unintentionally kicking the flirting mood right out the door.

Jaska deadpanned, his ears flickering just a bit as he gave a deep disappointed sight and turned towards the medical personnel. "Continue, nurse, da?"

"I would suggest you eat harder meats with no seasoning for starters and perhaps find a large scratching post that would fit your needs if you don't want the host grooming your claws. Oh yes, and a special shampoo to help potential bald spots. Your coat is certainly soft but not as dense as it should be. I believe it is from stress so try to relax a little more, alright?" The nurse happily smiled while ignoring Jaska's attempt at flirting with his host.

Jaska hugged himself to examine his fur and then focused on the host.

"His fur? It seems plenty soft to me." Jackie said. She noticed herself through their grooming sessions that his fur was a little more coarse but didn't think much of it.

"Yes; he is very tense and his coat isn't as dense as it should. Was he under considerable stress lately?" The nurse asked Jackie.

Jaska took a deep breath. He had been stressed, mostly because of certain stray and his new place under a host's care. He was about to answer when Jackie beat him to it.

"Well, he often isn't at the house because of other duties but he and Sabre had been butting heads a lot until recently. At least now they tolerate each other as you could see." Jackie said, rather proud of their success at not ripping each other's throats out each time they saw each other.

Jaska eyed the host with surprise. She had been paying attention to him, it seemed.

"Sabre? The female bastet?" The nurse inquired, glancing at the tiger.

"Ah yes, Ms. Penske, Sabre seems to be in heat out of season. Has she been put under extreme duress or strange conditions of late?" The doctor asked, sounding concerned.

"Well, Sabre has had some personal issues herself. She lost her mate fairly recently," Jackie explained rather quietly, not liking telling them personal things but it would help the doctors get a more accurate read on her health.

"I see … then perhaps the out of season heat was a result of the recently deceased mate and suddenly finding herself among so many alpha males. May I ask more about her health in the time she has been in the program?" He questions.

"She's been fine for the most part," Jackie said, "she's a little more recent into the program, I guess I could say." Jackie said, unsure how to explain it.

"I have her data here. Let me see … ," the doctor said, glancing through the information quietly before turning to the host, "and you were 'butting heads'? In which way?"

Jackie waited for Jaska to answer but when he didn't, she went ahead and spoke up.

"Yes. It's been a little stressful in general but everyone is starting to settle down a little more," Jackie assured her, "so I really think the stress from here on out is going to get better for everyone."

"I don't think it'll calm as much as you think it will, Miss Penske." The nurse said with a concerned frown.

"Why's that?" Jackie asked, puzzled.

"I would attribute part of the stress to the male proving his alpha capabilities and if both of your cats are on better terms, given the circumstances, I would say that perhaps you should prepare to house kittens." The nurse was serious. Jaska, who was drinking a glass of water, spat all the contents and began coughing before glaring at the nurse.

"Never happening." Jaska immediately denied in annoyance, lowering his ears with a snarl as he wiped the water from his mouth. He knew the d*** experiments had made it hard for him to ever have kittens and even so, he wasn't sure if it would be different. But what if he actually could? What if his chances were higher? Sabre was after all, a compatible bastet and another experiment. Was that worse maybe or was it better?

"Y-Yeah, I really don't think they'd have kittens." Jackie said with a light laugh.

"Have you and the female not copulated?" - The doctor asked rather seriously.

"I deny answering." Jaska immediately stated while facepalming as Jackie's lips parted, startled before remembering what Sabre hinted at earlier.

"JASKA! Did you … did you _do_ Sabre? Like _all_ the way?!" Jackie said, making an awkward gesture towards it. She honestly could not not comprehend it. Her Extraspecies had _sex_? Jackie's head spun as she remembered Sabre's test results, "Jaska, seriously! What if Sabre _does_ get pregnant?!"

"It would be wonderful! They would be the first Extraspecies kittens in the Americas program! Oh that would be so exciting," the nurse cheerfully smiled, her head in another world at the moment. "Don't worry. You would more likely remain their host, and we have the proper facilities for it."

"Hmph. Unlikely." Jaska said as he glanced off to the side with lowered ears.

"Don't mind it, Miss Penske but do speak with Ms. Smith about possible preparations. Male bastets, unless mated, tend to disappear after the female gets out of season and her alone so she can have her time. In the reports says your female bastet is a few days to enter the most intense part of her cycle." The doctor said, "also it's not uncommon for females to walk away too, but I think there wouldn't be such a problem unless something greatly distresses her mentally."

"Uh, ah, right." Jackie said, basically taking away from that to do what she's been doing just fine.

"However, in Jaska's case, it would be rather rare for him to have kittens. Still if Sabre was his brother's mate then some compatibility would be assured, greatly increasing the chances. You know his background; if I may speak bluntly, his chances of ever having kittens were heavily reduced by those ex-," The nurse continued.

"Nurse." Jaska snarled but the nurse did not flinch in the least or paid it any mind.

"She is your host, Jaska. She needs to know these sorts of things." The nurse explained.

"That is my choice to tell or not." He growled with his ears flat against his head.

"Very well, but if Sabre is compatible with you then the chances are greater. Just keep that in mind."

"Da." Jaska rather coldly stated, twitching his tail back and forth as he glanced at the host. He found himself strangely unsettled having the host know about the problems he would rather keep a secret. He didn't like others knowing about the changes he went through and the consequences because of them and he rather keep them as personal secrets. Very few knew about them. Smith, the nurse and Doctor, his team, and Sabre. Sabre's actions and words had hurt when they were fighting, but now that their fighting was over, it was a relief now that she knew and had not called on it again. He took a deep breath. Perhaps it would be good if he started thinking of Sabre as more than 'the stray' . She was compatible and a bastet that understood what he went through, and on another part, he could perhaps trust the host more. She was accepting everyone, so maybe she would have no problem with him if she knew too. Still, he wasn't ready to tell.

"Alright now, Jaska. I need to check your testicales. Please drop your pants." The nurse cheerfully smiled as Jackie immediately let go of the big tiger.

"Alright, I'll just uh, just go then." Jackie said, looking over to the cot to find Sabre gone, startling her. "Sabre?" Jackie called, looking around for her in confusion before she heard Jaska's belt buckling. Faster than the tiger thought possible the host zipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Jaska too glanced around the room, finding the female bastet gone along with Antain. When did she slip out of the room?

Far down the hall Sabre was walking by herself, her heart heavy in remembrance of her mate. She was almost biting her tongue at what happened earlier. Her lack of control and how Jaska's grooming had calmed her down just like Aleksey would have. She felt as if she was betraying him. Her first clenched. Aleksey was dead, no matter how much she loved him he would never come back and this body was trying to force her to move on through the heat and she didn't like it. Yes, Jaska was a big reminder of Aleksey, but he also was quite the different person and she didn't dislike him that much. Still, she didn't know what he really wanted and that confused her. She wasn't sure she could trust him either; maybe they weren't killing each other but she was not gonna risk him getting too close and maybe nosing in her and Antain's business; so it probably was best if she kept away from him for he time being … if she managed to anyway.

Antain meanwhile remained oblivious to her conundrum as he happily pranced down the hall and mewed all the way. The little fox kit tumbled forward, shaking himself off before running past a large window. He slowed his pace, looking inside as he gasped in excitement, his eyes glowing as he darted around the corner and disappeared behind the door.

"Antain." Sabre called, startled as she hurried over and looked inside the nursery before spotting Antain running around with all the other young Extraspecies inside. It was startling in a way and caused a sort of knot in her gut. Last time she had seen this many Extraspecies kids was back in the research nursery at the company. She deeply gulped, feeling a heavy pit in her stomach as she looked down at the only surviving kit. Maybe if Aleksey was alive she would be having some cubs of her own, something she was prepared at, and yet, here she was, and when Antain smiled back at her she knew that it wasn't so bad, after all, she already have a cub right now.

Antain excitedly was running around the other little children having seamlessly slipped past the chaperones and blended in perfectly with the other children. They all happily welcomed the new playmate, running around him and checking out the new play buddy as he happily trilled and bounced around them.

Sabre sighted with a smile and came inside past the nurse, barely saying that she was checking on her cub, and without waiting for a response, Sabre began playing with Antain and the other young Extraspecies.

"Oh? Who are you?" One of the chaperones asked but her question went ignored. Seeing the young feline playing with the cubs nicely, the chaperones made no other comments and instead watched the cute scene of them all playing together.

Beneath a pile of furs, feathers and scales Sabre laid on the ground, letting the little baby Extraspecies cuddle against her and explore the new foreign object.

"Hey, don't bite too hard." She said to a little Jackal that was pulling on her tail before she pushed him back with the appendance to have him play with it.

"What is she doing here? I don't remember assigning a bastet here. " A voice said as she glanced over at the door and saw a brown lop bunny Extraspecies step into the room and look over the chaotic little mess of furs running everywhere in the room.

"Oh, she's the mother of the little fox kit, Antain." An assistant answered with a smile, "she came in a few minutes ago and started playing with the little ones. They adore her," the woman cheerfully smiled.

"That clearly is wrong, different species, so not its mother, maybe a baby sitter but we don't allow unrelated Extraspecies into the nursery." The rabbit chidded.

"But the little ones are so happy to see her." She happily smiled. The rabbit's nose twitched in annoyance before looking over and glaring at Sabre.

Sabre ignored the rabbit and threw a little harpy up in the air as she flapped in excitement before falling down back into the bastet's arms. Antain ran around his mother's legs, playing tag with a little otter while the entire nursery used her for a new playset. Sabre did not mind one bit as she touched noses with the little giggling harpy before setting her down.

"Ms. Bastet, I must request that you leave the nursery." The bunny said with a firm nod, his ears remaining high in the air.

"Buzz off, bunny snack. Im playing with the cubs." Sabre countered, pawing at another pup as the little wolf bit her hand but did so gently, knowing the boundaries of playing.

"I am not a bee so I cannot buzz off, neither am I a snack." The bunny insisted with a frown.

"You are a rabbit, hence you are a snack." Sabre calmly reasoned out with a smile.

"I am no snack, cat. Now you need to leave before I call for security." He threatened.

Sabre gave a soft calling roar to get the kids attention, "now kids, want me to show you how to chase a prey?"

"Yeah!" They all shouted with arms thrown up into the air, excited as the bunny let out a heavy sigh.

"Enough with the farce, bastet. Simply because you cannot have your own offspring and somehow got a hold of a fox's cub does not mean you are allowed to play with the other offspring in the nursery." He stated.

"I do have a cub and he is right here about to see how a prey is chased and hunted down," She raised her claw to the rest of the cubs, "now kiddos, do we count to 3?"

"Yeah!" They happily exclaimed and promptly began the countdown, "One!"

"Do not be preposterous. I have no intention on entertaining you nor the nursery children for the time being." He said, sliding his food back rather cautiously.

"Two." Sabre said, crouching down low as her shoulders lightly quivered.

The bunny leaned back, ears alert and legs coiled to dodge.

"Y-You would not dare, bastet." He stammered out with a faint blush. Nevertheless he loosened his tie and prepared himself.

"Three!"

As soon as the kids exclaimed the final number Sabre did a backflip with a little roar to land where the bunny had been a second before but the bunny evaded her rather well. She smirked and gave chase to the scared rabbit.

"I insist that you desist at once!" He shouted, dodging her next lunge. He kicked off the wall and flew over her rather expertly and landed lightly as he glared at her. "This is enough of this f-foolery!" He shouted at her, his ears trembling.

Sabre lunged again, imitating the rabbit's leap on the wall to show how easily it was and the tried to swipe where the bunny was, not really in the mood to kill but in a serious enough mood to give a good chase and have fun. Behind her, Antain followed and carefully observed.

"I said that's enough!" He shouted, ducking under her next pounce before he quickly left the room and hopped into the hallway. Sabre cheekily grinned and still gave chase as his eyes widened, realizing she was not kidding about capturing him and dragging him back into the nursery. "I-I will not allow you to make a fool of me!" He shakily shouted at her before dropping his things and taking off running.

"You already made a fool out of yourself, prey!" She jumped on walls and ceiling, evading easily all obstacles and carefully directing the chase to a dead end or a round trail back into the nursery.

Jackie walked down the hallway towards the nursery, pausing as she heard fast skittering feet down the corridor. She leaned back, looking down the hall to see a haggard looking rabbit Extraspecies with torn clothing dashing wildly down the hallway with a loud, roaring Sabre chasing after him eagerly with a happy smirk on her lips. Her jaw dropped, shocked before she jumped into the way.

"Sabre, that's enough! Don't chase him!" She shouted at him as the rabbit Extraspecies spun around behind Jackie faster than she could follow.

"Listen to your host, cat." The bunny sneered in a rather deriveting tone but his sweat and beet red face showed how frightened and desperate he was.

Sabre jumped above to the ceiling and then bounced down behind Jackie, showing that she could have ended the chase before she saw the rabbit was on the other side of Jackie and kept the host in the middle.

"Rather good at dodging, aren't you?" Sabre playfully growled. "Snack and entertainment, quite nice." Sabre laughed and did an angular jump but the bunny ran at the other side of Jackie again narrowly avoiding the attack.

"You are impossible. It's because of untamed beasts such as yourself that give Extraspecies a bad reputation!" The rabbit snapped at her and grabbed Jackie, keeping her firmly set in front of him as he glared at Sabre.

"Sabre, stop messing with him! What are you doing?" Jackie snapped at her as Antain happily trotting down the hallway in the same manner his mama did, slowly stalking the bunny who was too focused on the clouded leopard to notice.

"Teaching manners and appropriate behavior." Sabre stopped and twisted in the opposite direction, the bunny barely avoided losing an ear but instead his clothes got ripped.

"To what-?!," the bunny started back before letting out a loud shriek. Jackie whipped around, startled to find Antain hanging off the bunny's fluff of a tail by his teeth.

"Well done, Antain!" Sabre applauded.

The host's jaw dropped as the bunny danced around, trying to get Antain off without hurting him before he grabbed Antain by the leg and held him up. While Antain cheered and held the fluff in his mouth, the bunny man remained trembling in shock before looking back at his chewed up tail.

"Now let go of _my_ pup, rabbit, and I might let you run away," Sabre chuckled, getting near in a stalking matter and clearly promising a painful demise should the bunny try anything towards the cub.

"SABRE!" Jackie shouted at her, stepping between them. She gently picked up Antain, noticing the hard grasp the bunny held onto him in his terror before she grabbed the bunny's ear and squeezed hard. With his lips twisted into a silent scream he released Antain, letting him happily run back to mama as Jackie held the bunny still as a reflex, "that's enough, seriously! Take Antain and go back to the waiting room, _now_!" Jackie shouted at her sternly while standing in front of the bunny defensively.

"Nice Antain, we'll have rabbit stew tonight! Your first big prey." She proudly grinned, "well, although only a rabbit it's still good, nonetheless." Sabre beamed with pride and purred in a pleased tone as she embraced the cub.

"You lay one claw on the bunny and I will not groom you for a month." Jackie threatened in a hard voice.

"I never said that the stew would be from this rabbit, did I?" Sabre chuckled and nuzzled her pup, whom hugged her back and then spit sideways a small tuff of bunny fur.

Jackie heavily sighed before turning back to the bunny Extraspecies and kneeling down besides him.

"I'm really sorry about that, are you alright?" Jackie asked, gently smoothing out his ear that she crunched up.

"H-Hardly. That female hardly has any worthwhile manners. Truly a barbarian. But what else can be expected of carnivores?" He growled, taking out a handkerchief and pat the sweat off his brow.

"I'm really, really sorry about that. Here." Jackie said, reaching up and gently petting him. He stared up at her, surprised before his eyes narrowed.

"Petting will hardly make up the fact you allowed your Extraspecies to run rampant." He rather crossly reminded her but the blush remained present on his face.

Sabre chuckled, still praising the fox and not caring about the rabbit anymore.

"Yeah, she tends to do that." Jackie said, very gently petting his ears before tracing the rim of the soft cartilage. Slowly and surely her fingers swept across his ear, making him feel perfectly at ease despite the purring menace standing hardly a few feet away and giving off a musky scent. His cheeks darkened with embarrassment and other emotions as he leaned forward, nuzzling into Jackie's neck before deeply inhaling. Thinking he was on the verge of tears, Jackie hugged him. "There there, she won't bother you again." Jackie assured him as his hands slid down her back. Further and further they slid down, making Jackie more uncomfortable before he grabbed beneath her back cheeks. Jackie leaned back, startled as she stared at his blushing and smiling face.

"Compared to that barbarian over there, you are rather lovely and radiant." He said, leaning up and gently kissing her. Jackie was in such a state of shock that she froze, only managing to move her head back a little bit before slightly blushing herself.

"W-Wait, uh-," she stared but his grip tightened, keeping her where she was.

"Oh? Ho, ho, ho!" Sabre laughed. "A rodent is hitting on you, Jackie."

"What?! Wait, wait th-that's not-!" Jackie started before he boldly kissed her neck, sliding his fingers between her own and gently grasping her hand before sliding his other hand around to her inner thigh.

"I didn't though my scent was so strong. But I guess you do smell as if you're in heat, host." Sabre began laughing aloud even louder.

"This is rather out of character for me but would you like to participate in human courting known as a date?" He asked with a blushing smile as Jackie's jaw dropped.

"H-Hold on, wait i-it's just Sabre's heat!" Jackie said, trying to lean away but he followed her with ease and nibbled on her collarbone, "s-stop that!" Jackie shouted, pulling on his ear but he only let out a needy groan.

"I would remove him from you, host, but you were clear about not setting my paws on the rodent," Sabre snickered and had to set Antain down so she could hold her ribs while laughing at Jackie's predicament.

"Sabre, go away! And you, get off!" Jackie shouted, pressing her hand against his face and trying to push him away.

"Normally I would be inclined to remove myself but I don't really want to at the moment." He said, licking his lips before sliding his hand up her shirt.

"I SAID OFF!" Jackie shouted at him, slapping him across the face but he just hugged her tightly and buried his face into her chest. Her fingers dug into his hair, struggling to rip him off but the bunny had an amazing amount of strength in his slim limbs.

"You go for a lowly rodent, host? How disappointing," Dumisa crossed his arms upon seeing the scene,

"I kick away so we can go now, da?" Jaska grumpily said, seeming rather annoyed.

Kroc looked at Sabre laughing so hard she was already in the floor, and at the host trying to pry off a rabbit, "What's going on?"

"It's not what it looks like!" Jackie shouted as he gently bit her, still too enamored to even notice the others standing there.

"The rabbit is hitting on the host." Sabre managed to say and completely evaded the reasons why this was so. She finally managed to get up and calm down.

"Oh? It would appear that I am too late." Ms. Smith lightly laughed, coming down the hallway with two male Extraspecies attendants who wore gas masks. "Do be careful, Jackie. Fuzzkins McHumps-alot tends to get fast on reproduction procedures for his species and can impregnate a female remarkably fast when he's like this." She smiled as Jackie started to struggle harder but he merely adjusted his grip so he was hugging her tighter. "Still, you have your own males to take care off."

"Where the other cat?" Jaska looked around for the jaguar but he could not detect him and the host was too busy trying to pry off the rabbit to even notice what he had asked.

"Yes. He will be going home with you today. Oh, and Sabre, I have a nice surprise for you." Ms. Smith said with a smile before walking over to her with a small bag. "This is for you."

"What is it?"

"This perfume is to help curb your heat's scent. I figured it would be nice to give the males of the house a bit of a break since I am sure they are choking on it often." Ms. Smith lightly laughed.

"Thanks, but I don't need it. I have it under control," Sabre gave back the bag to Ms. Smith but before she could let go of it all three males grab it from her and take it as Kroc gets it out of the packaging quicky. "I'm not wearing that!"

"YES, YOU ARE!" All the males immediately shouted at her, startling her as Dumisa coiled his tail around her leg to hold her steady.

"I'm sick and tired choking on your scent, Sabre. Be more considerate towards us males suffering with that scent." Dumisa hissed in annoyance, pinching her cheeks together.

"He's right, sheela. Just for a bit." Kroc said, trying to figure out how to to open the bottle before Jaska took it from him and popped it open.

Sabre tried biting or clawing the guys out, not with the intention to kill but certainly with the intent to harm. "You think I f***ing like it!? Like you males have a problem with it! You have not said anything but think I might jump you. So f*** off!"

"WE DO!" All three hissed at her as Kroc held Sabre's shoulders as Jaska tried to spray it on her but the leopard's struggling made it difficult.

Sabre was twisting in ways that made it difficult for them to hold her steady. "What you gonna do? Rape me!? Is it that strong that you won't be able to hold off?! Then f***ing go back to wherever you came from!" She growled, deeply offended. Her pupils already strained slits.

"Calm, Sabre." Jaska growled, popping off the top and getting ready to dump it on her, "we need break from potent scent-,"

"Eek! Get out of my pants!" The host shrieked, making everyone pause as they looked back and saw the bunny's hand sliding over Jackie's butt while he kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle, darling." He murmured sweetly as she grabbed his face and kept trying to push him away. Kroc let go of Sabre, turning towards the rodent pinning his host down with a low hiss.

"Lay off the sheela, rodent." Kroc hissed as Sabre's arm swung up and hit the bottle out of Jaska's grasp. Everyone watched as it flew through the air before the opened bottle landed on Jackie's head and poured all over her.

"Ouch!" She cried, holding her head before noticing the bunny stopped his advances. She looked up, seeing him staring at her rather coldly.

"Oh? It worked?" Ms. Smith said with a grin before the bunny's face deepened in coloration. " … no, it did not work." She said, slouching over with a heavy sigh.

"You're so wet, darling … should I go ahead and-," he stared before the two attendants sighed, picking up the eager bunny with an unusual bulge in his pants before he was dragged away. "Goodbye, darling! I will see you again!" He cried, waving to her rather happily as Jackie quickly adjusted herself and righted her clothes with a deep blush.

"W-What in the hell was that guy's problem?!" Jackie gapped, feeling the tender marks all over her neck. H-He was so fast and precise she didn't even feel over half of the hickies given to her from that bunny freak!

"I guess that Sabre's scent does cling heavily to you, Jackie. It's amazing how it affects apparently any male regardless of species." She said with a smile, tapping a finger to her chin in thought.

"B-But that was ridiculous!" She cried, patting herself down and finding more and more things out of place. How could anything move that fast?! It was impossible, freaking impossible!

"Well, Fuzzykins McHumps-alot was also prompted by Sabre's heat scent but still, he just about moves that quickly on a regular basis with anyone he finds to his liking." Ms. Smith sighed with a smile and a shrug.

"That was too fast for _anyone_!" Jackie shouted, still haggard as Ms. Smith lightly laughed.

"Yes well, regardless, it seems you missed your appointment, Ms. Penske." Ms. Smith said with a scary smile as Jackie's face paled.

"N-No way!" She cried, startled.

"Yes. You will have to conduct the interview at another time. The car is in the garage and all ready for you to go home in. Enjoy, Jackie." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled as the two Extraspecies returned to guide them to the garage.

By the end of it all Jackie was exhausted and everyone is piled into the one large truck ready for them all. The large cushioned seating let everyone relaxed as Jackie said in the back with the rest of them, enjoying herself on the soft cushion as Dumisa's tail slipped under her and made her lay on him to help conserve room. Jackie shuffled against him, trying to get comfortable for the hour ride while everyone else piled in as well and took their seats. There were plenty of seats available in the large truck but Sabre miffed, turning away from everyone and getting straight to where Jackie was to drop herself over the host without even a word but clearly demanding petting.

"Oof-!" Jackie breathed, startled as she laid over her lap with a growl and curled around her waist as Jackie stared at her, getting her breath back. "Sabre, what are you doing? Off." Jackie said, trying to push the leopard off.

Sabre growled and rubbed herself on Jackie, leaning over her again in a very possessive and demanding way.

"Ugh." Jackie heavily sighed, reaching up and petting her as she rubbed her ears, "why are _you_ grumpy?" Jackie asked, petting her neck and shoulders firmly.

Sabre once more rubbed herself on Jackie, refusing to even speak. The host let out a faint sigh and pet her gently, hugging her close while scratching and rubbing her back.

"Stop be so petty." Jaska growled at Sabre in annoyance, glaring at her with irritation while in the background, Kroc gently played with Antain and nuzzled against him, letting the little fox sit on his shoulders and climb all over him and giving small proudfull roars which were more like small mewls.

Sabre ignored Jaska but a smirk appeared on her lips. She continued the rubbing a bit and then settled in a position completely above Jackie that monopolized the host's attention completely. Sabre laid over the host, purring and nuzzling against her while evilly grinning. The host's petting would excite her and make her scent more potent for the other males in the truck. It was their fault for trying to snuff out her natural scent anyway in such a horribly forceful way. It was not so different than trying to force her to do something, so this is what they get.

Sabre groaned and leaned harder against Jackie, hugging her closely while Jackie mindlessly pet her and remained oblivious to her scheming. The males noticed the change in the air quickly, subtly covering their noses and trying hold still but twitched rather restlessly, with Jaska flickering his ears and Dumisa ticking his tail back and forth. Kroc was lucky, however; he held Antain up to his nose, breathing in his scent instead so the smell was not so potent. The pup just giggled at that, squirming delightfully while enjoying the tickling sensation.

"You all doing alright?" Jackie asked, noticing their restless behavior as she pet Sabre's ears, feeling her nuzzle against her neck slowly with a blush while beginning to pet Jackie back.

Sabre moaned and hid her smirk by setting her face between Jackie's boobs for a second before nuzzling Jackie's neck. The emotions were getting quite real. The host, not realizing Sabre's intention, continued petting her and tugged on her tail for some good measure. Sabre gave Jackie a kiss on the jugular and then looked at the guys with some angry disdain.

"That enough-!" Jaska snarled, realizing what she was doing but before he could get up, Dumisa picked Sabre up by the scruff of the neck, gaining a slash on his tail from her claws, and tossed her aside before flickering his tongue out towards Jackie.

"Ugh. You smell like cat heat." He groaned, before turning to Sabre, "stop covering up this whole truck with your stupid scent! I can hardly _breathe_ with all the hormones everywhere!" Dumisa irritably snapped at her.

"Then suffocate!" Sabre growled, already ready to fight and too angry to mind the consequences at this point.

"We literally choking on air as breathe!" Jaska roared at her, he was angry, but the d*** scent also made him restless in other ways. "stop intentionally making worse! How you feel if in position, ah?!"

"I agree with the furball on this one, Sabre. It's disgusting how you're flaunting that choking scent on purpose now while knowing what it's doing." Dumisa deeply frowned, "not only did you refuse to take the gift from Ms. Smith that may have given us a break but you make it worse while in this space with us. Dumisa coldly stated.

"Hey, guys lay off-," Jackie started before Dumisa's tail hooked around her mouth and pinned her back against the seats, never taking his sharp gaze off of Sabre.

"I _am_ in a worse position, imbecile! It's burning me inside out, you insensible jerk! And that s*** didn't even work! I'm not gonna put any chemicals on me that I have no idea what it is. I don't trust Smith!" Sabre roared and tried scratching Jaska's eye out but before she could do it he suddenly hugged her and rolled off the seat towards the floor where he positioned himself over her so his super fluffy fur covered her completely, leaving no part of her seen.

Everyone stared, surprised at Jaska's unexpectedly effective tactic as they saw his body move ever so slightly from Sabre struggling futilely beneath him and hearing her muffled angry and panicking noises. "Then trust us, da?" admittedly he was maybe enjoying being on top, quieting her and ending this childlike argument a bit too much. It was actually quite fun to get the upperhand with his fluffiness finally useful for something practical.

"Well, rather barbaric but it works." Dumisa heavily sighed, keeping the host down so she could not go help.

"How it feel under _full_ weight?" Jaska growled with a victorious grin before spotting Antain running over to him. Antain's mewing made Sabre struggle more until she detected the noises were not of fear, at which she lessened the struggling, holding still as the little fox ran around the mass of orange and white fur. Antain gasped excitedly each time he dug through the fur and poked his head under the fluff, mewing each time he found part of his mama before scampering around happily. This strange game of 'peek a boo' continued on for a bit before Sabre completely stopped struggling, hearing Antain just outside of the furry mass weighing her down.

Sabre let out some muffled almost crying growls. Jaska moved his chest slightly up so her head could come out from below his fluffiness, and in apology, he leaned down and licked her ear in a grooming calming manner. He expected her to calm down and give in accepting the grooming, but her response was to hiss and try to turn her head around to bite him. In her eyes, anger and fear.

Sabre felt extremely vulnerable and powerless. He was so heavy that he was crushing her. Couldn't they, _he_ , see that she was just not gonna shove any kind of chemical compound over herself? And then he thought that she was just gonna submit like nothing? Had he really and so easily think that they were gonna be ok with a few licks? was he expecting her to merely let him f*** her or what?

"No accept? Fine." He said, laying back over her and applying his weight on top of her before he let out a stiff sigh, keeping her beneath his heavy weight all the rest of the way home. If she was going to still be unreasonable then it looked like she was not going to have a comfortable ride home.

After an hour ride through traffic they finally reached the house. Jackie had fallen asleep against Dumisa through the ride which he did not pull away from and Sabre was still under the heavy weight of the Siberian tiger. Once the truck pulled to a stop, Dumisa turned to Jackie and found her still fast asleep against him. Reluctant to let his heat pack leave but wanting to go sleep in his own room, he lightly shook her shoulder to wake her.

Jackie groaned and rolled over, trying to savor the last few moments of sleep. "No … ," she softly groaned, hugging his tail rather close and curling into a small ball. Although amused with her clinging Dumisa wasn't much in a mood to entertain her. He leaned down over her, gently placing a hand on her arm and brushing his lips by her ear.

"You better wake up before I decide to entertain myself," he purred into her ear as his slimy tongue flickered against it. Her eyes burst open for a moment as she slumped over, trying to sit up quickly.

"Wah-? Waht, I'm up, I'm up," she sleepily groaned, muttering some nonsense as her words slurred a bit. Her sleeve rubbed against her ear with shiver of unease, still feeling the unsettling tickling sensation in her ear.

"That's a shame. Teasing you some more would have been fun." Dumisa sighed but still smirked while glancing over to Kroc who was glaring at Jaska. The tiger had been laying over Sabre the entire ride and Dumisa doubted Sabre would be calm once he gets up.

The tiger's head turned, seeing Kroc crouching by him with a narrowed gaze.

"Get off the sheela, mate. We're home now." Kroc ordered while Antain slept soundly in his arms, cuddling closer and softly humming in his small chest.

"Niet. She needs lesson," Jaska grinned with a purr, sure the others would understand and agree. Her petty outbursts of anger and sharp retorts were getting on everyone's nerve; he was right to pin her down for the ride. Jaska's ears lowered. Why would she reject Smith's gift of giving everyone a break? Even if it didn't work in the end it might still have helped curb her heat.

Sabre growled in distress below Jaska, weakly trying to move him off but his weight easily kept her down.

Once the doors opened Kroc sighed, getting up and turning to them. Jaska toothily grinned, assuming Kroc agreed with him before turning his attention back to the pinned female.

"Be nice, Sabre, or-," Jaska started before Kroc's heavy tail sent him flying through the air and right outside the vehicle. Jaska let out a startled yowl as he smacked into a small car in Jackie's shop.

"What that for!?" Jaska roared, barely seeing Sabre not moving immediately.

"There, sheela. You alright?" Kroc asked, gently picking up a rather sore feline as he brushed her off a bit with some gentle patting.

Sabre groaned and gave Kroc a hug. "Thanks Kroc," she mewled almost painfully, and right after, she failed to take Antain from him and had to resort to give a growl so Antain would get a grip on her tail. Using her tail like a leash for Antain, she achingly hopped out of the truck and tried to stretch her stiff limbs out but almost felt to the ground instead while cursing.

Dumisa let out a huff, seeing the other four Extraspecies out in the garage already while Jackie slumped against him to try and get some more sleep. He turned to her, lightly smacking her in the head with his tail as she suddenly got up, startled.

"Wha … something happen?" Jackie asked in a grumble, too sleepy to fully comprehend everything as she held her head.

"Wake up. You need to unlock the doors to the house so we can get in." Dumisa said as he hoisted her up and carried her out underneath his arm. Jackie loudly yawned as she clumsily fumbled in her pockets with sleepy slowness for the keys.

"Faster, da?" The tiger growled, holding his aching side from Kroc's attack as he reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys himself.

When Jaska approached in order to reach the door, Sabre leaned away from him with a startled pitiful snarl, turning to leave but she wobbled slightly. Having Jaska lay like that with his full weight over her gave her a dead leg so she couldn't climb up the building to her attic den from the outside and was forced to walk past the orange thug.

Without a word Kroc stepped in front of her, gently picking her up in his arms before picking up Antain and setting him on her stomach.

"Relax, Sheela. I have some muscle relaxing oils if you want it." He offered, walking behind Jaska as the door opened. A dark patch of fur slipped past them silently as Eztli snuck into the house but Kroc ignored him. Shy for a Bastet but nice enough.

Sabre nodded and leaned her head on his chest and nuzzled him a thanks. Antain accomodated over his mamma for a nap and soon Sabre was purring too, visibly calmer in Kroc's strong arms.

"Alright, aright there." Jackie said with a loud yawn as they all got inside. Before they dispersed into their rooms, Jackie took a quick count while still being carried by Dumisa. "Wait, wait I need to count." Jackie muttered to him, barely cracking an eye open as Dumisa let out a bored sigh. "One, two, three four, five, six-," she stared slowly, turning to Dumisa at six before pausing. Wait, six? Ugh, whatever. Too tired to think it through she leaned back, making Dumisa set her down before he too returned silently to his room.

Before Jackie could retreat to her room one of the drivers knocked on the frame of the door to get her attention.

"Oh, Ms. Penske, please sign here." The cyclops asked kindly while handing her a packet of papers and a pen. With another yawn she took the pen and messily gave her signature on the line, figuring it to be the paperwork for everyone's check ups.

"There. Lock up on your way out; I'm going to bed." Jackie sleepily yawned before she left. She paused, just remembering something.

"Hey guys, wait!" Jackie called, seeing them pause and peek outside their doors at her with Eztli, already away and exploring, being an exception, unknown to Jackie, "be ready by 6:00 am tomorrow morning so we can go ahead to the shore for the weekend. Pack light, got it?" She said, watching them stare at her before going to sleep. With a heavy sigh she rubbed her head in annoyance. Great, she was going to have to get ready by 4:00 herself just so she can go wake them all up and drag them into the van, if not pack for them too. Exhausted, Jackie slumped back to her room for some sleep.

Not so long after, Kroc was in his room with Sabre still purring happily while sleeping over him and with a sleeping Antain in her arms. The vibrations of her body were quite nice and calming, even if her scent was affecting him a bit.

Kroc widely yawned, he himself very tired but he didn't want to leave Sabre alone if she woke up and found he wasn't there awake. Not wanting to roll over and crush her by mistake, Kroc leaned against the wall of the room and let Sabre curl up on his lap with Antain on top of her, stretched out and happily purring in his sleep. Kroc's eyes, heavy, slowly fell as he too fell asleep, lulled into a restful night by the purring felines.

* * *

Sabre yawned and woke up. It was already late night and she detected she was in Kroc's room. Kroc was sleeping besides her back on the wall's side, hugging her tightly for warmth given that his lamp was turned off, and Antain was cuddling against her other side. She blushed and her ears dropped against her head as Kroc hugged her a bit tighter.

Sabre didn't mind being his heat pack. And oddly enough she actually felt safe around Kroc, unlike the stripped menace. She pondered on this while staring up at Kroc's metal jaw. The reason, she realized, was because Kroc was straightforward and knew what he wanted while Jaska was indecisive and moody, making him an uncertain aspect and a possible threat; more so because her body feel inclined to trust the tiger naturally but Kroc had earned her trust through his personality and Dumisa was a truest friend than the tiger.

She decided she needed to think and settle how she should act regarding the tiger that made her so uneasy, and by pulling a pillow to replace her in Kroc's embrace she managed to slip away, pulling Antain towards the edge so she could take him with her.

Kroc sucked in a deep breath, continuing to hug the pillow and not seeming to notice the exchange before she grabbed Kroc's large electric heating blanket and placed it over his figure before turning it on to keep him warm for the night. Sabre smiled and, on impulse, leaned in and gently kissed the crocodile on the snout before giving a small squeeze to the slightly squirming kit in her arms. Antain woke up a bit and twisted around playfully while softly mewing once, his hand reaching out towards Kroc and grabbing at the air in a sleepy manner before slowly nodding off again.

Sabre's eyes softened at how much Antain loved Kroc. She tucked her cub's hand away and held him tighter, walking away towards their stuffy cold attic, where she tucked Antain into his favorite blanket. She kissed Antain's forehead, glancing over at her roughed up fur before she sighed. She wasn't tired at all. On her body she could smell the heavy scent of Jaska, making her sneer in disgust before she left Antain to sleep and headed into the host's room, the only bathroom she could use at the moment.

Stepping into Jackie's room with a towel wrapped around her, Sabre noticed how messy the room was. There were clothes and fabrics everywhere and more litter in the floor probably from tasty snacks the host sometimes snuck into her room for herself. The feline walked through the path that lead to the bathroom and on her way she kicked some obviously unused cleaning supplies out of her way.

Jackie's head suddenly and alertly popped up, looking into the room and dimly seeing the outline of Sabre's body. The feline stared back openly at the host as she sleepily wavered, too sleepy to keep her head up before thumping her head back against the pillow and falling dead asleep.

Sabre took her time in the shower, scrubbing every inch of her body with Jackie's reserved shampoo and conditioner until Jaska's scent was completely erased or at least too diluted to be noticed. After having rinsed herself off she stepped into the bathroom, rubbing herself on the towels while leaving the empty bottles inside the shower for the host to deal with at another time.

Sabre huffed in annoyance, narrowing her eyes as she glared at her reflection. By now it was obvious that making 'peace' with Jaska was not going to work. He was an abusive brute and it had taken her a lot of strength not to cry when she was under his heavy weight. He was supposed to teach her about being a bastet but he had clearly decided it was not even worth it. Her frown deepened as she took Jackie's hair brush and began combing through her wonderfully soft fur as she found herself trapped in her thoughts.

He had been nice in the hospital in front of everyone but then he tried to spray that weird liquid on her without her consent and nearly suffocate her in the truck. He unsettled her in many ways and she didn't want to deal with his antics. This was all she could take. Besides, even if she had agreed on the program for Antain's sake she still had her own personal mission objectives to complete, including hunting down those that escaped that facility. While at the house, however, it was more difficult to find information since Jaska would snitch on her to Smith. In Sabre's careful considerations, Ms. Smith was no better than the company and Jaska was just her spy.

After the bath Sabre went to the living room where the skull bottle of vodka stood underneath the nightstand. She took it, staring at the liquid inside and recalled the night where they made a truce not so long ago. Since it was clear he was not wanting to help her then it was best to not deal with him at all. Sabre walked back into the hall, letting out a hissing growl before setting the expensive skull bottle half full of vodka down in front of Jaska's door. She absolutely did _not_ accept him or his fake apologies or anything else. With a huff she trotted away, leaving to her room and unaware of a pair of beady green eyes were staring curiously at the bottle.

Eztli, the jaguar who had slipped past the host's watchful eyes without her noticing, was about to approach Sabre when she had left the curious bottle on the floor. Had she seen him? Maybe she had left the bottle for him? Why else would she leave something so expensive in the middle of the corridor? Perhaps, he thought, this was her way of welcoming him?

Happy with the present, he picked it up and sniffed the top before pulling off the lid and licking the rim of it. The burn of the expensive gift left excited shivers down his spine, grateful towards the bastet for her gift. It was liquor, something he highly appreciated at the moment since his caapi roots that helped him sleep were running out. So, very happily, he took the bottle and returned to the empty room he supposed was going to be his in a couple days once it was remodeled. Deep purring thrummed in his chest as he laid down in a small bed of blankets he gathered for himself, happily licking at the edge of the alcoholic bottle. Eztli smiled, ears back as he enjoyed the tingling and burning on his tongue. Tomorrow he would introduce himself to the host after watching her for a bit. He wanted to get to know her a bit before he met her. He frowned, not wanting to meet her at all but knowing he had to. This human … it will not be like the last one. Eztli sighed, taking a swig of the vodka as he looked forward to sleeping in late the next morning.

* * *

So what do you all think is going to happen? ;3

 _ **10 REVIEWS**_ to find out! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**TIME SKIPS ARE SHOWN AS A SERIES OF 'MWMWMWMWMWMWMW' from here on out until I figure out what in the world happened to the hard lines :3 ENJOY!**

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"Get off my tail!" Dumisa very loudly hissed as Jaska let out a groaning snarl, filling the van of their angry retorts to one another.

"If you move fat a** maybe there _more_ room!" The tiger roared back, trying to worm free and rocking the entire van as a result. Jackie's head ached as she whipped her head around towards the back.

" _HEY_! No fighting back there!" Jackie ordered as Kroc, who was also in the back looking very cramped, let out a hiss of warning as Dumisa and Jaska openly glared at one another.

"When will we get there, host?" Sabre asked, sounding very annoyed from the copilots seat while Antain jumped all around her lap and trying to get closer to the windows and look out into the thick traffic around them, "are we there yet?"

"I told you we'll _get_ there when we _get_ there!" Jackie growled, kneading the wheel angrily before laying on the horn and trying to make the drivers of the completely congested roads get a move on. This trip to the beach was already turning out to be a bit of a disaster. A four hour car ride wasn't that bad but add that with some Extraspecies, a tiny little cheap pedo van since Ms. Smith _refused_ to let them take one of the other cars, and ridiculous morning traffic … it's basically hell on Earth.

"I need to stretch!" Dumisa complained again, wriggling around as Jaska roared at him in his aggravation along with a hissing Kroc who sat all hunched up in his little corner, trying to be good and not knock them around with his tail.

"Gah!" Jaska shouted, clutching his nose after Dumisa mistakenly hit him with his tail, "be careful _else I rip tail off!_ " He angrily roared before digging his nails into Dumsia's scales.

"You're scratching my scales! Get off, you fat tiger!" Dumisa shouted back at him as he slammed against the side, making the entire truck rock unnaturally to the side before heavily falling back onto all four wheels. The jostling left everyone in the back in a disorientated heap, heads spinning as they tried to get themselves back together. Jackie took a deep breath, struggling to remain calm. Just a little longer before she dumped them out. All she had to do was _not_ go insane before then.

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After hours of traffic and navigating through narrow, one way streets, sloppy pedestrians carrying too much and the occasional speedy driver, they arrived at a rather cozy looking home sitting right on the beach and in front of the boardwalk separating the beach from the houses. Sabre yawned and stretched, rather having enjoyed that brief nap as Antain excitedly ran around, pawing at the window while darting his gaze back and forth.

"Hurry and open _f***ing_ back door, _host_!" Jaska roared angrily, digging his claws into the back of the seat while kicking Dumisa's side.

"Watch the scales, fur for brains!" Dumisa hissed back as Jackie hopped out of the driver's seat and unlatched the back of the truck. She took a deep breath before diving away for dear life. Dumisa spilled out of the back, tied into a snakey knot from both Jaska and Kroc having kicked him out of the van.

"Look at what you've done, now I'm all tangled!" Dumisa hissed in aggravation, trying to slip out of the knot but found himself too sore to be able to wriggle free.

"Jeez, Dumisa! Why did you move around so much?" Jackie huffed, walking over to him and trying to figure out where either end was amongst the scaly mess.

"Move out of way!" Jaska snarled as Jackie ducked down. Jaska jumped over them both and landed on all fours several meters away before promptly stretching like a cat. His bones popped and cracked as he shook himself out, his fur looking rather matted from being stuck in the back with the sweat clumping up his thick fur. Jackie grimaced, looking over the Siberian cat and his thick fur. He wasn't going to have such a fun time in the hot weather with fur like that unless he spends most of it swimming.

Kroc moved to look around, curiously looking over the boardwalk and the many stares people had while walking by, "where are we?" he asked, stretching out his back and arms. He deeply breathed, letting out a satisfied sigh as he lightly blushed, " … I smell the ocean strongly, Sheela." He said, eagerly heading towards the boardwalk before Jackie dove over to him and grabbed his arm. With some of his weight he leaned away from her, intently staring towards the beach but unable to see it past the boardwalk. His jaws cracked open so he could taste the salty air with his tongue, closing his eyes with a faint smile. The smell and taste was very nostalgic for him.

"Not so fast." Jackie said, pulling the reluctant crocodile back over to the van as Sabre slipped out with Antain, letting him enjoy the sights from the safety of her arms.

Jackie let out a deep breath. Getting to the beach without anyone dying was a success. Now they just had to unpack. Jackie sucked in a deep breath, getting her mind together.

" _ALRIGHT_!" She called, gaining their attention as they waited for their roles, "Jaska, hop on top and open up the travel bag. Sabre, here are the keys. Go open the doors for the others to carry stuff in and make sure Antain doesn't go running around because he _will_ get lost. Kroc, start carrying everything inside and you _will_ take more than four trips," she said, staring hard at him as he frowned, "I know you can do it in one but everything won't fit through the door here. It's much smaller than what you're used to. And Dumisa," Jackie said, turning to him and seeing him struggling to untangle himself from the knot he unwittingly got himself into while being cramped in the small white van, "oh come on, Dumisa- Jaska, help him untangle himself while I check in with Ms. Smith." Jackie ordered with a groan, taking out her phone and calling her coordinator. She looked back at the group, watching Kroc taking down the large bags on top of the van and setting them aside as Sabre unlocked the house. Jaska grinned rather viciously, grabbing Dumisa's body and pulling on it while pushing his other half down with his foot and making the snake howl in pain as he tried to back up and untangle himself.

"Hey, Ms. Smith, we reached the beach house." Jackie said, reporting in as she watched Jaska not so gently try to unravel the struggling Dumisa.

" _Excellent! How do you like your roommates there? Are yours and Werner's Extraspecies getting along? We were having problems with some other groups and I don't want to have problems with yours too,_ " she said, making it sound more like a threat.

"Werner?" Jackie asked, surprised as she looked over at the apartment and saw Kroc lug in the first load, "I haven't been inside yet so I don't know." She said, now getting nervous. She wasn't told she'd be rooming with another host and his Extraspecies too.

" _Well go inside and introduce yourselves since I know he checked in an hour ago. I expect you all to get along while you're there. Understand?"_ She said, leaving no room for arguing.

"Why didn't you tell me this before? I wasn't told any of this," Jackie said as she heard the line disconnect. Jackie sneered at the phone before putting it away and quickly looping inside, hoping they weren't herbivores or prey; having to deal with with her Extraspecies not eating the others or toying with them would be a nightmare. Once at the top step she found Sabre and Kroc in the middle of a standoff between the two female Extraspecies, a wolf and a lamia, glaring right back at them. Uh oh.

"Hey~ so, Kroc, Sabre I just found out from Ms. Smith we're actually rooming with another host and his Extraspecies too while we're here for the weekend," Jackie said, slipping between the standoff and sheepishly laughing.

Sabre was growling pridefully with her fur was on edge to make her look slightly bigger and more threatening while Antain was behind her legs also growling.

"Right, well, behave. Now, girls, it's nice you meet you," Jackie said, turning towards the two Extraspecies, "where's uh, where's your host, Werner?" Jackie asked rather nervously, literally feeling the air dripping with tension. Was it always going to be tense like this when Extraspecies meet each other? And how would Sabre's heat affect these girls? Would it at all? What if they had some male in their group that she hasn't seen yet? Questions swirled around in her mind as she stared at the two women.

"Out getting groceries." The lamia said with folded arms, leaning back with a sassy twist to her annoyed expression.

" … and is there a problem?" Jackie asked, looking over to Kroc and Sabre, "you're not going to be baring fangs at your new roommates for the weekend, _right?_ " Jackie asked in a hard voice, making sure they understood not to cause trouble here.

Sabre held her gaze up while her tail lashed about, ready to attack. "Should we?"

"No, Miss Host, none at all. We do have some questions though," the lamia said with a lick of her lips, glancing towards the window, "where did you get that cutie of a snake out there? I'm shocked to see a male lamia here of all places," she asked, slithering around to behind Jackie as she and the other wolf looked her over, seeming curious about her body.

"She smells much different from Werner." The wolf said, sniffing the air and walking over to her, "this is the first human female we've been able to really see this close. Do all of them smell like you?" She asked as Sabre dragged Kroc away, leaving Jackie to distract the females while she at least gets the rest of her things to unpack.

"Oh, uh, well, Dumisa was actually my first Extraspecies." Jackie said as the wolf leaned in closer, taking some more whiffs.

"You smell so good! What kind of perfume is that?" The wolf asked, leaning in towards her neck and cheerfully sniffing her neck.

"Uh … other Extraspecies?" Jackie said, not having put perfume on. She hasn't used perfume in a while since it bothered everyone's noses.

"Hm~ that Dumisa is cute," the lamia hummed, hugging Jackie and enjoying her warmth much like Dumisa often did, "mind if I join with you for a bit sometimes?" She asked with a blush and grin.

"You'll have to take that up with your coordinator." Jackie said, finding herself trapped against the island counter as they took turns sniffing and touching her. "I'm uh, my name's Jackie. And you girls?" Jackie asked, trying to push them away from her but their grips remained startlingly strong.

"Hmph. As if a human female deserves to know." The lamia miffed with a laugh before looking out the window and staring at Dumisa.

"She's Siri, and I'm Yenna!" The female wolf happily cried as she hugged Jackie close. The wolf's startlingly plump breasts engulfed her face, making her freeze as her vision darkened. The host simply let it happen, not bothering to struggle against her despite being unable to breathe. Struggling just made most Extraspecies hug tighter.

"W-Weff if's niff to meef youf." Jackie's barely audible voice said, her words muffled by Yenna's breasts encircling her head.

"I finished," Jaska heavily sighed, walking around up the stairs before seeing Jackie hugging a female wolf. "What wolf doing here?"

Jackie squirmed under the wolf's arms before popping her head free, looking over to Jaska but not seeing Dumisa anywhere.

"W-Wait, Jaska? Where's Dumisa?" Jackie asked, looking out the window to see Siri leaning against the windowsill and giggling at what's become of Jackie's snake.

"Tangled and b****y outside," he snorted in annoyance, looking away.

"And you _left_ him there?! I told you to help him!" Jackie scolded him.

"He no accept help. I need just to convince him." He said with an uncaring shrug.

"UGH! Fine, I'll help you. Let's go, Jaska." Jackie irritably snapped at the tiger before peeling herself off of Yenna.

The host trotted quickly down the stairs and headed out, spotting Dumisa sluggishly laying in the middle of the entrance to the parking lot with a couple cars patiently waiting to park themselves.

"Yeah uh, sorry! Sorry!" Jackie called out as she hurried over to Dumisa and tried to pull him up. "Dumisa, what are you doing just sitting there? Try untangling yourself. And Jaska, help me out here!" She asked, pushing fruitlessly against his side as he managed to get one of the larger knots out and move enough so the couple could go park their car.

"Weather too humid and hot. Bad for fur, I bastet of cold weather." Jaska complained before he dropped Dumisa, "too hot. I go rest."

"You'll be fine, Jaska. You'll be able to go swimming today; that's why we left so early so we could go straight to the beach today as soon as we get settled in. Now help me untangle Dumisa, he's a road hazard." Jackie grumbled, trying to push his tail through one of the tight knots.

"Salt water no good for fur." He growled, sluggishly helping with the snake but with a bit more force than necessary.

"How could you not?" She said with a light laugh as he helped untangle the last knot in Dumisa, "the ocean feels amazing to swim in. You'll like it, Jaska."

"I like water, but salt bad for fur." He grumpily repeated. Jackie heavily sighed, reaching over and giving his tail a small tug. Jaska's eyes narrowed, annoyed as he looked back at her but did not pull his tail away.

"Come on, don't be such a grumpy cat. We're at the beach! You should enjoy yourself while we're here." She cheerfully grinned, gently pulling on his tail a little more and petting the base of his spine as though it would make him relent. Although his head twisted with a faint hum in pleasure, he pulled his tail free from her grasp.

"Nyet. I enjoy if I find something enjoyable. Otherwise I rest. That be more enjoyable than helping snake." He huffed and with that he went away.

"Ow … ," Dumisa painfully groaned as Jackie rubbed his neck and jaws, making his grunts turn to hums as he leaned a little closer.

"Come on, let's get settled in and you can stretch yourself out upstairs." Jackie said as he leaned in with a smirking smile.

"Honestly, your petting is one of your few redeeming qualities." Dumisa teased as he grasped her shoulder and leaned in to her neck, taking a deep breath before he stiffly paused. His eyes slowly rolled open, his pupils narrowing into slits while his expression remained rather empty. "Where did you meet a female lamia?" He asked in a monotone voice, one of which she couldn't tell what his mood was. She hesitated, seeing the darkness and annoyance settling into his eyes while his expression remained rather bleak.

"Upstairs. Ms. Smith didn't tell us before but we're staying with another host, Werner, and his Extraspecies; a wolf named Yenna and a lamia named Siri." Jackie explained as Dumisa's eyes rolled up to the window on the building, spotting the last creature he ever wanted to see.

"A female Lamia? For the entire weekend?" Dumisa said with no change to his voice.

"Dumisa?" Jackie asked, trying to decipher his strange change in attitude.

"Let me get settled, host." Dumisa stated, sorely slithering past her before he stopped, seeming to ponder something before glancing back at her.

" … what?" she said before Dumisa suddenly hugged her, startling her. He moved so fast and precisely that there was nothing she could have done to resist. His hold tightened, firmly holding her in the hug as he remained silent and offered no snooty remark like she was waiting for. "Dumisa? Something wrong?" Jackie asked, baffled by his strange behavior. She had never seen him both so neutral yet so venomous like he was now. His reaction to a female lamia unnerved her and made her weary. Her hands rubbed his jaws as he looked down at her, smiling rather viciously and showing off his fangs.

"I expect a thorough massage later from making me stay in that ridiculously cramped space." He grinned as Jackie huffed. Yup, Dumisa's back to normal. But was he really? She gently pushed against his head, playing along for now since that's what he seemed to want.

"Later; I need to unpack the food and _you_ need to unpack your things." Jackie said, peeling herself off and leading the way up into the apartment. With hardly one foot in the house rang with a loud roar, making Jackie jump. What the hell was wrong now?! Jackie sprinted to the top, seeing Jaska squaring off with Yenna. Her eyes were glowing with anger as well as his own, looking ready to rip into each other but at the same time they looked eager.

"Never thought a Siberian tiger would be here, ja?" She cutely asked in a deeper German accent than before with a vicious grin, showing off her sharp teeth as she snarled and growled at him.

"A german wolf? Thought you extinct after cold war." Jaska heartlessly returned with a low bearing hiss.

"You would have hoped so, Mr. Pussycat." She snarled in return.

"Wait, wait why the hell are _you_ two fighting?!" Jackie demanded, walking up between them to act as a barrier; well, more like a flimsy meat puppet but the two Extraspecies stayed where they were.

"She's a German wolf, host." Jaska growled, acting as if that explained everything.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Jackie irritably snapped.

"I Siberian tiger. Is not obvious?" Jaska rolled his eyes as Jackie stared at them both, still very confused.

"What does that has to do with it?" Jackie asked, confused.

"Congratulations host, you embodiment of lack of knowledge; not only world history but Extraspecies history too." The tiger stated with a frown. Having a host that did not understand basic history was rather embarrassing. Thankfully, given his training he could hide his embarrassment for the host in a professional manner.

"I agree." The wolf nodded. "The frolain knows not basic history. I heard this country famous for that, ja? Didn't believe it until now."

"Oh Jaska, come on don't - _WHOA_!" Jackie shouted, startled as a pair of arms grabbed her from above and pulled her to the ceiling. She whipped her head around, seeing the lamia clinging to one of the rafters and holding her above everyone with a smirk.

"How could something so small and fleshy be entrusted with a male lamia? You hardly seem able to defend him against other females." She asked, grinning wickedly before flickering her eyes over to the approaching male snake. Dumisa rose into the air, coming eye to eye with the lamia. They evenly stared at one another as the air chilled, making Jackie very nervous. Did lamia have a natural hatred for one another she wasn't aware of before? Siri lightly giggled, "mambas aren't the only ones with venom." She reminded him with a parting of her lips that emphasized her pearly white fangs which were smaller than Dumisa's but nonetheless deadlier.

"But you're not venomous, Ms. Milksnake. I, on the other hand, am very, _very_ venomous," Dumisa said with a loud and vicious hiss that exposed his deep inky black mouth to the lamia. Jackie's face paled, looking into the black mamba's gullet with his bright white fangs piercing from the darkness, entrapping her gaze as she stared at the spine chilling sight. She had to admit it was definitely intimidating to be looking into his mouth like this. Siri let out a longing groan, hugging Jackie tighter as she blushed with a startlingly sudden change from a fierce grin to a shy smile.

"Oh ho~ not only good looking but smart. I'm surprised," she said with a cheeky grin. Dumisa's eyes narrowed, seeming annoyed by that comment.

Without warning Sabre jumped up, kicking the snake's body and not caring if Jackie hit the hard floor. With a startled cry the lamia retreated back, dropping Jackie as she landed against Dumisa's tail that curled around her body firmly. The host grappled for anything to hold onto as Dumisa pulled her out of the way and set her behind himself.

"I'll rip your teeth out one by one if you try us," Sabre hissed, clearly now more aggressive while knowing this snake wasn't venomous.

"Oh? Is the little kitty's fur ruffled? Cute." She miffed, lowering herself and twisting in the air before letting her lower half drop heavily onto the floor while keeping his eyes on her. "Cute but useless; fur tickles on the way down."

Sabre hissed and behind her Jaska snarled. Kroc came running into the room with a happy grin on his face at the prospect of the ensuing fight. Jackie let out a deep sigh, sensing the oncoming battle.

"HEY!" Jackie barked as she slipped out of Dumisa's grip, landing on her feet before glaring at them. Time for the host to take control here. If a fight broke out both her and this Werner guy would get in trouble. "All of you knock it off. We're going to be staying together here for the weekend so we might as well get along."

Fangs barred while none of them let their guards down. Their eyes flashed excitedly, eager to hash out the dominant one amongst them all between the predators in the room. Siri raised over her tail to lean forward, showing her size while Yenna bared her fangs, her tail high in the air. Meanwhile Sabre hissed and showed her fangs while unsheathing her claws, Dumisa raised too and showed he was bigger than the milksnake, Jaska showed size and fangs and Kroc let out a happy grin that came accompanied by a hissing noise.

"Seriously? Guys, Sabre, come on. Go off to your rooms- _KROC_!" Jackie hissed, seeing him pause as he was trying to sneak up behind the lamia but was caught, "go to your rooms. All of you, and start unpacking and getting settled in. Once you're almost done I'll go out to find a good spot on the beach," Jackie suggested, looking at the time. 9:00 am. The main rush wouldn't be here until around 10:30.

All of Jackie's group groaned and complained all hesitating before slowly moving out but not dropping fully their stances.

"Little human thinks she can control us? Werner is our host, not you." Yenna reminded Jackie as she toothily grinned, "if you try anything, I'll rip you to shreds." She eagerly snarled before Jackie suddenly grabbed her head. The wolf jolted, startled as Jackie began petting her vigorously. "A-Ahh~," she groaned as Jackie grabbed her ears, rubbing them and watching as her once vicious expression turned rather meek and embarrassed. "W-Wait, please." She whined before Jackie tripped her onto the ground. The others watched as Jackie scratched the wolf's exposed belly while rubbing her ear at the same time. After a soft moan from the wolf Jackie stopped, standing up and righting her clothes before facing the others.

"Enough fighting." She ordered as Yenna hugged the host's leg, whining excitedly. The deep blush on her face clearly showed her excitement and happiness as her tail wildly wagged back and forth, accepting the new 'alpha female' quite readily.

"Maybe I don't bite, but I can still hug very tight" She hissed, making everyone hinge on edge as they glared at her.

"You want to try me too?" Jackie teased with a grin, wriggling her fingers in the air towards the lamia. Siri leaned back, frowning deeply in her annoyance before glancing at her fallen comrade. After a moment she huffed, folding her arms and turning away.

"Hmph. You're not worth my time." She coldly stated, turning and leaving to go back into her room for the time being.

While everyone left to their rooms to unpack, Sabre tried to sneak down the stairs to slip out but Antain's happy yipping gave her away as Jackie peered down the stairs. The clouded leopard remained silent as Antain hopped back up the stairs excitedly and continued to run around in excited circles as he explored the new place.

"Sabre, you know you can't leave." Jackie called down as Antain ran around the host's legs, playfully nibbling on her pant leg as Jackie just let it happen like she now did after getting used to it.

"I can. I'm in the special program, remember? And I do need the fresh air." She miffed, opening the door only to run into a large chest. She stepped back, surprised as she looked up at the drop dead gorgeous man in front of her carrying large armfuls of groceries. He stared at the Extraspecies woman as she circled him with a wry grin. Who knew the other host would be this hot.

"Hello there," she purred while examining him from all angles. He smelled just purely masculine and very, very good. Sabre's eyes took him in with each small detail, noting that he was quite a tall, muscular man with sleek blonde hair and blue eyes, robust complexion, neutral expression

"Ah, hallo," he said with a grin with a heavily German accent, piles of packaged meat on his shoulder as he carried all his groceries in one trip, "excuse me, frolain" he said, walking past her and up the stairs before setting down all his things. His presence was immediately noticed by Jackie who paused in stocking the shelves with some canned food she brought from home. Whoa, he was surprisingly good looking. Jackie walked over to him to introduce herself, happy.

"Too lazy to take two trips?" Jackie teased, looking over the food he got.

"Yes well, I got it." He said with a toothy grin as he started taking out the meat and seasonings. Jackie wordlessly began to help, casting glances at him and his dog tags. He seemed to be ex-military. Jackie looked away with a slight smile, feeling a little better about this Werner guy. This weekend should be fun but she also felt it would be a bit awkward. It's been awhile since she's been able to talk to a normal human being.

"Would you mind presenting yourself, Mr. Germany?" Sabre said while getting close, purring as her tail flickered back and forth.

"Only if you go first," he said with a grin, clearly at ease with her presence as he started to help Jackie stock the cabinets.

"You can call me Sabre. Only that."

"It's nice to meet you, kitty Sabre. My name is Werner." He said with a rather dashing grin

"I'm not a house cat Mr. Werner. I'm a specialist in stealth and precision." She corrected him as her tail flickered back and forth.

"I know. You're a clouded leopard, or a neofelis nebulosa." He said as Sabre admired his back muscles through his tank top, "but a kitty cat is a kitty cat."

"Few would get it. I'm impressed. Still, if you say kitty is kitty then you can 'pet' me and hear me purr. I'm curious as to how you handle your charges."

"Ja. I pet good," he said, reaching over and gently but firmly rubbing her ear for only a small moment before turning back to his work.

"Not enough for me to determine anything. Since we'll be sharing the place then I'll have to monopolize more of your fingers." Sabre smoothly said with a smile as Jackie looked at Sabre, baffled. Was she … flirting with Werner? Well, not that it was too strange but she found it a little surprising. She stayed silent, simply enjoying the presence of everyone getting along for the time being.

"What, is your host not enough?" He playfully asked while casting Jackie a glance.

"My petting is plenty good. I could make anyone a mushy pile of fur or scales." Jackie rather confidently grinned as Werner started placing meat in the freezer.

"Then host needs to give kitty more attention." He shrugged, his seriousness making him sound harsher than what he'd intended.

"And you don't need to tell me how to do my job." Jackie countered back with a small, stiff laugh but shrugged off his slight insult. If he was going to act like this then it really is going to be a long weekend.

"And kitty wants attention, but from new host here." She purred and looked him up and down, and when she reached his foot, she saw he had a prosthetic leg. "Excuse me if I'm rude, but can I inquire about your leg? It must be hard being a host"

"Oh, I lost it, as you can see," he said with a grin, striking a bit of a pose as he unashamedly exposed the metal foot, "I took a wrong step, shall we say." He winked before turning back and trying to cram all the meat into the slim fridge, "and no, not really," he grunted, yanking out a slab of meat and playing it in a different spot, "I find it no harder than anyone else as a host."

"So you know more hosts? Nice," Sabre leaned on a piece of furniture near him, "Jackie here does not"

"Really? How long ago did you become a host?" Werner asked, sounding surprised.

"Well I only started hardly a month ago," Jackie said with a sigh as Werner's eyes widened in shock.

" _Really?_ " He asked, startled, "and you already have, what, 2 Extraspecies?" He asked, seeing Antain and Sabre.

"No, I have Kroc, Dumisa and Jaska too." Jackie said, pointing to the rooms.

"See? she's a novice, so I want some taste and touch from a professional host"- Sabre grinned.

"That's amazing. I can't believe Smith gave you so many predators so quickly." Werner said as Sabre's words went right over his head.

"Really? I don't think it's that impressive, I guess." Jackie said, glancing away and feeling slightly chagrined.

"How much room do you have in your apartment?" He asked, perplexed.

"I have a unit of apartments next to my house. Smith connected it and that hotel space is for my Extraspecies." Jackie explained.

"So you must have a lot of room then." Werner said, nodding, "I only own a small house. It's not big enough for more than 3 or 4 at most." Werner said.

"Really? Didn't Smith made expansion arrangements for your house?" Sabre asked, her tail waving and showing her annoyment at being ignored.

"Like I said, it was a small house and the land plot isn't that big which is why building it up is difficult." Werner explained with a smile, "but, I already have my hands full with two. I can't imagine what it's like with five." He heartily laughed.

"Males are simple, so maybe that's why she has it easy," Sabre joked, "now come pet me." Sabre impatiently huffed.

"Ja, another time. Jackie?" He asked, turning around and looking to Jackie as she somewhat shyly looked over her shoulder at him, "after we done here let us set up the umbrellas on beach," he suggested with a flashing grin.

"My thoughts exactly. I want to get a nice, big spot for all of us to fit in before the geezers and the families start showing up." She said, suddenly not too concerned about there being another host here. It could be nice having another helper around even if he has a bit of a smartmouth.

"Agreed." He said with a deep, rolling laugh that made both girls dip their heads a little, melting a little bit to the sound of his voice.

Dumisa popped in from the hallway, seeming annoyed as Jackie put the last package of meat into the freezer. He lightly grabbed her arm, staring her right in the eyes as she turned to him.

"What?" Jackie asked, flickering her eyes over him in confusion, "still sore from the car ride? Try moving around a little bit. Might help to stretch before going to the beach," Jackie said, watching his eyes turn into narrowed slits.

"Ah, Black Mamba. Dumisa, ja?" The man said as he walked over, looking over Dumisa's snake body with a faint whistle, "beautiful Extraspecies. May I?" He asked, reaching around Dumisa's head and rubbing his weak spot. Dumisa's hiss weakened to a small hum as he struggling to resist but found himself slowly moving his head towards the guy from the heavenly sensation rippling through him, slowly lowering to the ground and closing his eyes. The German looked up at Jackie, winking at her before tilting his head towards the beach. She grinned, getting the message with a thumbs up in his direction before sneaking out to help set up for the beach. They were going to need a pretty big area for everyone to fit comfortably.

Jackie carried three umbrellas down to the beach, setting them up with a grin. Unfortunately this was only the first trip of many. With a sigh she turned, heading back for her next trip before seeing Kroc walking towards her with the rest of the towels, coolers, chairs and umbrellas stacked up on his back in a rather comical heap.

"Whoa, thanks Kroc," Jackie laughed, helping him unload the weight off his back before organizing it. They set up the umbrellas before Kroc walked over to the ocean, staring at the water with a strong intensity before making a sudden and mad dash into it, diving under the surface so quickly and suddenly that Jackie could only laugh. That was kind of cute. He seemed to have missed the ocean and she wished she could have seen his expression before jumping into the water. She snickered at the thought of what it could have looked like and set everything up, laying the large soft mat down along with some spare towels before staking it into the sand as Yenna and Siri headed over to her and ducked underneath the shade.

"Hey you guys. I got some sun block for you all if you need it," Jackie said, tossing Lamia a bottle as Jackie took off her shirt to reveal a crochet bathing suit that covered her very well. She put on some sunblock before looking over at the beach and seeing a lifeguard yelling at Kroc as he poked his head out of the water. "Awe crap, he probably wants to see our papers," Jackie heavily sighed as she grabbed her backpack and walked over to him.

"Hey, sir, you can stop yelling now I've got his papers," Jackie said, trotting over to the lengthy man.

"Didn't you read the sign? No pets are allowed here," he said, sounding rather aggressive towards her as she pulled out the paperwork.

"They aren't pets; they're Extraspecies." Jackie corrected him with a frown, staring at him a little hard. She had a feeling he was going to be one of _those_ people that will try to kick her and the others off the beach for little to no reason. She'd have to warn Werner about him.

"I don't care what they are. I don't want anything happening while on my watch here today," he snapped, "and I don't want to have to call animal control if he decides to go loose."

"Sir, if anything bad happens it's going to be because someone else caused it. I've got my papers and I have my legal right to be here as the host of the Extraspecies here," she firmly stated, handing him the papers but he didn't make a move to look at them. He looked to either side, seeing the other people on the beach giving them stares before he stepped in real close and let it out in a low voice.

"Frankly miss I don't give a d*** about your host status or those papers. I want them off this part of the beach, do you understand me?" he started before freezing, staring behind her as Kroc's head poked around her shoulder and stared at the man.

"Problem here?" Kroc curiously asked, his jade green eyes carefully taking in the man's negative disposition.

"Quiet, I've got this," Jackie said, pushing his head to the side before turning to the man with a firm set of eyes, "if you want us off this beach then you're going to have to call someone higher up in your little food chain here. Call the police, call the mayor, call anyone you'd like but I am in my every legal right as a US citizen to be here on this beach while following the rules. I've got all my rented tags, I've got all my papers and I've got _my_ rented house right up there on the beach," she said, pointing to their apartment before firmly slapping her papers against his chest, "and you're not going to stand in my way of having fun with my _friends_. Got it?" She said, her voice raised and not caring who heard. Go ahead and let them hear, she didn't care.

"Whoa, look at that! That, that's a crocodile tail, right? Right?" Some little kids, probably about 8 or 9 said as Kroc glanced over his shoulder at them. They both froze, their excited smiles still stuck on their face as they stare back at him. Both Jackie and the life guard fell quiet as Kroc flickered his gaze to his tail and back and them before wriggling his tail slightly and seeing the boys stare at it with excitement.

"Cricky, I've found myself some ankle biters, I did. You boys wanna take a dive in the down under?" Kroc asked in his deep Australian accent as he grinned, watching them both gasp before they sprinted back to their parents. They grabbed their boogie boards and sprinted after him as he hustled into the water and dove in ahead of them. Jackie snickered, watching the two boys race in after him along with their boards.

"If anything happens I will rightfully hold you, the host, responsible," the lifeguard growled before walking off and climbing up his tower to watch the water. Well, wasn't he just a ray of sunshine. She sarcastically rolled her eyes, turning around and seeing Werner approaching.

"He bothering you, Jackie?" The Werner 's voice asked, looking up at the lifeguard.

"It's fine, I took care of it. He didn't like the look of Kroc's teeth I guess," Jackie answered with a shrug.

"Heh. Imagine what he'll say when he notices the rest." He laughed, walking back to the little set up area with them.

"Right?" Jackie agreed with a light laugh and walked over to the mat, sitting down next to Werner as Sabre, who was wearing a dental floss bikini that had a triangle at it's back where her tail came out, leapt at them and lounged across their laps, barely taking on Jackie's bathing suit and muttering a small 'Prude' comment. Jackie huffed and pushed her off as Werner chuckled, letting the feline rest her head on his thigh as he rubbed her ears and listened to her purr.

"You need to be nice and gentle with kitties. They get jealous easy," Werner said, acting like he was instructing Jackie. She stared at him, feeling a twinge of annoyance. She's been handling herself just fine with them all; however, she _did_ want to know how he practically hypnotized Dumisa into what she assumed was a deep sleep since he wasn't there at the beach yet.

"I know how to handle myself." Jackie said, defending the way she was taking care of them all, "and besides, she wants your attention and not mine." Jackie teased as Sabre's thick tail flipped around.

Sabre closed her eyes and, with a sly grin, let her long tail hit Jackie in the face before she turned around with her belly up towards Werner. The German lightly laughed, examining her clawed hands and the thin padding.

"Hmph." Jaska lightly growled, clearly not liking the fact Sabre was captured so easily by the new guy. Jackie tilted her head back, staring up at him. This was bothering him somewhat. Since they came back from the hospital she had been avoiding him completely again, not even muttering a single word towards him, and with her heat just about to reach it's climax, his instincts made him quite annoyed at her behavior towards this stranger. Hadn't they got to an agreement? Why didn't she accepted the help he could offer and that would calm her and everyone else?

"Jealous?" Jackie teased, holding her hand out to him and catching his attention, "come here, I'll pet you too if you want." She offered. They all needed to get along for the long weekend at the very least.

"Hardly." He huffed, leaning his head on her shoulder as she rubbed his cheek.

"Relax Jaska, we're here to have fun." Jackie encouraged as he snorted in annoyance.

"So you say." He leaned on her and then dropped on her front. Sabre, who was receiving pets from Werner, let out a sudden growl before she accommodated herself all over Werner and as far away from Jaska as she could without losing the petting. Something that confused Jaska even more.

Jackie slyly grinned as she rolled around, straddling Jaska's hips and surprising him as she went on a full out frontal attack by scratching and petting his neck while enjoying his fluffy fur. She could, however, feel the heat he was radiating and feel his fur that was damp from his sweat. He really has to be uncomfortable being in this kind of heat.

"Jaska, why don't you go swimming for a bit?" Jackie suggested as she glanced at the water and saw Kroc riding on a few of the waves with his body while the kids both cheered and swam around in excitement.

"Nyet. I swim when want." He said, leaning towards her and nuzzling against her cheek slightly as he let out a sighing huff of annoyance.

"Alright, alright fine. Then just relax under the shade for a bit, grumpy cat." She teasingly grinned before sitting back down on the cover but continued to pet him. Jaska lightly rolled his eyes, seeming annoyed but patient as he glanced over to Sabre and saw her thoroughly monopolizing Werner with her presence. Seeing this, he became annoyed. Why was Sabre so intent on being pet by that man? When the hell did she become so sociable? Without warning Jaska whipped around, grabbing Jackie in a hug as he pushed her over and nuzzled against her, ready to show he was the more friendly and sociable cat even if it wa only to bother the other cat. Jackie let out a startled laugh, roughly petting him and scratching at his back while his chest thrummed with deep set hums.

Werner noticed the sudden aggression in Jaska's need to be pet, followed by Sabre's sudden revival in energy as she meowed to him, straddling his hips and tightly hugged him to demand more attention herself.

"C'mon, Mr. Werner. Show me some good petting. I'm your pussycat if you do" Sabre purred, rubbing herself on him.

Werner coughed, sheepishly laughing under his breath before he too picked up the pace, dragging his fingers through her fur vigorously while taking care not to move her suit.

Jackie noticed the sudden change, seeing Sabre melting under his fingertips and panting loudly in her blushing excitement. The young host glared at him, tightening her grip on Jaska and making him glance over at her.

 _(I'll show that stupid host what REAL petting is.)_ Jackie growled under her breath as her eyes gleamed, making Jaska's ears lower. Jackie sat up with a sweet grin, immediately attacking Jaska's weak points on his ears as he pulled and rubbed his entire head.

Jaska groaned and let her pet him as he rubbed on her in a way that allowed her to reach those spots, all while stealing glances at the other cat for brief moments before Jackie's petting turned his attention back on her. Jaska was determined to show he was the better feline, better than some stray that looked down on him and prefered a human instead of a tiger.

Sabre briefly glanced back at Jaska, locking eyes with him before quickly looking back to Werner. She set her nose up, not even needing to sneer, and then smirked before she began letting out some yowlings of pleasure as she leaned on Werner, her hands trailing his muscles.

"Whoa, kitty cat!" Werner said, leaning back a bit but kept up his petting although he began to slow down a bit. Jackie reached around Jaska's back, scratching at the base of his spine before she rubbing his inner thigh. Jaska rolled over with a groaning hiss as she pulled on his tail, petting quickly and vigorously while casting small glares in Werner's direction. The tiger's eyes rolled in pleasure, glancing down at the host between his legs before pausing, realizing how this must look to the people around them. His ears lowered, finding himself flushing as he glanced at Sabre as she rubbed her hips in circles against Werner's groin, making him grimace and try to pull back but she held a firm grasp on him.

Without really noticing it, Jaska inhaled deeply and his face made a known feline grimace upon detecting how deep was Sabre's scent once again, and how he was starting to get a bit too excited. A second later, he jumped aside Jackie and ran towards the water to take care of himself.

"Huh?" Jackie said, startled as Sabre let out a loud yowl when Yenna tackled her over, sitting on Werner's lap instead as she tightly hug him.

"Me next!" She excitedly cried, rubbing against him as Sabre looked at Werner who was already petting the wolf girl, then towards Jackie and promptly leaned over Jackie with a huff, her eyes glancing towards the water and the tiger that quickly submerged himself.

"Whoa, wait!" Jackie shouted, startled as Yenna excitedly leapt on top of her. The host struggled to sit up as Yenna eagerly licked her jaws and cheeks, tail wagging wildly while Jaska sat up, glaring at them both in annoyance. "Alright, alright I'll pet you just calm down!" Jackie said, petting the wolf fervently.

After a while, Yenna went away to play in the sand and Sabre cuddled back to Werner when Jaska came back, dripping water. With a heavy splat he laid on the towels, sending a small rolling wave onto the surrounding towels and soaking them before he turned to Jackie and rested his head on her lap with a satisfied purr.

With a heavy sigh both Werner and Jackie leaned against each other's backs, softly rubbing the heads of the individual felines on their laps.

"Ahh~ well, funny how passionate kitties are," Werner said with a sigh as Jackie rubbed her head.

"Yeah, more like insane." Jackie noted, scratching Jaska's chest.

"But cute in a way, right? My aunt loves cats, she has three and every time I visit her I pet them" Werner said, scratching Sabre's cheek, "what about you? any family? I could be hard when they come around and you're a host"

"Well … ," Jackie trailed off, seeming a little hesitant before she laid her hand over Jaska's ear but she knew he could still hear just fine. however he seemed too much into the petting to really listen to what she was saying "I did have a brother. A twin, actually. " she lightly laughed, "we looked like the spitting image of each other." Jackie noted with a soft smile.

"Had? What happened?" Werner inquired. "What about the rest of your family? Mine is back in Germany."

"They died … my father and brother, a few years ago. My dad passed away when I was around 9 and Jay passed away when I was 14." She said with a heavy heart as she now pet Jaska more for her own comfort. Unknown to her, Jaska was indeed listening.

"Sorry. But what about your mother?" Werner pressed on, Sabre listening to this too. Of course she knew what happened to Jackie's family, out of paranoia she had researched her before she even approached that night to left Antian at Jackie's place.

"Jaska, are you comfortable?" Jackie asked, blatantly ignoring the question as she busied herself in petting him. Werner waited for an answer but received none in return.

Jaska nodded, unable to really say anything. He knew what it was to lost a brother, it was hurting too deep and was too fresh, so maybe he could go and swim in the water again. "I go swim." He stood up and went away, before Jackie could say more, Yenna came and Sire back .Siri mentioned she was going back to the beach house for a bit and slithered off while Yenna wagged her tail at Jackie.

"Pet me instead," Yenna asked with a wagging tail as she crouched down beside her and put her head in Jackie's lap. Jackie smiled as she pet her too, watching her roll over and let her drag her fingers over her stomach as Jackie scratched at it and watched her leg jerk a little bit in response.

"You know, Jackie, it is weird," the Werner said, cupping Sabre's cheeks and rubbing them firmly to make her purr ripple in sound, "every host I meet can turn Extraspecies to jelly by petting them. Did Ms. Smith plan this?" He asked, looking over at her.

"No idea. I think we should just consider ourselves lucky," Jackie said, flinching slightly as she caught a glimpse of a camera flash. She looked over as the flubby man quickly turned to his small crew of clear cameramen. "Well that's just great, we've got our own paparazzi out here," Jackie growled in annoyance as Sabre mewled and stretched, folding a leg over his and pressing her head against the crease in his hip.

"They follow everywhere. Those men? For my female Extraspecies. They … perverts, sell photos online, try to snag their suit here and there for fun photos," he said, having no problem pointing them out, "we hosts always watched. It way of life now." He said with a shrug, not seeming to care very much.

"Those sacks of fat are trying to take pictures of them?" Jackie demanded, startled and infuriated at the same time.

Sabre stretched without a care. She was on cloud 9 from the petting. Except for Jackie and Ms. Smith, no one had petted her and for whatever little time it lasted, she would enjoy it.

"It matters not. However, if they ever touch or talk to them, I step in. No step in until then, ja?" He said almost as a warning before he winked and laid on his back.

Sabre climbed on top of him and curled over his broad chest, continuing to purr as he lightly stroked her back to help her relax.

Jackie rolled her eyes and glanced at the men, annoyed that they were trying to take not so subtle pictures of Sabre and Yenna. Jackie moved forward, effectively blocking their view while sending them a furious glare that made two of them jump but a stringy guy with a face that was one massive zit continued to take pictures, undeterred by her attempted blocks and glares. Jerks.

Knowing that the Extraspecies weren't even listening to them, Werner spoke, "be careful, Jackie. I'm not sure you understand just how much they aren't cute pets." He grabbed Sabre's fingers and showed the razor sharp claws to Jackie. Upon lightly pressing her digits, the claws came out even further, "one swipe and a human is a done for. They may look cute and cuddly but they are wild and dangerou even if playing. We must teach them how to control their strength, abilities and instincts when near humans."

"What are you trying to say Werner?" Jackie snapped at him in annoyance, "that I'm not a good host? I appreciate the tips and obviously they aren't just pets. Where the hell do you think I got this from?" Jackie pointed out, showing him the cuts on her ribs that just had the stitches taken out not too long ago.

"Nein." He sighed a bit embarrassed. "I'm saying you are quite new host and building experience, but other hosts have more experience that they can share with new host surrounded by dangerous predators."

"Stop preaching to me as if I don't know what I'm doing or thinking that I'm clueless. Yeah, I'm still learning but I don't need your sass too." Jackie pointed out in annoyance.

"Take kitty for a bit, ja? I want to take swim," Werner said as he stood up, much to Sabre's annoyance as he picked her up and set her on Jackie's startled lap before he headed off towards the water. Sabre let out a small, "nya~," of annoyance yet loving intent as she leaned in, lightly licking Jackie's nose.

"Sabre, come on, get off," Jackie said, looking over at the three greasy men who were desperately taking as many pictures as they possibly could before two of them split up not so inconspicuously to take better pictures from different angles.

"Who cares if they're taking pictures? More publicity," Sabre teased, flicking a strap off her bikini top as she leaned in, hugging Jackie close and purring as she licked Jackie's cheek. "Not to mention I'm going to steal all their film later," she cheekily grinned before glancing at a cameraman and leaning in, opening her mouth and pressing her kitty fangs against Jackie's jaw as if to take a bite of it while lifting her butt in the air a bit. Jackie popped her head back, pushing Sabre away.

"Who the hell cares? This is stupid, embarrassing and demeaning. Why are you flaunting yourself to them?" Jackie asked with a growl, "they're just using you and it's disgusting."

"It's flattering. And they aren't using me; I'm using _them_ ," she said, before grabbing Jackie's face and straight on kissing her. Jackie's eyes burst open as she sucker punched Sabre in the gut before throwing her off and jumping up with a glare in Sabre's direction.

"That's enough!" Jackie spat before turning towards the water but Sabre grabbed her foot, tripping her and dragging her back before jumping onto her.

They struggled for a bit, Jackie trying to push Sabre off while Sabre was trying to be sexy before berating Jackie to play along since they'll be getting good publicity out of this. Yenna joined in too, thinking it was fun, before Jackie became fed up and finally managed to shove Sabre off and receiving a feline hiss in return.

Werner returned and saw that the leopard was about to pounce on Jackie, claws extended, "kitty! I pet you, just let me get dry." He said, earning her attention pretty quickly as he picked up a towel. Right after he dried off, Sabre pounced on him, leaving Jackie rubbing her eyes and laying back down, thoroughly annoyed with the situation. She was tempted to go back to the apartment or take a walk down the boardwalk but she couldn't leave the others alone.

"Why the angry face, Jackie?" Dumisa asked, startling her as he slithered up around her and instinctively circled her a little bit as she looked up at him.

"Just annoyed," she sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against his cool scales, "have a nice nap?"

"No," he immediately stated, only earning a slight shift in eyebrows from Jackie. His frown remained grumpy; when he woke up he found that lamia trying to violate him and get some free stress relief. He managed to tease her enough to make her distracted to the point he was able to leave quickly but she'd be after him again soon and he knew it. The mere thought pissed him off.

"Hm, too bad," Jackie said, trying to get comfortable against his snake body as the flashes went crazy. She flinched, looking back over to the annoying trio.

"I-It's a male, it's a male Lamia-! I-I-I thought it was just a rumor that they exist!"

The clicking and the flashing continued on as Jackie struggled not to say anything in her annoyance before getting fed up with it. She got up, tossing off her jean shorts to reveal her tight black shorts underneath before she headed for the water without the slightest glance in their direction.

Dumisa slithered beside her, easily keeping pace as he looked over her expression in curiosity.

"Those humans look notably different from the rest. Were they in a horrendous accident which prevents them from cleansing themselves? I could taste the choking scent from where we were." He huffed with a snort, clearly annoyed. The smell of unkempt humans was one of the worser smells in his opinion.

"They're going to be if they don't stop taking pictures. They're annoying me." Jackie growled, stepping into the water. The immediate pull made her weary as she leaned back.

"Whoa, careful Dumisa. There's a strong rip tide," Jackie warned, now understanding why the lifeguard wasn't letting people too far out. This meant that there was going to be a storm tonight or over the weekend. And a pretty good one at that if she's feeling this strong of a pull hardly in a foot deep water.

"That's fine," Dumisa said, as he slithered into the water right beside her, swimming with complete and utter ease, "I'm not about to allow the sea to take you from me," he said, gently hooking an arm around her waist and pulling her a little further out.

"Careful." Jackie reminded him as he pulled her around where Kroc was playing with the two kids, away from the others to the point where they simply floated over the waves and let everyone else suffer with the crashing point of the large waves. Kroc looked over, swimming between them and the boys while keeping an eye on them. Whenever they began to be pulled too far out he swam over, pushing them closer to shore. He was keeping a surprisingly good eye on the two of them. Jackie could see him being a very good father someday. The pull of the current began dragging her further out to the point her feet couldn't touch the water. Before Kroc could swim over Dumisa already got a hold of her and kept her in place with his arm around her rather casually.

"Keep playing with the little humans. I'll watch the host," he lightly laughed towards Kroc before turning to Jackie, "it's been awhile since it's just been us without any distractions." He said, glancing over to the shore and seeing the lamia crawling back under the shade. She looked around, clearly trying to see where he was as he lowered his head a bit to blend in with the other humans in the water.

"Yeah, it really has," Jackie lightly smiled as the current pulled against her waist, trying to drag her out into the ocean further. With one foot anchored she kicked her other food against the current, trying to remain stationed but her food dragged through the sand rather easily.

"If you're going to struggle that much with the current why not just ask to ride me?" He teased with a toothy grin.

"Well, I doubt you'd really let me and I can handle this just fine." Jackie said, feeling herself being pulled out as she spoke. This undertow definitely was powerful today.

"And I can handle you just as easy." he lightly laughed. Dumisa pulled her onto his stomach, twisting around to hold her while the rest of his muscled body pumped effortlessly against the waves.

"I've got you, Jackie. Rest," he smiled, tapping the side of his head against hers as Kroc popped out of the water, staring at him and Jackie.

"Water feels amazing. Disappointed there aren't sharks or crocs around here to wrestle with," Kroc said with a sigh, folding his arms, "next time we go on a trip we go to Australia," he said with a toothy grin, "that's where the real fun is, mate."

"Yeah, probably not." Jackie said as they heard a loud splash, looking back over to the boys and seeing one of them had fallen off his boogie board.

"B-Brian, help me!" He said, his voice trembling as he slowly began to sink under the water.

"What's wrong, mate?" Kroc asked, easily cutting through the water over to him and circling around him.

"Timmy isn't a good swimmer, that's why we're using boogie boards!" Brian explained, trying to paddle closer and help him before the lifeguard blew his whistle, waving the boy in but it was clear he didn't have the power to do that. Before Jackie could say something to Kroc he already scooped up the scared little boy who began coughing and sputtering as Kroc held him up.

"What do you mean he can't swim well?" Kroc asked, sounding confused.

"Kroc, not all humans can swim. It's a learned ability." Jackie explained as Dumisa swam a little closer.

People by the shoreline screamed and shouted at them, ordering them to come inland as the lifeguard began blowing his head off into the whistle and bringing everyone in.

"Kroc, take the boys in." Jackie said as Kroc slid the coughing boy onto his back along with Brian, surging ahead and bringing them to the shore before Dumisa and Jackie started for sure. Jackie saw a woman literally rip the boy out of Kroc's back without so much as a thank you and back away as the lifeguard began barking at Kroc. Dumise twisted through the water to the shore, letting Jackie get off a few feet from the shoreline as she walked up to them.

"Why is everyone so scared? Kroc just brought him in from the rip tide." Jackie said, stepping up to the lifeguard who was clearly giving Kroc a hard time.

"But he could have dragged him farther out. He already admitted to talking to the young boys into going out further than they should have." The lifeguard stated in a hard and worried voice, clearly intimidated by the large extraspecies but refused to let it show.

"I could also rip your head off, mate, but I didn't do that, did I?" Kroc said with a low hiss as everyone in the nearby crowd backed up a bit. Jackie stepped in front of him with her hand on his chest, watching the anger in his eyes simmer down a little bit before she turned to the lifeguard.

"Look. He's sorry and it won't happen again. But he easily handled it and no one got hurt." Jackie said, wondering if someone would call the police on them for some misunderstanding like this.

"But what if he didn't? In that brief moment he left them they could have drowned." The lifegard argued.

"Drowning for the human person takes about a minute and brain damage happens after 5 minutes. I left for 37 seconds." Kroc corrected as Dumisa set a hand on his shoulder, locking eyes with him before staring at the lifeguard with narrowed eyes.

"I want all of you off this beach. Now." The lifeguard said with a firm voice.

"Why? I don't see why we should leave at all. Kroc did nothing wrong. The boys wanted to go swimming with him and he let them. Kroc is an amazing swimmer." Jackie argued, gesturing to his whole scaly self.

"But the boys are _not_. Don't you see? The boys could have been hurt."

"Lifeguard," Kroc said, stepping in front of Jackie and making the man in red swim trunks take a few steps back, "I mean no harm. I'd wrestle with sharks, rhinos, elephants, the whole deal. But not with little humans." He said with a huff, clearly angry with how they're treating him as he clenched his fists and teeth together. The lifeguard gets a little huffy before turning his eyes to Jackie.

"You're the host. Keep control of them," he sneered before turning back to his post and scrambling up to his high post.

Both Kroc and Dumisa glared at the man, hissing in annoyance as she took them both by the hands and started pulling them back towards their set up. As they headed back, Jackie noticing a lot of people suddenly deciding to pack up and leave the beach.

"Well, hey, look at the brightside guys. Now there's enough room to bury you," Jackie grinned, walking back to the small camp they set up and grabbing a shovel.

"Why would we want to be buried?" Dumisa asked, puzzled.

"You'll see," she cheekily grinned, "now help me dig a hole to bury you both."

Jackie helped bury them both in sand, seeing the satisfaction clear on their faces as she fluffed their towel pillows. After that, she left for a bit promising to get them some water, only to come back to see children playing on top of them and building small sand castles on their backs. Jackie snickered and walked over to them, playing with the kids a bit and looking around to see the mothers keeping an eye on them but continuing their talking without too much of a problem. _Well, at least some people weren't afraid of them._

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Some time later in the afternoon, mostly everyone was sitting and resting under the umbrellas, tired and pleasantly happy.

Werner was fast asleep under the umbrella with Siri and Yenna cuddling up to him, happy as can be along with Sabre who was sleeping over him too. Kroc who was still playing in the hot sand behind the umbrella's with the few remaining kids, Dumisa was sleeping on the sand while Jaska stayed in the shade, trying to cool off as Antain jumped around on top of the tiger while constantly mewling for attention. Jackie let out a soft happy sigh at watching the peace, enjoying the remains of the day since it's almost time to pack up for the day before she heard the bell of the ice cream man.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get you all some treats." Jackie grinned, grabbing her wallet before walking up to the boardwalk. The others glanced at Jackie, watching her leave before continuing their own business without much care. Being outside the stuffy apartment was nice.

Antain came running back towards the umbrella and while letting out a happy meow as he jumped on top of Sabre, nipping at her ear and playing with her before dashing back over towards the ocean to play with the waves, looking back at his mama and meowling again.

With a caring smile Sabre got off of Werner to join the cub, watching him running to and from the waves like a game, happy and not worried since the beach was already quite empty around them. Admittedly, this was a nice vacation even if she had other objectives that involved a clue about a surviving escapee scientist from the facility, but seeing her little cub made her feel warm and happy. She still had trouble with many things regarding being a bastet, and there were many things she didn't know or understand but having saved and adopted this cub was something she would never regret. Taking a few steps near the waves line, she carefully observed Antain trying to catch small seashells whenever a wave uncovered them.

Out of sight and near silently a large tan Extraspecies came running down the beach at a fast pace, nostrils flaring and lips pulled into a wide grin as he spotted the objective he sniffed a while ago; a bastet in heat. Slowing his pace, he let out a low growling call of introduction.

Sabre's ear flickered, whipping her head around she spotted a large male lion Extraspecies approaching slowly now by the shore line towards her. Sensing danger, she immediately grabbed Antain, hissing as the lion came to a circling stop before stalking around her with a toothy grin.

"You are quite beautiful." The lion said with a toothy grin, walking up to her despite her warning growl. "I'm Len, I caught your scent earlier today." He cheekily grinned, sniffing the air and basking in the thick scent of her heat.

Sabre hissed and put Antain on the sand behind her, wary of the stranger with her instincts screaming in many different ways about the potential danger in this situation.

"Don't be like that, kitty cat. Why don't we help each other out?" He suggested with a friendlier grin, his chest still huffing and puffing in excitement while his honey colored eyes checked Sabre out up and down.

"I'm quite well and not in need for help." Sabre very carefully said, moving in ways that Antain was alway behind her, trying to avoid this male circling her. Antain hugged her leg, ears low and tail curling around her ankle as she moved to prevent him from pinning her against the ocean yet failing against the lion's fast pacing. He was a mature lion, perhaps a decade older than Jaska but not as big as the tiger. Besides the jaguar Eztli, this was the only other bastet she had ever met, and she feared she knew what he wanted because to her disdain, her body was reacting to that.

"Oh … is it the little boy holding you back?" He asked with a wry smile, appearing to becoming a little more bloodthirsty. A shiver ran down Antain 's spine as he scrambled out of mama's legs, running back towards the umbrella's quickly with frantic meowing before he climbed over Jaska to get towards Dumisa and crawled inside the snake's coiled tail while Sabre stood between the lion and the escaping pup. She looked away from him and towards the umbrella. Antain was safe for now, but lions were known to kill cubs to get the female.

"What do you want?" Sabre didn't have to ask what was clear. To her dread, her body felt excited enough due to the heat, which sure as hell was what drew this male here. Was it really so strong that some random bastet in the area could detect it? She mildly wondered then how Jaska and the others have been able to tolerate it up until now but thinking about the tiger also made her angry enough to rather go with this stranger to satisfy herself.

"Don't be like that. I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement. I'm actually a gentleman, you know. As I said, my name is Len," he suggested with a cool smile, "and yours?"

Still wary, she answered, not really sure how to handle this situation. "Sabre." She answered, seeing him hungrily looking her over as his tail excitedly flickered. A direct threat towards her was something she could easily handle but right now she had no idea what to do. She had never received training for this sort of situation or even been told anything about bastet appropriate responses besides going on with instinct. And talking about instinct, now that she could see how strong her heat could be she felt sorry for the other males in her household but more importantly, she needed to deal with her body and maybe this lion was what she needed for that.

"Sabre … that's a beautiful name." He said, drawing closer before carefully pressing his nose to hers and started nuzzling her. His large hands cupped her hips, feeling her skin and fur beneath his padded hands while he deeply growled in enthusiasm. Sabre took a step back in confusion while the lion Extraspecies took a step further. She made one last attempt of taking another step back before Len toothily grinned.

"Shy?" He questioned before glancing over the beach either way, "then why don't we take our business under the docks?" He asked, directing her attention to a large wooden structure going out a few dozen yards out into the ocean, an empty place with few places to hide. He leaned down, kissing her temple, "it won't take long… unless you want to keep on."

With a little gruff she let him approach, finally deciding that she could use this. She couldn't ask Kroc or Dumisa for 'help' with the stupid heat and she was very wary and angry at the stripped menace, so … so maybe a stranger could do. Even if she hated this, _loathed_ it, and despised herself and the stupid instincts responsible for her heat, she needed this. "Sounds good." Her ears lowered and she hesitantly nodded. Without a waste of any second, the lion began pulling her away with his tail flickering in eager contentment.

Jaska's ear twitched, glancing up when Dumisa let out a surprised hiss at Antain's sniveling and crying while hiding under the snake's coiled tail. The tiger watched as the black mamba stared at the pup in apparent upper surprise, before the male lamia began to briefly scan the beach while his tail quickly formed a safety barrier between the pup and the outside world that covered all visage of Antain to the exterior.

Alarmed by the pup's distress, the Jaska looked around before spotting a rather large lion Extraspecies towering over Sabre and staying rather close to her with his arm around her waist and directing her away. Her form was stiff and rigid walking beside him as Jaska's ears lowered, suspicious. Stray was acting strange … she would not have left Antain if she didn't have to. He sat up, glancing at Dumisa as he looked around for Sabre.

"Watch pup." Jaska said, meeting the snake's gaze. Dumisa let out a low hiss of annoyance, clearly grouchy before abruptly stopping as Antain hugged his tail tightly and continued to softly cry in fear . Before Dumisa could reach over to him, his eyes widened as red fur receded on his entire body. In a matter of seconds the little fox turned into a small human pup as he whimpered in fright. Dumisa stared at the sight, startled before glancing at Werner and the other girls to find them still asleep, not paying attention to the situation at all. The black mamba briefly debated on what to do with this strange scene but this was certainly still Antain; only Antain would be a foolish enough to seek a snake for comfort. Dumisa aggravatedly sighed and leaned in towards the little now human boy. His fingers gently pried the little boy up, holding Antain against his chest while Antain cuddled against him and shivered with frightened whimpering, Dumisas's body covering him from any view that might discover this.

Without looking back ,Jaska began stalking the retreating felines and saw them approaching the pier to go beneath the twenty foot tall structure. His eyes narrowed, sneaking closer to hear them.

"Relax. I'll be real gentle." Len purred as he pushed her up against one of the pier's supports, grabbing at her clothing with a grin as Sabre hissed. After a new pull on her clothes she slapped him across the face with her claws but his thick mane prevented any damage to being taken. "I love a female with some spunk." He chuckled with a blushing grin, grabbing her head and deeply kissing her. His claws dug into her back, threatening to cut her if she moved or squirmed too much as he roughly bit her neck in his excitement.

"Stray, there problem?" Jaska asked, walking under the pier and approaching the lion from behind. He knew she was stronger than this. She could control herself better than this to allow some complete, ugly strange do her just because of her instincts. Sabre groaned a complaint and looking behind the lion, her eyes widened upon landing on Jaska, seeming hesitant. Her expression changing to one of regret, shame and anger. Jaska saw this change in her eyes, glancing at the hovering lion before stepping into plain sight.

Len glanced back with a hiss to see over to the rival bastet, hardly seeming wary at all as his tail lashed back and forth at the interrupting rival. Although he wasn't as big as the tiger he was easily between 10 years older, and thus, his experience as a fighter was surely better. Losing a female young bastet in heat was nothing he was planning to allow. "She's busy." Len answered for her, holding her firmly while grasping a breast and licking her neck, keeping the tiger in his sights at all times.

Not daring to look at Jaska and wanting to run away from both males, Sabre tried pulling the lion away but his grip was too strong. Jaska let out a snarling hiss, making Len stop his touching as his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Let bastet go." Jaska growled. He hadn't expected another male bastet being anywhere around them much less taking the stray under his watch. His tail twitched as his fur bristled. It was clear Sabre did not like this and as much as he didn't want to admit it, his own instincts told him to get rid of this rival.

"You're hardly in the position to be telling me what to do, kitten," the lion said with a raised eyebrow and toothy smirk.

"Let go of me." Sabre hissed, breaking free of his hold with a stiff shove, slipping under his arm. The lion hissed as he started for her, almost grabbing her again before Jaska grabbed the lion and flipped him onto his back, starting up the fight.

The lion tried kicking Jaska and as the tiger moved aside to evade that move, Len took the chance to stand up and glared at the retreating female. Before he could chase towards the fleeing female, Jaska stood in his way and the expected fight ensued while Sabre ran towards their camp and to join Antain. As she was out the pier she briefly looked back to see the big cats fighting and when she was turning around to go back, Kroc, having followed Jaska, stood in front of her and she crashed in his scaly chest.

"What's going on, Sheela?" Kroc asked, gently grabbing her before looking over at the fight. The sight of the familiar lion made his jaws part in surprise before a surge of rage coursed through him. Kroc's pupils immediately turned to slits as he let out a very low, threatening hiss. His claws stiffly unlatched from Sabre's arm and quickly approached the fight as Sabre stared. After a moment of looking towards camp and the fight, decided to stay and see the fight through; behind Kroc, of course.

Silently Kroc walked up to the fighting duo, cutting right in between the two male felines before smacking Jaska with his tail clear across the sand and into the water with a hard hit against the pole. Len hopped back, surprised before looking over at Kroc with a toothy grin that slowly fell. Kroc turned to him with a deadly glare before Len toothily smirked despite all the wounds he had received from the tiger.

"You're Ale's kid." Len barely had time to say before Kroc's claw shot forward, grabbing his throat.

"And you're dead." Kroc hissed before throwing the lion to the ground. With a strangled roar Kroc clawed into Len's gut, drawing streaks of blood before shoving him against a support of the pier, glaring into his eyes. "Where is he?" Kroc hissed, baring his teeth.

"Hunting for you in town," Leon said with a grin still on his face, "he has to pay you back for that eye you took of his." He smirked, staring at Kroc's metal jaw, "but it looks like he got a good piece of you too." He grinned as Kroc dropped Len.

"I will ask one more time before I rip out your intestines." Kroc said with eyes glowing with rage, "where is Ale?"

"Tonight at 2:00am come down to the beach and swim up the shoreline here," he said, pointing a claw down the beach towards the South, "if you want him, that's where we will be." He grinned before turning to leave. His eyes caught sight of Sabre, toothily grinning before changing course towards her.

"Touch her and I'll kill you right here and now rather than later." Kroc threatened with a hiss, his claws tense and ready to rip into Len. Sabre looked surprised at Kroc as she quickly retreated behind him, keeping him between her and the lion.

"Well, we need some kind of equalizer to make sure you come. And she'd come with me anyways to satisfy her heat." Len said with a grin as he leaned forward to come after her. A sharp pain shot through his tail as he roared, whipping around and spying half of his tail hanging from Kroc's jaws. The lion's eyes widened as he looked back at his tail, seeing just a bloody stump left before he turned to Kroc angrily and snarled at him.

"Careful, mate. I may take off more." Kroc hissed, tossing the tail back to the lion as he snatched his tail, looking over it with glaring eyes.

"You'll pay for this." Len hissed before turning and fleeing with his bloody and mangled tail in hand.

Kroc watched him leave before turning to Sabre.

"You alright, Sheela?" Kroc asked, walking over and checking her minor scratches. Sabre didn't answer but instead she hugged him tightly. Kroc, surprised, held still before returning the hug gently. With ears lowered she trembled, refusing to let go as Kroc rubbed her back. "Relax, Sheela. You're fine." Kroc lightly sighed, leaning down and gently nuzzling the side of her head.

Sabre took in a deep breath, coming to terms with her relative safety now before looking up at him with her analytical mind back in place. Still, she buried her face on him while looking at his expression and thinking of his exchange with the lion, suspicion flashing in her eyes, " … after you knocked out the stripped menace, what did the lion tell you? You got some information, right?"

"The stripped menace … you mean Jaska?" Kroc asked, blinking before turning his gaze back out to the water and seeing the tiger floating face down in the water and not moving. " … I'll get him." Kroc heavily sighed, ignoring Sabre's question as he walked into the water and dragged Jaska out, slapping him hard on the back a few times before the tiger came to and threw up salt water. Jaska hunched over, spitting out the foul tasting ocean water before snarling.

"Why you got in way of fight!?" Jaska angrily hissed at Kroc.

"You were in the way." Kroc answered with a toothy grin before helping Jaska up, walking back with him to the umbrella where Sabre was already held by Dumisa who looked at the female bastet with uncertainty. Sabre cuddled against him while Antain snuggled back up with his mama and held her close.

Jaska approached Sabre from behind but when she noticed Dumisa looking over her shoulder, she turned around and hissed at him, jumping behind Dumisa and hissing at the tiger like a scared cat. Jaska paused, startled as he stared at her before letting out a snarl of his own.

"What? You _wanted_ lion?" Jaska questioned, unsure of the reason for her anger.

Sabre's fur stood on edge and her pupils were dilated. She didn't answer with words, but she crouched behind dumisa with a growl towards Jaska. Her ears were low and her eyes large as her chest huffed and puffed, clearly trying to hide her fright.

Jaska took a step back, realizing his pushing was frightening her as he let out an aggravated huff, looking away from her grumpily, " … fine, stray. " Jaska moved away, trying to shake off the excess water that was sucked into his fur. His body felt weary and annoyingly heavy as he growled, glaring at Kroc as he laid back in the sand to relax and then to Sabre who was crouched down against Dumisa.

Jackie finally came back with arms full of ice cream cones, having taken a while to get through the line of the ice cream man. "You guys want some ice cream? It will help cool you down." Jackie offered, finding all of them to be in a bit of a grumpy mood while none of them acknowledged her. Jackie studied Jaska as he stubbornly looked away, seeing his soaking wet fur and some scratches. "Are you hurt?" Jackie asked, placing the ice cream into the cooler for later as she noticed Jaska limping ever so slightly. With a scowl the drenched kitty walked over to her before suddenly hugging her as a distraction so the host wouldn't noticed Sabre's state, immediately soaking the host entirely through the water in his fur.

"Groom me, host." Jaska said, putting more and more of his weight on her before, with a small shout, she fell down with Jaska on top. "Got salt water got in fur. Groom it out."

"G-Get off! You're soaking everything, you freaking sponge!" Jackie accused, pushing against Jaska's face as he lazily laid it on her chest with a huff.

"Nyet." He sleepily sighed as his closed his eyes, perfectly content where he was.

"ACK! Jaska! Stop! You're too heavy!" Jackie shouted, struggling as Jaska remained over her without a care.

Sabre let out a light laugh at the comedic duo, expecting Kroc to soon interrupt. When Kroc had not moved she looked up at him, noticing him looking out into the ocean with a sharp, hateful glare in his sneering expression towards the Southern beaches. He almost seemed to be looking for something. She sat by his side and leaned on him. "You know you can count on my help for anything, right?"

Kroc remained dangerously silent, either ignoring her or not noticing her speaking up. His mind was set on something the lion said but she had only a little idea as to what it would be.

" … did he say something about Ale?" Sabre quietly asked, startled by how quickly Kroc's slitted gaze darted down over her with a cold glare. The intensity burning behind his eyes only confirmed what she thought. Sabre nodded and placed her palm over his arm. "I'll back you up if you need to. I can at least get information if you want me to."

"Stay out of this one, Sheela." Kroc warned before turning away from her and heading back to the house without a glance back, confirming Sabre's suspicions.

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Late that night with startling stealth, Kroc snuck out of the house without making a sound. His bright glowing eyes searched the pier, finding a break in crowds as he crawled over the pier on all fours and headed towards the water. Tonight will be when it all ended. After years of searching and training he was going to finish this. The tide was gentle as he laid low, crawling towards the water before stopping as a thick scent caught his nose. He turned back, seeing Sabre following him. He waited for her as she approached, annoyed.

"Go home." Kroc said with a frown. "This is my fight alone, Sheela. I'm not letting him get away again."

"I have no home really, do I? " She crossed her arms "However, I do have a grumpy crocodile heading to maybe a trap."

"Go home to host." He said with a finalized frown before he jumped into the water, vanishing under the surface. Sabre looked down the shoreline, unsure which way he would be going. It was a fifty fifty shot, and until he came out she wouldn't know. So grabbing out case she had prepared with her laptop and information gathering items, she set out in the direction he had seen a few times during the afternoon, hoping that was the right direction. In a little while she would just have to hack into the public cameras of the piers to see if her hunch had been correct. She didn't want to be wrong here.

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Kroc slipped out of the water silently, walking over to a hick-town sort of set up with hillbillys in the middle of a trailer park. The moment they spotted him they flashed bright spotlights his way, cheering and hollering in their excitement at the coming of a good fight. Kroc's eyes ignored everyone there, not caring about who was present or why Ale wanted to put on a show. All he cared about was getting his revenge; at least then mother could rest in peace. All his life he's been training for this moment and now that he was strong he was not going to let it get away from him. The ring was set up with poorly made wooden fences with everyone on the sidelines filled to the brim with booze and making some real noise.

Standing there, bigger in mass than Kroc, in the center of the ring with an eyepatch and heavily scarred body was an eagerly grinning Ale backed by his deplorable posse of Extraspecies. Len was there along with the Minotaur he saw back at the illegal fighting rings in New York. Feh … so that's how Ale knew about him. Didn't think he'd hear about him so quickly but that would explain it.

"Ah, there's my boy. How have you been, Kroc?" Ale asked with a large grin, "nice set of chompers you got."

"I'm going to kill you, Ale." Kroc hissed with a low, hateful snarl as he glared the older saltwater crocodile down who had more scars to tell of his past fights than Kroc did.

"I know. So I figured I'd make a little show of it and earn a little something," Ale said with a wide grin, "heard your name from the other illegal fighters up in New York." He eyed the minotaur. "Didn't think you'd join some goody two shoes program to find me." He heartily laughed.

"No more talking." Kroc said with his eyes darkly glowing while everyone in the crowd wildly chanted Ale's name in excitement. Ale's grin only grew wider as he looked around, briefly examining the crowd.

"Funny how primal humans really are despite how much they try not to be, isn't it? A small fight is enough to get them going, jumping around like disgusting chimpanzees." Ale gruffly laughed.

With a loud hiss Kroc charged at Ale, having enough of his petty games. Always wanting to make a show of things … oh how he hated his father. Ale grinned in excitement and shot back at him, both of them meeting in a thunderous claws as their jaws opened, trying to get the upper hand and snatch hold of the other's jaw while the crowd went wild over the sudden and spontaneous fight which was promised to be a great one.

Neither tried to use their tails immediately, knowing that would leave their backs open. Instead, both lunged forward with their claws and jaws. Ale started by trying to slash towards the thinnest parts of the skin near Kroc's tendons to neutralize his son's arms but Kroc saw that instead dealt a kick that pushed Ale back and gave him a chance to slash at his chest, barely having time to move his arm back before Ale's jaw closed over his hand. Once again, both lunged forward.

Kroc faked a hit towards Ale's belly and instead kicked Ale's knee before the older saltwater crocodile gave a step sideways, his knee now hurt, and punched Kroc's ribs. Kroc took the hit and used the chance to give a blow of his own that opened up the skin of Ale's chest but Ale, also taking in the hit to get a chance of his own, extended his claws along Kroc's side to rip over his side towards his stomach.

Loud and threatening hisses fill the air as their eyes lock onto one another, passion burning behind their glares as their locked claws pushed and tried to gain dominance over the other. Extraspecies fights were brutal and this one was to the death.

In a fast snap, Kroc managed to bite at Ale's throat but his arm shot up, allowing Kroc to clamp down on his armored arm instead. With a hiss Kroc twisted his head, trying to rip his arm right off but Ale twisted along with him and kicked his gut hard, forcing Kroc to let go as they separated and hissed at one another. Both of them were on all fours, hissing angrily at one another as both resisted on fighting on instinct; logical and strategic fighting is what would keep them alive, not uselessly smacking into one another until one tired.

"Come on boy, you've got more than that in you." Ale encouraged with a hiss, his excitement growing, "give me a fight I can be proud of before sending you off to join your mother."

"I will rip you to _shreds_!" Kroc roared before advancing once again. This time Kroc jumped past Ale, allowing him to dodge before his powerful tail swung around and aimed for his head. Ale easily caught the powerfully muscled tail, grinning as he twisted around and lifted Kroc right off his feet before slamming him into the ground. Kroc remained rooted to the ground, flexibly twisting around before jumping onto Ale's body and clinging to his shoulders. The close counters surprised Ale as he bit Kroc's stomach, ignoring Kroc's claws digging into the back of his neck before Ale grabbed Kroc's legs and twisted back, slamming him against the ground again. Kroc rolled onto all fours as did Ale, both hissing and circling one another with their jaws wide open and poised for attack.

A sudden gunshot and force against Kroc's back leg made him falter just as Ale's eyes flashed, charging at the smaller crocodile and flipping him off of his feet. The hissing masses of scales tumbled around one another as Kroc glared into the crowd, spotting Len with a shotgun and toothy smirk. B****** knew gunshots can't pierce his scales but they sure as hell can momentarily stun him. With a cheering hiss Ale shoved Kroc back, forcing him to act defensively as Ale leapt onto his back.

With Ale on his back Kroc leapt over him, immediately latching his jaws around Ale's neck. Without the slightest hesitation he clamped down, hearing Ale let out a pained hiss. A sudden pair of powerful hands latched onto his upper and lower jaw as Kroc grabbed onto Ale, unable to keep his grip. His slitted eyes glared back at the intrusion, seeing the minotaur straddling his back and trying to pry his jaws open. Kroc hissed angrily, digging his claws into Ale's chest and leaving deep gorges before Kroc leapt back, twisting in the air and landing hard before driving his knee into the minotaur's spine.

"Come on then, show us what you got!" Len loudly laughed, prowling around for a moment to intervene. Kroc glared at Ale, seeing him staggering to his feet and grasping at his chest while deeply groaning, recovering from the deep attack. Seeing his prey almost finished, Kroc turned around about while keeping his tail active.

"Do not interrupt!" Kroc angrily shouted before Len leapt onto his back, making Kroc falter and stagger from the weight. The lion threw a small strange packet into his mouth before the lion held Kroc's jaws shut. A furious hiss erupted from Kroc's mouth as he stumbled back, trying to reach up at grab at the feline but found himself not flexible enough to reach him. His tongue ruptured the small packet, feeling the powder touch his saliva as plumes of a sickly bitter taste spread through his mouth. Len leapt off as Kroc staggered and gagged, tears forming in his eyes as he struggled to breathe. The f*** did that cat just do?!

"You like that, fresh meat? Pretty nasty stuff, isn't it?" Len darkly laughed, balancing perfectly on Kroc's shaking shoulders.

"Go on Ale, give it to him!" Len eagerly shouted before the minotaur leapt onto all fours and kicked back against Kroc's gut, making him let out a pained hiss before Ale charged forward and drove his fist into Kroc's throat. His breathing staggered as he wavered back, reaching up and dragging his claws into Len's arms. Forced to let go the lion leapt off, snarling and eagerly circling the younger crocodile as he gripped his neck, having trouble breathing now from whatever was in that packet. Did they give him a nerve gas?

"You'll never beat me, boy. You and your mother should have just kept your heads down." He darkly laughed as Kroc's eyes angrily flashed with a strangled hiss.

"Time for payback from back in the warehouse," the minotaur darkly laughed before charging at Kroc. Kroc's legs wobbled and twitched, hardly responding right as the minotaur tackled him over. Kroc rolled with the brunt attack, slamming his tail into the minotaur's gut and sending him flying into the cheap fencing before Ale bit Kroc's shoulder and, with a sharp twist, flipped Kroc into the air before slamming him back into the ground. Kroc's eyes flashed as he swiped at Ale's neck, forcing the older crocodile to retreat before Len leapt onto Kroc's back, biting at the base of his head. With his thick skin Kroc withstood it, grabbing the lion by the scruff of the neck and throwing him off as he landed a heavy hit against Ale with his tail. Ale caught Kroc's attack, spinning around with him before throwing him out of the ring and into the crowd of screaming and fleeing humans.

Kroc's head achingly spun as his claws dug into the ground, trying to make it stop moving around him as his vision began to go. D***it … Len did something to him. Ale was supposed to fight fair; not matter how bad his fights became before, no matter how close he ever had gotten to losing, Ale _never_ accepted help. Kroc glared hatefully at him, seeing his sneering smirk multiply and fill his vision. Ale didn't get stronger; he lost his pride as a fighter. And now, because of that, was he really going to lose like this.

"ALE, YOU CROOK, DRONGO FIGJAM, DILL OF A QUID!" Kroc screamed in anger, breathing harder as he found it more difficult to breathe now.

"Oh ho~ on to bigger words, are we?" Ale darkly laughed as he looped over to him, the picture of ease before he crouched down by Kroc's head and toothily grinned. "You got stronger, boy, but you still as much of a no-hoper as you were back home." He grinned as his tail swept across the ground, "gave me a run for my money; more than I expected, bloke." He said as he reached down, grabbing Kroc's jaw as he barely managed a hiss in response, unable to move to bite his arm off. "Heh … you know, I always did love trophies, boy. Got your mother's skull back at my place; beautiful sheela, as beautiful as always. You'll look good next to her." He darkly grinned before he latched both clawed hands over his metal jaw and stepped on the back of Kroc's neck.

From out a nearby rooftop, Sabre watched as Ale ripped off Kroc's metal jaw, making him scream in agony as he quickly protected what was left of his stump of a jaw, twisting on the ground as Ale grinned, looking at the metal jaw covered in blood in his claws. Ale raised his hand, brandishing his claws eagerly as he tried to claw Kroc's throat out, hitting his forearm instead as Kroc protected himself. Without a moment's hesitation Sabre jumped down while throwing a gas grenade towards the crowd to disperse them and cover the view as she shot past both the minotaur and lion, lunging at Ale with a loud roar. Ale's head snapped in her direction, started and barely tipping his head back as her claws narrowly missed his eyeball, instead grabbing Kroc's jaw as she ripped it out of the startled Saltwater Crocodile's hands. She landed next to Kroc, fiercely roaring at Ale while keeping the metal jaws away from him. Ale blinked, startled before breaking out into a broad fit of laughter.

"What's this, Kroc? Couldn't be man enough to find some scaly whore so you settle for a feline?" Ale madly laughed as Len and the minotaur laughed along with him, Len eyeing up the smaller bastet. Sabre hissed and pulled out a mini machine gun, watching the smirk wipe off of his face before she began unloading on him. Len hid behind Ale as he turned around, giving her his durable back which deflected the gunshots as she entirely unloaded the case on him, breathing hard and hissing as he turned to her with a dark grin. "You want to have a go too, Sheela?" He offered with a deep laugh.

"This one is capable of going _through_ your scales." She threatened, pointing a high caliber rifle at him as Ale's smile dropped, she also saw that Len's tail had been re-attached and that Barge kept looking at her weapon. Ale stared at her, surprised before looking amused.

"Hmph. Alright, fine then, Sheela. Go ahead and take the broken gecko back home. He will _never_ stop chasing me. The thrill of hunting and being hunted is exhilerating," Ale deeply laughed then gave a mischievously towards his Kroc as he tried to reach out to him but found himself unable to continue fighting. "Keep training, Kroc. It's fun having you chase me around like this. Makes an old crocodile feel appreciated." Ale darkly cackled before turning to leave. "Ever want to fight again, arrange it with Barge here. I think you know where to find him." Ale darkly grinned before taking his leave, slipping into the water at the sounds of the sirens. The others quickly began to disperse, hearing sirens from far off responding to the gunfire shot. Sabre eyed the lion and the minotaur quickly fleeing the scene while everyone was scattering like the cockroaches they were.

Kroc wildly glared at the water where Ale had disappeared. He started to get up to go after him but faltered, too numbed by the poison to chase him quickly. So instead, Kroc grabbed his jaw, forcing it into painfully back into place as he loudly hissed. "I'll kill you, _I'll kill you, Ale_!" Kroc screamed angrily and painfully. "D***it, d***it _d***it D***IT!_ " Kroc loudly shouted with every bit of hate poured into each word, hitting the ground angrily but weakly as he held his bleeding lower jaw while glaring out over the water. Weakly he staggered towards the water, determined to catch up to Ale and finish him in the water.

As soon as the coast was clear Sabre hurried over to Kroc, looking over his wounds and jumping on his back to make him fall and then stood in front of him with her tail lashing angrily. "Kroc, you idiot! You thought he was gonna fight fair?!"

"I was so close, I had his _f***ing_ throat in my jaws!" Kroc furiously shouted, his pupils wildly shifting between slit and large rounded black orbs. "If only I was a little faster, if only I didn't bloody savor it! _D***IT_!"

"And next time you will rip his throat out and you will have backup so one interrupts. But now we have to go." Sabre set her rifle over her back and helped Kroc stand up. Lowering her ears against her skull she looked at his sorry and beaten state "You fine to walk? Or do I need to steal a car?"

The only thing he managed was a deeply enraged and irritated hiss, glaring out over the waters. His hand tightly gripped her shoulder before he loosened up, his hand trembling in his outrage but taking care not to mistakenly hurt her. Kroc's fury left him trembling and the poison left him unable to move how he wanted to. So close … he was so close. Another mere second and he would have killed Ale.

"I was so close, Sheela … so close." He exhaled in a hiss. He staggered, seeming certainly off balanced but appeared to be capable of walking at least.

Sabre came to his side, the one that wasn't slashed, and put his arm over her shoulder for him to balance with. Although he did not put his weight on her, she stayed there just in case he fell. "Tell me where you're hurt so I can plan for the supplies while we get back."

Kroc remained silent as they continued walking. Sabre patiently waited for an answer, thinking of a plan to evade the police approaching the scene. While she thought, Kroc gently squeezed her shoulder.

" … you going to tell Smith?" Kroc quietly asked, stumbling along with her down some alleys and backways through the streets.

"Why would I? You just accidentally fell down the stairs at the piers." She winked at him without any smile, "I'm going to speak with Griffin and Prime about arranging a no intromissions fight for when you are healed."

Kroc stopped for a second to look at her. "Why are you helping me, Sheela?" Kroc asked as his tail heavily dragged over the ground, noisily knocking over trashcans and other items as Sabre started to make him steer clear of those things.

"Maybe because I care for you, idiot." Sabre huffed, "you're a great person Kroc, you have help me and Antian more than you think and I understand perfectly about revenge. You think I have these weapons just for no reason? I truly hope you can finish this and then find out that warm and light. You deserve it. So you better count on my backup next time, alright? And don't you dare make me worry, k?"

Kroc heavily sighed, lowering his head in defeat, "I was so bloody close, Sheela … ," Kroc trailed off, his pride deeply and severely hurt, "I should have been able to handle those two long enough to finish Ale off. I've gotten soft." He hissed angrily. " … thank you, Sheela." Krock heavily sighed.

"It was 3 against one," Sabre snapped back at him, "you aren't soft. You are just idiotic for going alone. Do you know how worried I was?"

"Ale always fought alone. His fighting integrity has diminished." Kroc hissed, "in the past he never would have allowed anyone to help."

"Well, he was no pride now and I think he's crazy, Also I think he fears you if he needed those two to hold you down as a punching bag." Sabre huffed and noticed Kroc was slumping and off balance. "Did you lose too much blood?"

"F***ing b****** poisoned me." Kroc hissed angrily, feeling a bit numb in his limbs. "If I wasn't poisoned I would have been able to finish him but I do not know what kind," he deeply frowned, thinking deeply, "was it a nerve poison?" He asked aloud to himself, letting out a groan as he stumbled slightly, managed to keep his balance as they continued.

"I saw a little packet on the floor behind where Len was." Sabre stopped for a second, "d***it! I should have picked it up to know what it was!"

"It's fine, Sheela." Kroc heavily sighed, "police would have gotten it by now. Besides, it will take more than some poison to kill me." Kroc characteristically grinned, sloppily leaning his head down to nuzzle her before staggering against her, barely getting his balance back.

"Don't grin, idiot," she pouted, "I was worried and I still am worried. What if the poison was some hemotoxin? And just so you know, you are heavy." Sabre looked ahead. After walking through dark piers and warehouses they had finally reached the beach and could go back to the rented beach house.

They were almost back when Kroc considered what could happen now. " … how am I going to hide this from the host?" He asked, now seeming even more troubled, "I didn't think about that at all." He admitted with a stern frown, "she's attentive and she will notice the claw marks."

Sabre sighed. "I'll help to patch you up. Most cuts once sewn won't be that noticeable, but as for the rest," she looked up at him, "well, we went drinking and you stumbled over a frail metal rail and got hurt, I went down after and that is the explanation for your wounds and my own bruises from my little encounter with that lion." She noticed Kroc was leaning more on her so she hastened their pace, nervous about him flopping over soon. If that happened there was no way she could drag him home.

"Ugh … I'm getting sleepy, Sabre." Kroc groaned, leaning heavier on her, " … I think it was a tranquilizer too they gave me." He said, recalling a similar feeling when Ms. Smith had found him. "I was so aggressive when I resisted Ms. Smith when they found me so they had to tranq for a bit. A lot." He said, beginning to slur his words as he slumped forward, falling onto the ground with a heavy sigh right in front of the door to the apartment.

"F***. Kroc, c'mon, we're almost in," She grabbed his arms and tried to pull him up in total vain.

"Ugh … too tired, body is too heavy." He heavily sighed, his eyes slowly beginning to close.

"S***," Sabre went inside. For the briefest of moments she thought about telling Jaska but she was not ready to even speak with him after the lion incident. Instead, she went to Dumisa's room and gave a couple knocks on his door before she carefully stepped inside. "Mmhh.. Dumisa? You awake? I need help with Kroc."

"Uggghh … wha?" Dumisa said, groggily looking around as his tongue lazily flipped out of his mouth, "Sabre … what about Kroc?" He heavily yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Promise not to tell, okay? He kinda got into a fight, got outnumbered, poisoned or tranqued, beaten and he's just outside the house bleeding a bit all knocked out. I can't move him."

"Uhh … ," Dumisa heavily sighed, very sluggishly moving his body, "fight … what?" He asked, very out of it as he slumped back onto the bed sleepily.

"Yeah, kinda by 3 rough Extraspecies guys." She didn't want to share much info, but Dumisa would not help if she wasn't a bit honest at least.

"When did that happen?" Dumisa sleepily slurred, his eyes closing as he laid against the soft cushions, falling asleep almost too quickly.

"Dumisa, please … ," Sabre took a step forward but found him completely unconscious. She let out a stiff huff before freezing, catching whiff of a familiar scent.

"What about fight?" Jaska's voice asked out of nowhere, making Sabre's fur bristle as she jumped forward by Dumisa's body, turning around fast to hiss and saw Jaska leaning against the doorframe with his glowing eyes glaring into the dark room.

Sabre looked away from his glowing eyes, her heart beating fast. She didn't want to see the tiger but she did need help with Kroc. Suspecting Jaska had heard a lot, she knew it was pointless to lie much. "He went to a fight and when he was winning they ganged up on him. He's a bit hurt but I will make it pass as if I we went drinking and fell through a frail metal railing."

Jaska heavily sighed, running a hand through his fur before looking at her more seriously, "where Kroc now?" He asked, sounding groggy and annoyed.

Sabre still refused to look him in the eyes, "he's just out the apartment."

"Then I go fetch. Leave sleepy snake alone; if he grab while sleeping, he never let go." Jaska warned, slipping into the hallway as Dumisa softly began snoring.

Sabre anxiously waited at the top of the stairs, remaining alert for movement as Jaska achingly groaned, barely able to carry the large crocodile on his back.

"When Kroc get so heavy?!" Jaska hissed under his breath.

"Since Jackie fed us that seasoned meat?" Sabre looked towards the upper window where Jackie was sleeping alongside Antain. Luckily the windows were double glass, heat and sound isolated.

Jaska grit his teeth, remaining on all fours as he dragged Kroc onto the main floor around the living room before a light flicked on in the room, making both of them tense up. A loud yawn sounded as Werner walked into the living room, blindly feeling his way around the room without having noticed them before he paused.

" … who's up?" He asked, blindly searching the room as he intently listened. Years of being a host certainly heightened his senses.

"Just me. I'm a nocturnal kitty cat. I couldn't sleep." Sabre jumped forward to distract him.

"Oh? Sabre? What are you doing up at this time?" Werner asked, feeling the wall for a light switch, "haven't you adjusted to sleeping at night yet?" He asked as Sabre grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the light switch.

"Hey, don't turn on the light, it will hurt my night vision. Since you are up… can you pet me? I kinda need some petting right now." Sabre cutely asked, leanind against his chest.

"Ah, right, alright?" He yawned, reaching over and gently petting her, "try to go back to sleep soon." He said, seeming very sleepy in his rather sloppy petting. Jaska grunted from the heavy load, crawling across the floor with the crocodile's heavy tail trailing behind him as he slipped into the crocodile's room, Sabre purring loudly on purpose to cover up the noise.

"You can pet me thoroughly in the morning then." She made a loud yawn to cover up Jaska's groan. "Don't worry, at much I'll go out to party and drink. Might ask one of the guys for that." She teased.

"Ah … alright, that's fine." He sleepily yawned before heading over to the kitchen, and before turning on the small light to get himself some water, Sabre stopped his hand.

"I'll get you the water. I really don't like sudden lights. Back in New York there are so many at all times that I want to enjoy the nice darkness here" she said as she filled a big glass with water, relatively slowly so the sound of the running water would drown out the sound of Jaska getting into the bathroom of Kroc's room.

"Sure, thanks. Try not to stay up all night." He said when she passed him the water before Werner sleepily retreated back to his room. When the sound of his door closing reached Sabre's ears, she quickly retreated into Kroc's room to find them both in Kroc's bathroom.

"Kroc drugged. I smell it." Jaska confirmed as Sabre walked in, seeing Kroc's body dumped rather lazily into the tub. "He be fine; it just tranquilizer. Strong one too." Jaska heavily yawned, looking over his wounds, "get me medkit, Sabre. I stitch wounds if explain better what happened." Jaska said, examining Kroc's wounds as some blood dropped onto the easy to clean surface of the bathtub.

Sabre hesitated. "I can stitch him. You… you go away." She mewled, and quickly added, " … to sleep." She then reached for the med kit and started to prepare the supplies.

Jaska's tail flickered, noticing her unexplainable hostility and wary actions. "Tell what happened." Jaska said, turning and staring at her. He would attribute her behavior to Kroc's state but she had been like during all the trip. "He fight with other crocodile, you say?"

"What happened is what you heard I told Dumisa." She set the bandages over the toilet's seat and sat by the edge of the tub before beginning to clean the wounds.

"But you know more." He rightly accused with narrowed eyes. "Tell, Sabre."

She focused her gaze on what she was doing. "You heard what happened. What's more to it? I got him out of there and we're here with a nice good excuse planned."

"And you got a rifle and submachine gun on your back," Jaska looked at the very obvious weaponry that the German host hadn't noticed due to the darkness and that she had apparently forgotten about.

Sabre's ears went flat on her head as she blushed. "I'll hide them well. Kroc is alive and we are here."

"Kroc no get what looking for, da?" Jaska asked with a raised eyebrow, " … there not much file on Kroc background. Was other crocodile related to Kroc?" He asked, trying to get information out of her.

"That's something you should ask Kroc when he gets up. He'll most likely tell you; and thank you for helping dragging him inside. But you should go to sleep or you'll get grumpy." She stood up and crossed her arms, her fur puffing up automatically to make her appear bigger, which wasn't much to a full grown Siberian tiger.

"I no grumpy." Jaska snapped back in annoyance and grabbed the stitching supplies, Sabre stiffening at his close presence for a second. "And I tired of you no saying anything to me. Ever. Why you avoid gaze? Why you still avoid me?"

"See? You're getting grumpy. And you'll surely get grumpier later." She stated before looking away and saying no more.

After a minute of pure silence save for Kroc's snoring, Jaska spoke with a soft tone. "We under truce, da?"

"We're not attacking each other anymore, aren't we? Isn't that enough?" Her eyes narrowed, her tail showing her anxiousness.

Jaska took a deep breath and then sighed. "It because of lion today?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Sabre took a deep breath of her own and took to clean the scratches on Kroc's tail to distract herself. Another deep inhale made her heart ache, smelling the similarities in Jaska's and Aleksey's scents. She knew Jaska was not Aleksey but he smelled so much like him that it was calming regardless.

It seemed as if she wasn't going to say more, but, almost ready to burst up, she began, "I'm starting to react to the presence of males. For a second today I almost let that guy do me. It's getting too hard to control." She admitted with a stiff frown.

"What I say, Sabre? I help if you need." Jaska said with a heavy sigh. "Burning heat can get you sick if you not tend to it."

She growled and then hushed with an almost crying tone. "I don't want help. I don't want your help, or your presence. Stop calling it help because its not help." She softly and weakly argued, trembling with tears forming in her eyes but trying with all her might to not let them fall.

"Then what I call it?" He snapped back rather irritably.

"You don't want to help. You … ," she trailed off, falling silent again.

" … I do want help you, Sabre. But you need to let help." Jaska finished tending Kroc and put the items back in the med kit. He then stood by the entrance. "Leave, he'll sleep long. Too drugged. If anyone asks about wounds I'll say after you two came back I helped him get here." He looked at her. She looked liked a scared kitten. "Why you went with lion today then if you not want help?"

Sabre looked at him defiantly. "Today with that lion I didn't know what to do or how to react. I knew what instinct wanted but I didn't knew what was supposed to happen. I don't know how a bastet should have acted and I don't know how things are supposed to go. Most of the time with Aleksey I was too feral to notice what was going on until he calmed me down." She looked down and away. "And about Kroc ... don't tell Smith."

"I not tell Smith until it get to be problem." He said, glancing over at Kroc's injured self before he crossed his arms, knowing that he was the one supposed to teach her that kind of stuff. He wanted to help her but she made it hard for him to help at all. Sighing, he uncrossed his arms and began walking out of the bathroom, stopping for her at the entrance. "And you come. You sleep in my room. We do nothing; just sleep. My scent similar to my brother's so it calm you, da? Heat less intense for you then."

"I don't think that is a-," she started, stopping short as her chest ached.

"Then don't. You don't think. You just act and go feral on wrong moment later." He went to his room and left the door unlocked, allowing her to choose for herself what to do.

After some time, the door opened and Sabre came in. Very silently and carefully she went onto the small sofa on the room. Jaska moved to on edge of the bed to leave her space, and after a minute more, her weight was set on the empty edge of the bed. Neither of them said anything, peacefully curling up to each other back to back.

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Back at Jackie's house, certain black feline was perched on the rails looking down to workers remodel 3 rooms. His own room, the attic, and another one that included some big transparent tubes that were being set to pass all around this place. What they were for he had no idea and it made him nervous having so many humans walking around.

Eztli growled and moved away to where Jaska's familiar scent was stronger, the tiger's room, where he laid in the upper den of the fake tree and curled up into a tight little ball. He had woken up quite late thanks to the high quality liquor and had found that no one was home. He had looked around the entire house but he was completely alone and he suspected it was the fault of that human host. She had surely left him there on purpose while taking away all his new friends somewhere else, acting like he was not worth taking him too. Since he had accidentally left his phone back at the hospital and he hadn't memorized Smith's number he couldn't call her and there was no way he was gonna approach any human worker. Eztli hugged his head, ears low as his tail curled around his legs. He was already hating this place and everything about it.

 _Note to self … never trust a human._

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PeekoDeMeeko12 - Sorry for the long wait but here's an extra long chapter for you all! Enjoy! _10 REVIEWS_ for the next chapter :3

chaos-dark-lord here saying hi. - Hope you like the chap, we have more surprises prepared. Does anyone want to take a guess? As a clue, Eztli mentions 3 rooms being prepared. A room for Sabre, Eztli's own room, and one more. What Extraspecies could the tubes be for? Leave guesses in the reviews!

;D


	14. Chapter 14

Very early in the morning next day, Sabre awoke quite comfortably and calm cuddling against Jaska who had an arm around her in a very nice way. Noticing this, she tries to slip away but he hugged her tighter and purred, waking up as well. For a minute there was silence although Sabre felt her heart beating faster in anxiousness and when she tried slipping away again, he still held onto her, leaning his head against her shoulder.

"Morning." The tiger yawned.

She didn't answer immediately, and before she could say anything he did.

" … Sabre." He called, leaning over her as he made her look him in the eyes, she looked slightly scared."I no mean to hurt. I big, scary, grumpy. But I gentle too." He said, very gently cupping her cheek before nuzzling her with a soft, growling purr before pulling back, "you ready to make nice in real truce?" He asked as he leaned back, giving her the option to flee if she decided.

Sabre looked towards the door and rolled as if she were gonna flee, but before she did so, she stopped, stiffened and crouched on the bed thinking about it, her nose close to the sheets with his calming scent.

"Sabre," Jaska said in a low and slightly admonishing tone that reminded her of Aleksey, "I want nice." Jaska admitted, gently hugging her around the waist and nuzzling against her head with a deep purr riveting deep in his chest. "I no want fight. Trust, da?" He asked, gently licking her ear as he began to groom her a bit. "I not brother. I know. Sabre, but I _want_ help you. Any way I can." He said, careful not to overstep his boundaries as he slightly blushed beneath his fur. As bad as the stray acted sometimes she really did need help.

Sabre stiffened to the point of being a statue but she didn't flee. "Do you really? Why? Is it the heat thing?" She pulled on the sheet.

"If it from heat I f*** long time ago," he said with an annoyed gaze towards her, seeing her glare back at him before he looked away and sighed, "heat difficult. Instincts difficult. Listen, and I help teach. I no good teacher before, but want to be better." Jaska admitted with lowered ears as he flushed more deeply in embarrassment.

Sabre looked back at the door and then pulled the sheet over her face to hide. After a short while she curled against him all covered by the sheet. "I still don't want that kind of help." She pathetically meowed.

"Instincts call for it. You need help with that and with being bastet. I help." He coaxed, kissing the top of her head but did not advance further, instead waiting for her to touch him back if she so chose. After some silence he heavily sighed. "No want help, fine. Ask Kroc or snake; not strange kitty." Jaska said with his ears pinned to his head, clearly bothered saying such a thing, knowing well he was the one who could really help her and feeling personally hurt that she would have gone with that lion instead of him.

"I don't want help, I want it to stop." She curled against him unaware that she was seeking comfort.

"Help will calm it." Jaska hugged her but nothing more; she almost seemed about to tremble and he noticed how vulnerable this kitten was. " … experiments rough. Changes made onto your body, new feelings, new sensations, new instincts, new vulnerabilities to make insecure." Jaska admitted, rubbing her back to comfort her. "Come to me for help. Or Kroc, or Dumisa, or new kitty Eztli, hell even _host_ do!" Jaska irritably breathed, hugging her a little tighter. "We all here to help, Sabre. We beg you to accept help. None mean you harm here." Jaska said with a deeply frown, appearing to be quite sad, "but we no help if you no let us." And with that he stopped talking, instead protectively hugging her tighter and licking the back of her head.

Still covered by the sheet, Sabre leaned on him and hugged him back, hiding her face on his chest, not saying anything but acting about it. With that, he pulled her down so they could continue to nap.

"Sleep little longer, detka." Jaska said, kissing her forehead before holding her tightly in his arms and letting her sleep with at least a small sense of security. It admittedly felt nice. It felt nice having someone to help and protect, someone that needed him and made him feel needed, someone to nuzzle and cuddle more than getting 'help'.

Sabre purred softly, her eyes sliding shut as she nuzzled back against him gently, enjoying his soft, warm and fluffy body against hers. She was still skeptical but she was too tired to refuse it. She merely wanted to sleep in this comfort and security for a little longer. It admittedly felt nice. It felt nice having someone to help her if needed and that understood how hard experiments were. Maybe she didn't trust him completely, but for the moment this felt nice.

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Back in Jackie's house a certain black feline woke up by the noise the construction workers were causing. He was tired, hungry and stressed but he really was not going to approach any human. Instead, he decided to try and get something to eat since he hadn't eaten anything yesterday.

Crawling silently through the rafters and nooks on the ceilings he made his way to the kitchen. Luckily there was no one nearby since all the humans were working on the rooms above after having installed all those tubes and other hardware. So he dropped down and went to the large fridge; upon opening it, he saw it was filled with meat of various types, some far more finer, expensive and rarer than the others.

He carefully smelled it and then grabbed all of it, taking it above to the hidden nook den of the kitchen's ceiling, a cozy space on a hidden corner with a mini fridge, where he deposited the meat before going down to get more meat to hide in other places that held minibar fridges before he wasn't able to do it because of the human moving around the house.

When he was pretty sure he had a nice food supply hidden he went to the initial post to get the most expensive and tasty meat before shamelessly devouring it quickly before anyone could take it away from him. Surely that human host was not even going to give any of this to him. Eztli bitterly continued to eat, snarfing down as much food as he could before his belly felt as if it was going to burst if he ate anymore.

He staggered a bit, crawling his way back into Jaska's room slowly. The food was amazing but, frankly, he felt sick. He had never eaten so much meat in his life and he was barely starting to get used to it after being bottle fed for such a long time - which was the reason why he had taken the baby bottles from the fridge and taken them to his hiding place - maybe the host was gonna feed him with those instead of giving him real meat? The thought disgusted him but he did not have much else to eat besides that meat.

In any case, once he managed to crawl to the tree den he dropped, unable to move while feeling so sick from eating so much meaty food.

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It was early enough in the morning that the beach was almost empty for the Extraspecies to enjoy and they were doing so by having fun without having to worry about hurting any human. The time was around 9:00 and most of the families hadn't arrived yet, leaving plenty of free space for them to wrestle, much to Kroc's delight. Kroc had challenged Jaska to a 'friendly wrestling brawl' and both males grappled and circled one another, causing sand to fly everywhere as they tried to force the other into submission.

"You think you can beat me, kitty cat?!" Kroc shouted with a sharp laugh, literally picking Jaska up before throwing him across the sand. Jaska's sharp claws hardly left scratches on the thick skinned crocodile extraspecies, much to his annoyance, as the powerful reptile happily tossed Jaska around as though he was a sack of potatoes. Most of his attention, however, was paid towards Kroc's tail in fear of being utterly knocked out from a single blow like many times before.

"Da, I can beat." Jaska smirked. The tiger grinned and stood his ground by showing his professional skills and flexibility that one just didn't get without training.

"Hey, hey, Kroc, Jaska, careful now." Werner called out, warily watching the two fight without much restraint as Siri and Sabre snuggled up against his sides, basking in his attention while Yenna was trying playing with the little fox like a doggy would play with a younger pup. Antain pounced, hissed and scratched like a cat, after being raised by a feline mother, which Yenna found very weird but funny if a bit unnatural.

After everyone had settled in on the beach, Dumisa rested in the sand while little kids from the day before that had arrived earlier today played with his long body. Dumisa fondly looked over his adopted family, finding himself smiling rather happily. This host deal wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Rather, it was pretty enjoyable. With a soft sigh he relaxed his body, enjoying the free massage on his back from the little kids trying to balance on his spine. His ear perked up a bit, however, hearing a slithering belly draw nearer. He frowned and kept his eyes shut, pretending to ignore her but that clearly did not deter Siri as she slithered up to him with a small giggle. Her long tongue slid up the corner of his ear, making him grunt in annoyance.

"When shall we perform our duty, black mamba?" She asked with a seductive purr that was out of anyone's hearing except for Dumisa. He hardly flinched, not at all phased at this question as he kept his eyes closed.

"Hardly in the mood for such a thing. I'm enjoying myself here in the sand." He murmured rather sleepily, listening to the little kids laughing and playing on his sand covered body as they built small sand castles on top of him. He liked the ignorant bliss and innocence the human children had, playing on top of him without any thoughts to how dangerous he actually is. It was … cute, in the human sense of the word.

"And you would enjoy it in the bedroom so much more." She purred, holding his head and tilting him up before locking lips with him. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, riding alongside his in an attempt to liven him up and do her bidding. Dumisa's eyes lazily cracked opened, staring at her rather bored before lightly nipping her tongue and making her yank her head back with wide eyes.

"Consider yourself lucky that was not the famed kiss of death." He sighed before wriggling out of place and slithering towards the apartment ahead of her. The little children playing on the stacked sand whined and complained, getting a little huffy before turning their attention to Kroc and Jaska as they 'played' by wrestling.

No one watched Dumisa leave with the Lamia, surprised since Jackie was sure he did not like the other snake for some reason. If he was going with her then whatever it was might be important. After thinking about it a bit she paused, remembering what he was like back in his village. That's right. He used to make love everyday all day with too many women to count. Ugh.

She looked away, annoyed and watched everyone else having fun. Jackie lightly smile and leaned back, trying to enjoy herself despite the graunchy photographers from yesterday now very, very openly taking pictures of them. She was tempted to throw sand into their fancy stupid lenses and ruin them for good but they might try to be jerks and sue her for it, specially because the photographers were having a field day taking pictures of the wrestling, making sure to keep a safe distance from the gargantuan fighters as one of them was busy on the phone talking to someone.

Werner was at least happy the lifeguard hadn't gotten to the beach yet so he wasn't there to make the wrestling Extraspecies stop their fun just yet. A loud stomach growling made both Werner and Jackie turn towards Sabre as her ears perked before she then looked away with a faint blush.

"Hungry?" Werner lightly laughed.

"A bit. Jackie forgot feeding day was yesterday." Sabre huffed as Antain leapt onto her lap meowing, pawing at her belly playfully as he tilted his head from side to side, staring at the strange source of the sound and setting his ears over his mom's belly to hear if the sound happened again, which it did.

"I did not forget, actually. It was _your_ feeding day and you already helped yourself to the meat in the fridge before I could make something for you." Jackie pointed out, annoyed Sabre was trying to throw her under the bus but finding the fact her stomach was growling to be pretty funny. Sabre's ears lowered as she hissed at Jackie before Werner wrapped his arm around the feline's shoulders, pulling her into a hug as she turned to him and purred, immediately calming her down.

"So kitty was so hungry she couldn't wait? That means feeding schedule badly set or food is too little. " Werner said towards Jackie with a stern look towards Jackie. "And since kitty hungry still, then food was too little anyways."

"I've already been warned about overfeeding them; technically Sabre's feeding day is tomorrow but since she already ate her schedule is now off. I don't want them leaving my contracted house by having to be rolled out." Jackie lightly laughed at the thought of a ballooned up Sabre as she poked at the pads on the bottom of Sabre's foot.

For response Sabre's stomach growled again, making Antain giggle from it.

"Fine." Jackie flatly stated in annoyance before taking a deep breath, letting it go before she smiled, "I'll go make some special treats for everyone then; especially seasoned raw chicken. It would be good for everyone to be allowed a snack like that; I'll make enough for Yenna and Siri too. Do you want something?" Jackie offered, not wanting to be rude to Werner.

"Nein, I fine but thanks." After a new growl from Sabre's stomach that made Sabre hide her face on Werner's chest, he added. "Make normal ration for kitty. She probably hungry as if she eating for two."

"Two?" Jackie asked, puzzled as she stared at Sabre's stomach, "she was checked out; she's just a little heavy."

"I'm just hungry, ok? I do plenty of activities." Sabre defended herself but looked down at her belly, which maybe was looking a bit more bulgy or maybe she was just panicking about her figure. "And I'm just a little heavier than when I came first."

Jackie sighed. "Fine. Would two rations of chicken be enough?"

"Two and half rations but I want them with pieces of melon, watermelon and some powdered chiles." Sabre immediatley replied with glowing eyes of happiness.

" … well, I'll have to check to see what we have but I promise it will be good. Werner, their paperwork is in my backpack there; if anything happens just use those. I'll be back in a bit." Jackie assured them as she walked off, letting out a heavy sigh. That Werner guy was really starting to get on her nerves by trying to lecture her like this and pointing out all her flaws. If he offered to help out rather than sit there and lazily give her orders then that would be fine but … ugh. Jackie let out yet another heavy sigh, heading up to the apartments and letting Werner handle them for now. Sand kicked up from Kroc's and Jaska's wrestling match against her legs as she glanced at the two heavy hitters, tempted to make them stop but decided against it. They were having fun and weren't bothering anyone so it would be fine. She let out a light laugh and continued on as Jaska managed to roll Kroc off his back, kicking him aside as they both began to eagerly circle one another.

Jaska was cautious as to not rupture any of Kroc's wounds, instead aiming for the tougher parts on the crocodile. Although normally Kroc would complain about the gentler treatment he was too excited to be wrestling to bother making a comment on it. Both of them hissed at one another before charging and locking arms together while trying to overpower the other party. Kroc snapped his jaws together, his body still aching from yesterday. Jaska's gaze flickered down, seeing the saltwater crocodile's legs faltering slightly.

"Sore, comrade?" Jaska teased with a toothy grin as he began getting the upper hand.

"Aye, after such a nice long nap." Kroc planted his tail to prevent from being moved further but the tiger was still managing to move him back.

A camera flash caught both of their attentions as Jaska glanced at some passerbies taking pictures. The tiger's eyes narrowed, knowing photographs of them couldn't end well. Before he could stop the fight Kroc dropped down and grabbed his leg, throwing Jaska up into the air while paying no attention to the humans around them. "Come on mate, give me something good!" Kroc loudly laughed as his tail slid back and forth over the sand.

Jaska twisted in the air to land on his his feet over Kroc so his weight would force the crocodile down on the sand. "Fun over. We draw too much bad attention."

"Eh?" Kroc said, tilting his head slightly before he looked over towards the boardwalk and saw a woman filming them with a large news channel logo on the side of the camera and a pretty woman standing in front of the lens.

"We are here live witnessing a fight to the death between two Extraspecies, a tiger and a crocodile. The fight broke out about ten minutes ago and is still going strong between these large creatures-," the young and perky reporter spoke from the safety of the sand way back by the boardwalk, earning Werner 's attention as he heavily sighed.

Both Kroc and Jaska stared at the reporters, seeing the people gather in number and take a lot of pictures. The woman and the cameraman were already on the beach, appearing to poorly be trying to get around them as they walked around to get a good angle.

Werner analyzed the situation and then the sudden disappearance of fur near him caught his attention as he looked down, finding Sabre and Antain had vanished and were nowhere in sight on the beach. He paused, puzzled before the commotion behind him caught his attention, seeing the small camera crew and various photographers.

"Listen good, ja? They not fighting to death, they playing." The Werner said towards the woman, glancing at the camera in concern before back to the young woman who clearly wanted something gritty to get her career going.

"They seemed to have been fighting rather aggressively to just be playing, sir. What is your relation to them?" She approached the microphone to his mouth. Werner took an uneasy step back, his prosthetic foot slipping in the sand a bit before he gathered himself together.

"Friend of the host they belong to. They left in my care right now," he said, flashing the paperwork to her as proof. With a heavy and tired groan be turned around, walking over to the fight. "To them this is playing." He said as Kroc turned to Jaska, looking annoyed before swatting the back of his head with his tail.

"Come on, mate. Afraid of a little attention?" Kroc toothily grinned as Jaska let out an aggravated snarl, backing up a bit as Kroc looked for an opportunity to continue.

"Bad attention is bad for us and for program." Jaska growled and blocked Kroc's embattle, trying to trip the crocodile down and roared when Kroc tried pushing him aside.

The action immediately caught the reporter's attention as she left Werner, getting in front of the camera again for her face to be seen as the cameraman zoomed in on the approaching crocodile on the tiger.

"Here we see what may be the resting point of a brutal fight between the two Extraspecies here today but from the looks of it, it does not appear to be calming down anytime soon." She said with a pumped up smile, trying to act professional despite her excitement. Werner ignored them and let out a high pitched whistle, catching both male Extraspecies' attentions as they jolt to a stop and look over, noticing the camera fixed on them again as his ears lowered in annoyance. Kroc let out a heavy sigh, leaning back and rubbing his head in annoyance at the interruption. Jaska's growling caught his attention as Kroc let out a small laugh.

"Why so scary looking, Jaska? They just want to film." Kroc said with a grin as he shrugged, giving him a toothy smirk, "come now, let's continue, mate." Kroc said, his blood still boiling hot in anticipation.

"Film bad because they make look bad. That bad for program and Smith and Sa...some." Jaska growled again, getting grumpy since Kroc was not understanding they needed to stop.

"Film is film, mate. Neither good nor bad." Kroc grinned as his jaws parted happily. Another high pitched whistle made Kroc and Jaska look over at Werner as he walked over to them. Kroc heavily sighed as he stood up, watching Werner approach before he slipped in the sand a bit with his metal foot before Kroc curled his tail around his back and grabbed his arm to help him balance. "You good, mate?"

"What a terrifying development! It seems that a man trying to keep the peace has been grabbed by the crocodile!" The woman cried, sounding more excited than frightened as Kroc steadied Werner. The three of them stared at the woman rather blatantly before Kroc and Jaska looked to Werner, clearly expecting the host to clear things up.

Werner groaned and took a deep breath, already used to this sort of stuff. "All good. I host in charge at the moment," he then looked at Kroc and Jaska. "Let's calm down, ja?"

"So you _are_ the host to these two massive Extraspecies?" The woman asked, her eyes immediately appearing to glow in excitement as the publicity from something like this visibly read across her eyes.

"For the moment I am. And they not massive. They just Extraspecies of big species." Werner explained while the tiger and crocodile approached to stand next to him.

Kroc curiously approached the newswoman, clearly making her a little edgy as she took a step back. Jaska lightly smacked Kroc's arm but he ignored it, instead standing uncomfortably close to the camera man as he curiously stared at the large fuzzy device on the top of the expensive camera. The camera man took a step back and Kroc took a step forward to keep examining the thing with curiosity, the cameraman then lowered down a bit to record Kroc up and down and his curious reaction.

"Hey, camera on _me_ ," the woman snapped at him under her breath, waiting to smile until the camera fixed on her before turning to Werner, "would you care to explain what these Extraspecies were doing fighting like that in a public area?" The woman asked, inching away as Kroc leaned over the woman rather intimidatingly but was merely curious about the strange things she was saying into the device in her hand. Jaska came up behind Kroc in annoyance, trying to pull on his arm to make him step away from them both but the crocodile lightly nudged the fluffy area microphone on top of the camera with his nose. He had never seen such a strange looking thinking covered in wool before.

"They were wrestling. I suppose a passersby thought it was more than that." Werner said, shifting his weight onto his good foot and tried to get the reporter's attention to correct and end this misunderstanding.

"From our tip it seems these Extraspecies, particularly the crocodile here, was terrorizing children and other citizens yesterday on this beach. Could you please explain that?" The woman pushed, pushing the microphone into Werner's face as he frowned.

"Misinterpretation, I assure you. They would never hurt anyone." Werner explained as Kroc leaned in towards the fluffy microphone, staring at it in puzzlement before sniffing it, all the while the cameraman remained still as stone despite the fear permeating through the air or rather because of it. Jaska pulled on Kroc's arm again but the crocodile only tilted his head before licking the fluffy thing ever so slightly.

"And would you explain why they were fighting just now? Was this perhaps a territory fight on the beach?" The reporter asked, more or less freaked out by the crocodile's behavior as her eyes darted over to him and back to Werner. Kroc frowned, his staring becoming more intense in a dead eyed gaze sort of way before he lightly nipped at the fluffy object, letting go quickly. Both the cameraman and woman remained frozen on the spot, looking at him in shock as his head twitched to the side, looking nowhere in particular as his licked his teeth and tried to flick out of the fluff caught in his mouth.

"They not fighting, they playing. Wrestling, just on their scale." Werner assured once more. "If you want to know more, you or anyone else is free to call the office of the Extraspecies inclusion program. They will give you plenty of material. Gutten morgen." Werner said to the reporter and then addressed the extraspecies. "Let's go back to rest in beach." He too grabbed Kroc's arm to signal the reptile to go back.

Kroc hardly reacted as he continued to lick his teeth, appearing to be getting annoyed as he licked the roof of his mouth like a dog with peanut butter stuck in his mouth but instead it a large fluff of cotton or wool that was not coming out. Werner frowned, pulling harder on the crocodile's arm before the lumbering giant followed, looking cross eyed at the stuck piece of cotton while flicking his tongue out repeatedly.

Werner went back to lay on the towel and was joined by Yenna, meanwhile Jaska came to Kroc's side, far less tense, "we wrestle later, da?" Jaska said with a smirk.

"Aye." Kroc cheekily grinned, his wounds from yesterday still aching but he was much more cheerful. He knew where to find Ale, and next time he would surely win. He would have backup to prevent interruptions and he would finish this once and for all. Until then, he needed to heal, train, and enjoy. Of course, he would need to thank Sabre and whoever helped her drag him in, and he would do so once they were back, and that left the rest of the time in the beach to rest and relax. In the meantime, however … Kroc's glare turned towards the piece of fluff he could feel near the tip of his nose as he flicked his tongue out continually, unable to get the cotton from his teeth.

"Hey guys, I'm back." Jackie said, walking over to the ground with a large heavy pack. Jaska looked over to her immediately with enlarged pupils, his eyes locking onto the cooler as she set it down. The smell of meat reached his nose as he walked over to her, leaning over her and sniffing at the cooler, leaning against her as he tried to reach out for it. "Hey, hey one minute!" Jackie laughed as she almost fell over, grinning as she opened the pack up and handed him a plastic baggy of the food.

"You bring treats? Good host." Jaska complimented, patting her head and grabbing the plastic bag.

"Here you go, and you," Jackie said, distributing the food to everyone before coming to Kroc, pausing as she saw his tongue flicking out against the roof of his mouth and head strangely twitching. "Kroc? What's wrong?" Jackie asked, catching his snout as he continued to part his jaws, clearly trying to get something out of his mouth. "Oh don't tell me you have a seagull stuck in your teeth or something," Jackie laughed at the thought, wondering if he'd even be able to catch one, as she stood over him and made his jaws part widely open before taking a look inside. At the roof of his mouth she saw a weird white fluff that made her blink in confusion before her heart sank into near horror. " … Kroc what did you eat." Jackie quickly demanded, sounding almost panicked as she imagined what kind of dog that fluff could have come from. There were plenty of pet dogs on the beach but was it possible Kroc ate one? Before she could answer she reached her arm into his jaws, pulling out the fluff as Kroc licked the roof of his mouth, toothily grinning.

"Thanks Sheela." He grinned before picking up his own bag share of food and happily tossing one into the air.

"Hey!" Jackie started, reaching for the meat. She needed to know if he ate a dog or not! The host caught it out of his jaws as it snapped shut, firmly grasping the other end of his meat while Jackie held the other end. Silence ensued as Kroc stared right into Jackie's eyes, his pupils turning to slight slits as he slowly and threateningly exhaled a predatory and protective hiss through his nostrils. Quickly realizing her mistake Jackie pulled back her hands, holding them up to prove they were empty before Kroc flipped the meat piece into his mouth while keeping his eyes locked with hers. Only after did he swallow his food did he grin and start laughing. "Don't snatch food from me, Sheela." He loudly laughed as everyone let out a sigh of relief while Jackie felt her heart still nervously pounding.

"Y-Yeah," she said, knowing she should have known better than to try and get between him and his food. She glanced at the fluff that was in his mouth before tossing it aside, deciding to ask after he was done eating before she took a seat far from Kroc and let him enjoy the rest of his meal undisturbed.

Werner caught Jackie's gaze just when he swallowed. His expression was stern yet nervous and clearly saying 'told you so' to remind her this were nice but dangerous creatures.

" … that was the first time I thought he was going to bite my hand off … ha ha~," Jackie said with an ill humored, forced laugh as she laid on her back, rubbing her arm to assure herself it was still there. She looked at Werner and offered sandwich, but a fast lunge made Jackie jolt as Siri appeared from nowhere and practically tackled Werner, cheeks rosey and a happy grin on her face as she began naturally wrapping around his body. He tried to jump out of harm's way but it was far too late as he crumbled onto the ground with the snake woman on top laughing and speaking broken German while Sabre hissed at the fact her new petting man was taken.

Dumisa poked his head over her shoulder, hardly fazing her as she looked over at him.

"Hey there." Jackie said, feeling awkward. What was she supposed to say in a situation like this? Rather than answering or even looking at her he laid down next to her with practically an empty and glassy gaze and a clear unhappy expression. "Dumisa? Hey, you alright?" Jackie asked, gently rubbing his neck. His hand caught hers, surprising her as he very softly and gently kissed the back of her hand before curling up around her. Jackie squirmed, trying to keep her head and torso above his scaly body as he made into a loose coil with the perfect resting place being right in the donut hole. Jackie leaned back, staring at him as he laid over her lap with his head resting on his folded arms and emptily stared into nothing.

"Hey, Siri, did something happen?" Jackie asked, looking over at her as Werner was suffocating and reaching vainly to the sky for help while in her tightly coiled grasp. She was not paying any attention. Jackie sighed and gently rubbed Dumisa's shoulders, feeling him remain tense before easing into relaxation with her pushing fingers.

"Dumisa, tell me what's wrong." Jackie asked in a quieter whisper, leaning down beside him as she gently rubbed his ears.

"Probably too sleepy, little miss host." Siri murmured, "though I cannot fathom the reason; after all, he did just have a little fun with a lamia as stunning as I am," she haughtily replied while touching her fingers to her chest while Werner popped his head out, breathing hard and trying to regain his composure.

"Is that what you believe it is? That I was somehow captivated by your tarnished scales and clumsy dancing? That I was hypnotized by those dung colored eyes?" Dumisa replied in a bored and cool tone before emptily smiling towards her. "It's hilarious how you seek out a permanent mate when every female lamia is the same; a whore to her instincts, unfaithful to even the fattest pig of the lot and stuffed with so many fake lies in her own head that it is impossible to find the mind hidden behind it all."

Her eyes flashed as she shot into the air, hissing angrily at him. Before Jackie could blink she saw Dumisa retracting, having struck Siri so fast and hard that she didn't realize she was bit until she faltered slightly, touching her neck where there were two bleeding fang marks. The air was silent and tense as everyone looked to the bitten snake with wide eyes, seeing her trembling fingers run over the bleeding marks.

"You truly aimed to kill me?" She asked, startled by his attack as she shakily leaned back, honestly looking stunned.

"I would have finished the deal and snapped your neck but that is far too pleasant of a death for you. No, no I want you to suffer for hours, knowing the venom infecting your blood will be your death. Be grateful, whore. You were granted death by a black mamba's kiss." He said with a sickly sweet smile and kissed in her direction as Jackie tried to reach his chest to push him back before she dug through her bag and picked up the anti-venom. Dumisa's hand overlapped hers, making her drop the needle, "no need, host. I did not poison her." He heavily sighed, appearing bored while rolling his eyes. Even with the comforting note of having withheld his poison, Siri still trembled, clearly coming to terms with how close with death she truly had gotten if Dumisa had decided to bite her with his venom. Jackie stared in shock as Siri slowly moved closer to Werner, shaking badly while he reached up and held her.

Jackie noticed the people around them staring at them with pale and frightened faces before many of them quickly packed up and moved further away from them all. "Dumisa." Jackie said in a quieter voice, finally drawing his eye as he looked down at her, "come on, Dumisa. Let's go check out the boardwalk. Here, Werner, here's the paperwork for Kroc and the others. Can you please watch them while I'm gone?"

"Separating them would be best. And yes, I can." He agreed, sitting noticeably between Dumisa and the female lamia as she laid down, trying not to move with a wide eyed frightened gaze. Her head rested on Werner's lap as she stared emptily into space, slowly breathing in a controlled manner as tears of fright formed in her eyes.

"Anywhere away from that ungrateful slut would be better," Dumisa reluctantly hissed, making Siri flinch as he slithered out from under the umbrellas and moving up to the small hill separating the boardwalk from the beach before looking back to Jackie.

"Sorry about that. I will get everything sorted out." Jackie reassured to Werner, putting on her shorts and flip-flops before leaving. Dumisa waited for her, surprising her as he coldly stared down at her as if waiting for an angry response. Jackie stared back up at him, deciding on the best course of action before she grinned. Dumisa stared at her show of teeth, puzzled. "Come on, you grump. Let's go check out the boardwalk for a bit." She suggested as she walked ahead of him.

"Jaska is the grump." Dumisa huffed, looking away from her but slithered along with her anyway.

"Then what does that make you? The diva?" Jackie suggested with a smirk as his head tilted. He was suspicious as to why she was acting so nice and suspected that perhaps she too wanted to get away from the others and spend some time with him. The realization put a warm smile on his lips as he leaned forward, gently hugging her before flicking his tongue against her cheek.

"I prefer connoisseur with high standards." Dumisa smirked back as Jackie pushed against his chin.

"Hey, come on, off. We're going for a walk and it's plenty warm enough outside so you don't have to be so close." Jackie frowned as she pinched his nose.

"So you drag me out here and then you want me a ways off? How tasteless, host." He crossed his arms and stopped but his smile remained, "should I go back to the room instead ?"

"Oh relax, we're here to have fun!" Jackie grinned as he leaned away from her, studying her. Clearly their types of 'fun' were different but this too was nice; slithering under the sun with the host won't be too terrible. Already he was in a better mood.

"Very well, then let's go before I get too bored." He began slithering alongside her quite close but still not making physical contact.

"Good." Jackie grinned, looking around before spotting the amusement park. "Oh hey, the amusement park! Dumisa, let's go check that out." Jackie suggested, grabbing his arm and pulling him with her. She grinned in excitement, figuring this would be a good time to check it out. The amusement park at night would be fun with everyone but it would be better to test it now and see how they react to Dumisa while they had some fun.

"How can a park be amusing with such agglomerations of people?" Dumisa complained. "And why are you dragging me there, host?"

"Because," Jackie said, leaning up and hugging him. He leaned back, surprised as he briefly brought up his hand and ghosted it over her back, seeming unsure of how to respond before she looked up at him, "even connoisseurs with high standards need to have some fun, right?" Jackie grinned. He paused, surprised at her gesture before he smiled.

"Then let's see if this fun is up to my standards" He said, taking her hand and pulling her along with him into the line to get tickets.

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Back in the house the place was being turned into a mega maze of nooks and remodeling for Extraspecies, which meant that there were workers everywhere and Eztli had to hide in the kitchen to take a nap up in the hidden den on the ceiling rails; that is until the horrible sound of shoes tapping woke him up. That horrible, dreadful sound would be something he'd never forget and his shivering body was proof of that. His stomach churned as he clicked his teeth together, holding down his disgust.

Eztli took a deep breath, hesitating before bravely peeking in silence from his hiding place and finding a female worker wearing one of the nicer shoes the host had, walking around proudly in them and checking them out rather happily. The jaguar's ears lowered and his bright green eyes narrowed, seeing other workers dragging furniture out of Jackie's room down the hall and hating the squeaky sound of the shoes. When some other human called the female worker, she quickly took off the shoes, tossing them into a large bin before trotting off to finish her work in another room.

Eztli growled. The horrible squeaking sound had been exactly like the kind that _her_ shoes made, the kind of sound that was associated deeply with pain in many ways. He refrained from roaring and instead climbed out of his hiding spot and getting down to take the bin and drag it into Jaska's room, the room he felt more comfortable in and the one of the rooms already left alone by the humans. He sifted through the shoes, chewing, clawing and destroying all the human footwear he did not like and tossing other shoes carelessly across the floor. He was determined not to let the human wear shoes that could potentially hurt him or remind him of all the bad stuff in his past.

Finally feeling the peak of his illness from the consumed meat earlier, he threw up on the mess of shoes. He really shouldn't have eaten that much meat; he had never really had meat before so of course eating so much of it would make him sick.

Once he was done he left the mess in the floor and climbed the tree in the room to crawl on the highest and more hidden den, which had the very faint traces of Sabre's scent in there. He went to sleep there while hugging his jacket covered in Jaska's scent, wishing that Jaska, Sabre, and the others would get back but wanting the host to not appear, wondering how long he'd have to endure being here and alone.

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Jackie leaned back against the bench with a satisfied sigh while Dumisa laid his head in her lap, resting for a bit. Although Dumisa had caught a lot of attention on the boardwalk no incident or fight had broken out, ruling as a win in Jackie's mind. She stared down at Dumisa's head, lightly rubbing his jaws and neck as he hummed in content. She had to admit that she had a lot of fun and Dumisa seemed to be in a much better mood now; well, good enough so he at least wasn't hissing at children and scaring them away anymore. However, she felt bad about leaving the others on the beach and could only hope they were alright. Werner didn't seem to mind though and she hadn't received word about anything going wrong so that's a good sign.

"Oh? Jackie?" Ms. Smith's voice called, making her perk up as she looked over and saw Ms. Smith approaching with the rest of her Extraspecies and Werner as well.

"Ms. Smith? What are you doing here?" Jackie asked in confusion as Ms. Smith's smile stiffened, pointing back to Siri who have a bandage around her neck before Jackie's face paled. Ah~ of course she'd have to be called for something like that. "Well uh, what's everyone else doing here?" Jackie asked as her Extraspecies trotted over to her, appearing almost jealous as they glared at Dumisa in annoyance while the black mamba smugly ignored them.

"Out for a stroll. I figured since the host appeared to be favoring one of her Extraspecies I decided to come along and see what is going on between you two." Ms. Smith said with a cheeky smile as Jackie frowned in annoyance, " _is_ there something going on between you two of an intimate nature?"

"Nothing. Dumisa was in a bad mood earlier so I took him out to calm him down a bit." Jackie explained, feeling annoyed at Werner for calling Ms. Smith in the first place but she would have admittedly done the same thing.

"And left your other charges with Werner?" Ms. Smith asked with a raised eyebrow as Jackie grimaced. "The sign of a good host is being able to take care of everyone in a balanced manner even while out with everyone. I expect you next time to handle all of her charges at once and not leave them on the beach with other host. That's not only irresponsible of you but also putting a hassle on Werner." Ms. Smith stated as Werner nodded in agreement, seeming annoyed. Ms. Smith she drew closer, leaning down into Jackie's ear to whisper quietly, "well, officially that is what I must say but personally I commend you. Dumisa probably would have actually killed Siri if you stayed. Excellent job, Ms. predator host, for your first official outing with your Extraspecies." Ms. Smith cheekily smiled with a wink before pulling back, clearing her throat, "so, as such, I'm here to be sure that all the predator Extraspecies can enjoy activities like the carnivals where there are lots of people, so I personally came to supervise that is the case and pass time with them to get feedback on their interactions with the human attractions. And I don't want to hear anything of what's already done, so let's enjoy the night." Ms. Smith stated as she cheerfully smiled, her eyes gleaming as she looked over into the amusement park.

"Really?" Jackie asked with a teasing grin, "so you're not here just to have some fun?"

"Of course I must ensure the quality of the fun for the program in the future," Ms. Smith said with a shrug as she eyed up someone's massive margarita cup.

"Oh but of course," Jackie agreed with a laugh, lightly shaking Dumisa's shoulder, "come on, Dumisa. Let's go back to the amusement park."

"Hrmm~ fine. I wouldn't mind having some more Shish Kabobs." He said stretching and opening his eyes before pausing as he saw the others except for Sabre who wasn't around anywhere, "oh. You're here." He said with a flat tone before twisting himself back up, stretching his arms out as he looked over everyone, "what are you all doing out here? You're interrupting my time with the host." He irritably sighed in annoyance.

"Ja. We are." Werner said with a bit more of a wary tone than he probably intended.

"Well then, let's not just sit around here waiting. Let's go have some fun." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled before pausing, "oh, but first, let's divide in groups so it's easier to manage everyone." Ms smith happily said, eager to get to the attractions, and even though it was night, she still kept her sunglasses on. "I will go with Yenna and Kroc. Werner, you go with … all right, you are all set." She said while looking at the lamia and Sabre clinging to Werner already. Jackie did a double take, startled as she saw Sabre there with them. Where did she suddenly come from? Jackie watched as Sabre grabbed Antain, hugging the little red fuzzball closely.

Jaska's nostrils flared, he noticed Sabre smelled like blood and gunpowder. He looked at her but chose not to comment. How Sabre seemed to have access to arsenal's he had no idea and it unnerved him as much as her knowledge and willingness to use them. He would have to start keeping a better eye on her.

"So Miss Sabre," Ms. Smith said, "why don't I take care of the pup tonight so you can enjoy yourself?" The coordinator extended her arms to receive the cub but Sabre just held tighter onto the cub while narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Smith then added, "of course Jackie will be with us and so will everyone else," as she gestured towards Jackie who perked up, seeming tired until being called on.

"Alright. If anything happens … ," Sabre started before letting out a small growl of warning.

"If anything happens then Ms. Penske will take care of it immediately." Ms. Smith reassured with a smile.

Sabre hesitated a second before she set the cub in Smith's arms very carefully. Ms. Smith smiled as she took the toddler and nodded while the clouded leopard turned around and went away with the female lamia and the other host. Once they were around the corner of a tend, Ms. Smith very happily set the cub on Jaska's arms. "You said you wanted to help. You are a nanny tonight, kitty." Ms. Smith said with a cheerful smile as Antain mewed and pawed at Jaska's face playfully.

Jaska looked at the foxy boy that had the ears flat against his head and barely wagged his fluffy tail once. He then set the boy back on Ms Smith's arms. "Niet."

Ms. Smith grunted and then passed the fox to Kroc with a disapproving expression towards the tiger.

"And Jackie is obviously with me." Dumisa said, hooking his hand around her elbow while trying to drag his host away again.

"Yeah, no," Jackie said as she ducked under his arm with a sheepish smile, "let's go with Ms. Smith for the time being. Earn some prizes for Kit, right?" Jackie asked, looking for Antain and already seeing him at a stand begging Kroc to get him a prize. Jackie glanced at Jaska, seeing him shrug before walking over to Ms. Smith.

Ms. Smith walked over to Jackie, putting her arm around her shoulders before she leaned in towards her again, "relax, Jackie. You should have some fun while we're here too, you know. Consider my being here a small relief valve for you." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled as Jackie sucked in a deep breath and exhaled with a smile.

"Thank you, Ms. Smith. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. And we don't need anyone knowing about what happened with the little bite earlier, right?" Smith said, pinching Jackie's cheek as she menacingly smiled, looking at Jackie over the sunglasses and making a shiver crawl down Jackie's spine. "I'm sure I don't need to mention all the inconveniences and consequences for me, for the program, and for you if such an incident like a big scary and venomous predator were to bite on purpose or by accident someone on the program, even while under supervision from 2 hosts, do I?"

"R-Right… No! Lips sealed, I got it." Jackie said, making an invisible zipper seal her lips shut as Ms. Smith straightened out her stance and cheerfully smiled.

"Excellent! Now let's enjoy ourselves, shall we?" Ms. Smith genuinely smiled before striding ahead with Kroc, Jaska and Antain while Dumisa stayed next to Jackie, staring at them.

"Annoying woman. Her tongue is almost as bad as a lamia's." Dumisa huffed, seeming bothered as Jackie shrugged.

"Hey, we're here to have fun. So let's have some more fun, right?" Jackie asked with a grin, holding her hand up to his arm.

"I suppose we can have fun if we are not interrupted by bothersome annoyances." Dumisa grabbed Jackie and looked towards an attraction he desired to visit.

The two of them joined back up with Smith and the others minus Werner, Siri and Sabre who were already far gone somewhere else.

Antain whimpered excitedly, hopping near the edge of the game and looking up to the prizes glowing with fluffiness and softness as he pointed to them with clear desire to have them. Kroc walked over and looked up at the toy before pointing to it.

"That one." Kroc clarified for the man behind the booth as he took an uneasy step back before sheepishly laughing.

"Very funny, sir! But you need to pay and win to get the prize." He said, gesturing to the cans and the balls set on the counter, "it's 1 dollar to play. A steal, might I add." He said with a wink as Kroc stared at him before back to Ms. Smith who let out a sigh and walked over, paying the man a single bill.

"No problem, mate." Kroc toothily grinned as Ms. Smith picked up the eager little fox boy. Kroc stood a small ways off, glaring at his target and then threw the ball which made the cans jump when he hit them right at the middle in the base, making them fall and winning the prize. The ball he threw stuck in the back of the metal mesh, making the booth manager's jaw drop as Jaska went ahead and grabbed the prize before handing it to Antain who was already jumping and yipping to get a hold of the toy. His little arms tightly hugged the toy to his chest, uttering small purrs in excitement.

"So cute!" Jackie cheerfully smiled, rubbing Antain's head while Dumisa casted a glance down at his host.

"You certainly are not calm or collected as any lamia would be, much less would one call cute such a furry small critter as Antain. You seem to care quite a lot about the cub but I can't fathom why you even bother with a cub that is not yours and I have only seen that in Sabre and you. I have to say that isn't smart but maybe being a host isn't either for most humans, much so females. How can you care for something so small and defenseless? Only a nitwit would risk being affectionate to something so fragile." He said as Jackie stared at him, seeing his insulting mouth zipping shut while staring at her.

"Ha ha, thanks, Dumisa." Jackie lightly laughed, handpicking the compliments out of what he said as she cheekily grinned. Dumisa's frown deeped as he stared openly at her before she turned away, turning her attention to the others while he continued to stare long and hard at her, deeply engrossed in his own thoughts before a light touch of red flashed across his face. He grabbed her arm, making her turn towards him in puzzlement before he pulled her away from the others.

"Come with me. I want to confirm some things." Dumisa said, dragging Jackie with him quickly as he vanished into the crowds, leaving the others on their own with Smith.

Unaware of their kidnapped host, Kroc smiled as Yenna gently patted Antain on the head as he looked up at her, his focus shifting before his eyes glowed again as he hopped in place, looking up at the biggest, fluffiest stuffed panda he's ever seen in his entire life before looking to Kroc and eagerly pointing to the toy.

"Ah! A-A-AAh!" He barely babbled out as Kroc walked over, seeing the price for the game was $5 before looking over to Ms. Smith who smiled with a long thousand yard gaze, handing the Extraspecies her money while a steady stream of tears ran down her face. This was going to be a long night for her and her wallet. Antain squirmed around in Ms. Smith's arms before she set him down, keeping a close eye on him as he set the stuffed animal on the ground and began wrestling with it, tossing and turning with it while happily biting at it before he stood up, looking around at all the people as he stepped out from between Ms. Smith's legs.

"Hiya little boy!" A large clown happily cried, suddenly bouncing in front of Antain.

The little fox's eyes grew wide and his ears dropped back as he stumbled back, startled at the big looming figure that held a thick chemical smell of cleaners and chemicals wafted through the air. Antain's heart began beating fast and tears began gathering in his eyes while his grasp on his new stuffed animal tightened as he looked up at the brightly colored face of the clown that to him seemed to be snarling at him.

"W-Whoa, a fox boy?" The clown said, sounding baffled and tried approaching to give him a balloon. "Oh uh, here! Little uh, fox! Have a balloon." He said with a shaky grin, trying to get back into character.

Antain gave a hiss bu the clown was not intimidated. Instead Antain began sniffling and crying, taking a couple more steps back before he quickly turned around and ran away into the crowd with a loud bout of meowings calling for his clouded leopard mother.

"Hey wait little uh, fox boy?" The clown called, sounding unsure of himself.

Smith's attention was caught by the loud meows. "Hey-!" She immediately shouted, catching everyone's attention as they suddenly turned, seeing the clown staring at the crowd of legs while Antain's tail was getting lost between the legs of the people as he ran away in a panic with the stuffed animal held over his back.

Jaska and Yenna moved through the crowd to get the pup while Kroc hissed at everyone, trying to make them move and see where the pup was. The scream of some person indicated which direction Antain took as Jaska jumped over a table stall to intercept the kit. The tiger landed in front of Antian and grabbed him in a hug while the cub thrashed around trying to escape for a few moments until he sniffed Jaska's scent, which calmed him down enough for him to stop moving and instead hug the bigger cat tighter among wails and sobs.

Yenna, Kroc and Miss Smith approached as the people made way for the big crocodile, quickly clearing the area or taking lots of pictures of them all with their phones. Everyone's attention, however, was on the trembling little pup.

"Is he alright? Any injuries?" Ms. Smith asked, concerned as she lightly pet the fox's ear while he nuzzled his head closer to Jaska's chest. The kit tightly hugged both the stuffed animal and the big tiger, softly crying as he continued to mew for his mama. Ms. Smith let out a heavy sigh, patting Kroc on the arm to make him stop hissing at anyone who got close to them.

"Nyet." Jaska answered, smelling the scent of deep fear coming from the pup as Yenna came close to him, gently licking the fox's head to comfort him.

Ms. Smith let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she began to realize just how much trouble she might be in for and not just about this night. She looked around for Jackie, blinking as she found both her and Dumisa gone.

" … that son of a b****." Ms. Smith growled, thinking of extra classes or cutting meal privileges from the snake.

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"What a horrible taste for decoration." He said, pointing at some of the decorations on a stand and letting out a laugh at how cheaply made they were. He looked around the amusement park, seeming to be in a much better mood now as he dragged her along beside him while checking out the various cheap prizes one could win at the many games presented.

Jackie barely let out a small sigh as he pulled her around, wondering how Werner and Smith were doing with the others. She was scolded before for leaving the others with just Werner but what will Smith say now that she was dragged away from them again by the snake?

Dumisa noticed her distraction, frowning in annoyance before he pinched her chin and made her look up at him. "I'm right in front of you, Jackie. Why do you look so unhappy? You should be more than ecstatic to be in my company." He questioned with a frown as she reached up, lightly rubbing his jaw to distract him. His gaze remained steady, narrowing upon figuring out her attempted distraction.

"Sorry, Dumisa. Why don't we go join the others for a bit? I'm a little anxious since I didn't mean to dump everyone on the others," Jackie suggested with a little more genuinely as Dumisa's frown deepened in annoyance.

"Who cares? You're with me and that's what matters now." He said with a strangely alluring smile as he leaned down towards her, curling his fingers behind her head with a softened gaze, "so why don't we enjoy this time together?" He enticed, brandishing a pearly white smile.

"Dumisa … ," Jackie started in a voice of warning before reaching up, gently rubbing his neck. His grinning faltered a bit, his eyes expressing the pleasure he felt before he leaned in closer to her and smiled more genuinely while she rubbed the back of his neck. "Dumisa, it's not fair to the others if we're out here having fun while the other hosts are trying to reign everyone in." She lightly laughed, trying to imagine Ms. Smith holding Kroc back by his tail.

"And what if we have some more fun of other kind. I'm sure you would suffice and have quite the fun yourself. " Dumisa suggested with a sly smirk.

"Please?" Jackie asked a bit more intently, leaning in towards him before letting out a faint groan, feigning despair, "if I absolutely have to then I can sleep in the same bed as you for a day or two as your heat warmer, how's that?" She suggested, trying to offer rewards for his good behavior. Dumisa's eyes narrowed, thinking hard and appearing rather frustrated as he stared at her for quite sometime before letting out a low hiss and clicking his teeth together.

"Not yet." Dumisa firmly stated, looking around before pointing towards the large structure making continual circles. He rose himself up higher over the crowds, getting a better look at it before lowering himself to Jackie and pointing at the ride. "What is that structure there, Jackie? Is it ridable?"

"You want to ride the Ferris Wheel?" Jackie asked, sounding a little surprised. "Well, yeah, sure. But then we need to go back and join the others. They'd probably enjoy it too." Jackie said as he futilely tried tugging on his arm to make him follow but her remained firm as he hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her in close.

"We'll join the others when I decide to. I still haven't decided." He said, sounding troubled as he pulled her into line. Everyone immediately began staring in wonder and taking pictures out of curiosity at the snake as Jackie glanced around, a little self conscious about the publicity before she tried to ignore it with a deep breath. Dumisa stared at her before frowning, leaning in closer to her head. "Is spending time with me really that taxing?" He irritably questioned, sounding annoyed and hurt.

"No, it's not that at all. I'm just bothered by all the staring but it really can't be helped, can it?" Jackie admitted with a shrug, trying to make the stares roll off her back. Dumisa raised a slight eyebrow at the complaint, glancing around before looking back at her with a smirk.

"Hmph. Most lamia would be proud to be spending one on one time with me and happily flaunt that fact." Dumisa noted with a flippant grin.

"Yeah, but I'm not a lamia." The host smiled, smoothly sliding her hand down his neck and over his jaws as his smile faltered, studying her. Dumisa's eyes studied her before hardening, thinking deeply about something he refused to voice.

"No, you most certainly are not." He said with a frown.

As soon as they got to the front of the line the manager of the ferris wheel was already in place and set to try and deter them from riding. Jackie took a deep breath, preparing herself before stepping forward and getting ready to unleash an argument all set and matched in her head. She knew what weight those carts could hold and although it would be a tight fit, Dumisa and her would be able to ride in it without much problem. The manager seemed to have seen this coming as he reached over to the booth and opened it, making her stop in surprise.

"Before you start, ma'am, let me wager this; if you and the snake can fit inside this cart then you're more than welcomed to ride it." The manager smiled, startling her as she stared at him and waited for the punch line. That's it? That's all it took? While she stood in a stupefied shock, Dumisa pushed her back into the ride.

"Hurry up, host. I want to go for the ride." Dumisa huffed while picking her up like a child, tossing her into one of the seats before he took a deep breath and managed to cram himself inside. Everyone in the park seemed to hold their breath in anticipation, watching Dumisa shift and move around to make himself fit within the box. Luckily it was the cart for the disabled, allowing him to fit in easier with the larger cart.

"Uh … got some of your tail left." The manager said, clearly trying not to laugh as Dumisa let out an annoyed hiss, reaching out and pulling the rest of his tail in.

"Hey, Dumisa, be careful." Jackie said, standing in the corner awkwardly to avoid being crushed by his body.

"Don't be so shy … come here." Dumisa warmly smiled as he grabbed the host, startling her as he rolled her onto his hips before creating a rather comfortable love nest for him to lay on before the manager shut the door. The ride jerked to a start as Jackie fell against his chest, startled as his arms wrapped around her and held her against him.

"Dumisa, could you let go? This is a little awkward." Jackie admitted as she tried to shimmy away but he held firm.

"No. It's more comfortable this way." He said, holding her steady as Jackie frowned at the too close quarters with the snake. She felt a little claustrophobic as the ride continued at a painfully slow pace. This was weird … but, hey, as a host this is something she would have to deal with. Jackie let out a sigh and leaned against Dumisa's chest, deciding to just roll with it. The air for some reason felt rather tense and stuffy not to mention the uncomfortable silence as Dumisa stared rather openly at her. His piercing gaze seemed to cut right through her, making her very uncomfortable and wondering what he was thinking so hard about.

"Pretty cramped for a snake, huh? They clearly didn't think of Extraspecies when they built it," Jackie said, trying to break the tension in the car.

Dumisa continued to stare at her in a rather uncomfortable way before he gently held her jaws, tilting his head with a cool smile, "don't move, Jackie." He whispered, watching as her eyes widened a bit from him calling her by her actual name in such a sweet tone before he tipped her head back and sweetly connected their lips. Jackie's eyes grew wide in shock, finding herself unable to pull away as she was caught in his slitted gaze, captivated in a way she had never felt. Her heart pounded hard within her chest and a deep blush covering her cheeks. He was … kissing her. Rather than sheer embarrassment Jackie felt more confused about what this meant. After what seemed like an eternity he pulled back, flicking his tongue out and tickling her lips before he deeply laughed, grinning happily.

"I've decided, Jackie. I'm claiming you." He boldly stated as he coiled a bit tighter around her but it as more of a hug than anything else.

" … w-w-well, you already kind of did that on day one when I became your host." Jackie lightly laughed, having a sinking feeling in her chest. This isn't going to end well. Dumisa's hand cupped her cheek, making her look at him as he leaned in a bit, his pupils becoming wide and oddly affectionate as he stared at her.

"I'm claiming you as more than a host. I'm not sure how humans mate but I certainly don't want you as just a host." Dumisa admitted with a toothy grin as Jackie continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what he meant; or rather, how serious he was when he said that.

"Okay … and?" Jackie said, glancing the other way with wide eyes and just imagining the horrible things Ms. Smith was going to do to her. "Um … Dumisa, I don't think that's really going to work out too well." Jackie honestly admitted, holding his hand and taking it off her face but still kept a grip on it, "I mean, you're a snake Extraspecies. I don't think it's physically possible or even legal-," she started before he tipped her head to the side and connected their lips again.

Jackie stiffened up, stunned to the point of being unable to resist him. There was no room to move away and she was stuck with him until the ride came to a painfully slow end. She nervously gulped, leaning back as he followed her. His knife of a tongue wedged past her lips, slipping into her mouth as her eyes burst open in surprise. Jackie began struggling, wriggling underneath of him as he readjusted his body, making her sink lower into him as he tried to hold her down but she continued, nonetheless. She tensed up as his hand gently gripped her neck, startling her as he pulled back and licked his lips. Jackie took in deep, startled breathes as she stared at him, startled.

His eyes gleamed, seeming excited as his cheeks visibly turned pink, "I must admit it is quite strange to have a woman resist me," he admitted, stealing a kiss against her cheek before he seductively grinned, "but I do say it has the strangest allure to make me desire to pursue it. Come, Jackie. Allow me my fun." He muttered his plea before reconnecting the kiss, pushing her back until her spine was curling around the curve of his body. She tried to shift out of his grasp but the tender kiss and tingling sensation over her lips made her heart race and body melt. Her cheeks touched with red, finding herself only able to see Dumisa in front of her. His eyes locked with hers, trapping her in his endless gaze as he smirked against her lips, crawling his fingers up her side.

"I think I am going to enjoy this contract very much, host." He smiled, flicking his tongue out and tapping her full lips before nuzzling closer to her. Suddenly the cart shook as they reached the ground and the strange moment ended. Dumisa smiled against her skin as he pulled away, letting the manager open the door before Dumisa set her on her feet. Jackie's face burned with embarrassment as her head spun, trying to collect herself while Dumisa grinned in satisfaction.

"So, where to next, Jackie?" He nonchalantly purred as she continued to stiffly walk straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze as her heart painfully raced. Oh this is _so_ bad and wrong; she can't do this! Why did he kiss her?! Her head spun around wildly, finding herself in the strangest dilemma. Did she _like_ Dumisa like that? She had to admit she never really thought of her Extraspecies like that. She was practically, no, _literally_ their landlord a-and it was wrong to kiss and tenet! It was weird on so many levels that made her think of how a crossbreed would even look like. "Jackie?" Dumisa whispered into her ear, making her jump out of her skin as she whipped around to face him. He smirked at her reaction, kissing her temple, "where are we going now?" He seductively asked, tipping her chin up with a finger, "somewhere private, I hope?"

"T-To the others." Jackie said, looking back over to his charismatically grinning expression. There were rules about Hosts and Extraspecies and she was going to follow them. She remembered reading that it was forbidden to get involved with an Extraspecies and that was good enough for her.

"And should we do something more when we return to the apartment? I'm starting to like the idea of all the program's parts." Dumisa said with a smile before confidently looking forward. "Im claiming myself as the winner. You have no say in the matter." He cheerfully dictated, slithering on ahead of her as she stared at his back, feeling exhausted.

… _I think … being a host just became a whole lot more difficult._

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In another part of the amusement park, Sabre and Siri were still clinging tightly to Werner's arms. They had gotten onto a couple rides but due to the lamia's size most of the rides were out of question. This only fueled Siri into a long string of long winded complaints that seemed to have no end.

"Honestly, I just can't believe they haven't made Extraspecies friendly rides over here already! It is so frustrating coming here where it's so much fun but can't get onto the rides. But at least I can be here with you, Werner. It would be so much more fun though with just us two." She pouted, hugging his arm tightly while shooting Sabre a glare.

"Wouldn't it be more fun without you instead? We could have actually gotten on the rides instead of having to move on and listen to your complains." Sabre retorted to the lamia and rubbed on her head on Werner's arm in a kitty claiming way. "We practically went already to all attractions that could."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Werner patiently asked, already knowing what the lamia's answer would be.

"Let's have a drink." Siri happily smiled, shooting Sabre a glaring smile, "there's no need for you to come; you can go ahead and go back to your child and host." Siri smiled, trying to wave the feline off.

"A drink sounds good to me. This place is too bright and noisy anyways." Sabre agreed, surprising Werner and pissing off Siri. "And after a long day a drink would be nice."

"Alright but let's go back to the apartment. I don't want any other incidents being taken advantage of." Werner sighed, thinking back to the beach before he gently held onto both girls and headed back to the apartment after a brief text message to Ms. Smith.

Once in the apartment they all unwound, tired from the events of the day.

"Ooh~ my host!" Siri crooned, softly pawing at Werner's chest before cuddling up to him. Sabre dangerously smiled towards the lamia as she returned with some rather hardcore liquor from her room; one was straightlaced vodka and the other, mezcal. "I have these but I'm not sure they'll be enough. I heard that some Lamias were pretty good at handling their alcohol if they are strong."

"Oh ho ho ho~ of course. I'm the best drinker there is." The lamia proudly proclaimed as she gestured to herself, "you can't keep beauty like this without being able to hold down a few drinks."

"I go buy more down the street. Stay here and I be back soon." Werner sighed and left the girls alone, giving a worried glance at the lamia.

The moment he was out of the apartment Siri turned her glare to the feline. "I don't know what you're doing, cat, but Werner is _mine_." She possessively hissed.

"Is he? He is only your host and apparently has no other interest in a lamia that even another lamia dislikes." Sabre very casually took a sip of mezcal. "But who knows? I'm a cat, so I don't know much about the snakes. Maybe he thinks you are weak and not worth mating with."

"I am not weak! I'm-!"

"A snake without poison and a weak constitution." Sabre shrugged as if that was a mere innocuous fact as the snake took her shot in one angry go. "And besides that, I don't think you can handle a human male. Heck, you only managed to last, what, 15 minutes with Dumisa?"

"Hmph. I used him according to my own pleasure until I was finished with him. I could handle my host better than you could, cat." Siri spat the last word and filled her glass again.

"15 minutes or less? You finished so fast and the guy ended up unsatisfied. What could a human male expect from you then?" Sabre took a small sip again a while the lamia took another drink from her on glass. "Maybe you shouldn't drink that fast or too much or you won't last long."

"And why not?" The lamia hissed. "You think I can't handle it?"

Sabre took her own glass to finish her shot and looked away without answering.

"Fine, then. Whoever can hold the most shots will prove she's tough enough to handle Werner for the night." Siri eagerly puffed out her chest, her eyes gleaming rather greedily.

Sabre dangerously smiled as she whipped refilled the shot glasses, grinning evilly towards the smirking lamia.

"May the stronger female win." Sabre smiled before pouring the both of them some mezcal shots.

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Werner headed up the stairs of the apartment with the other bottles of tequila, whisky and rum before he heard Siri's loud shrieking laugh filling the apartment. He frowned, having a particularly bad feeling about this. When he got to the top he found Siri partially dressed and woozy from drinking while Sabre was calmly seated and looking quite well and smug like the cat she was. Besides the women were two empty bottles of vodka and mezcal.

"Ah~ started without me?" Werner asked, heading over to them before pulling out the other bottles of booze and setting them on the table.

After a moment of drunkenly wobbling in the air, Siri turned and saw Werner before cheerfully grinning and throwing her hands in the air. "We're winning, and I'm drinking!" She shouted with a loud, "WOOOOOOOO!" Before she fall onto her back against the carpet, wildly laughing in her excitement.

Werner heavily sighed with a sheepish smile, "come on Siri, you know how you get when you drink." He lightly laughed, looking a little concerned as he looked her over.

"Do join us." Sabre smirked, raising her shot glass into the air before taking another fast shot.

"I'd be delighted." Werner smiled. He sat down besides Sabre as she leaned against him with a purr, filling up his shot glass and Siri's as well.

"Salud!" Sabre cried as they all downed the shots. As the drinks went down so did Siri as she flopped onto the floor again, totally out of it as her head tossed back and forth, giggling and laughing to herself as her head spun.

"Ah~ no matter how hard she tries she can never keep up," Werner sighed as he got up, heading over to the lamia's room. Sabre watched as he came out with a very long and large blanket heater, laying it over her body and turning on the heat for her before taking his bottle and drink and gestured to the patio. "Shall we continue elsewhere?" He offered with a grinning smile.

Sabre smirked and followed him outside as they set themselves on long chairs. Under the moonlight they finished the rest of the bottles he bought which were less concentrated than the hardcore ones Sabre had hidden and initially shared. With a heavy sigh Werner wobbled slightly, holding up the bottle and staring at it for a few moments, shaking it and confirming the contents were completely drained.

"Well, that's it." Werner sighed and stood up, lending his hand to help the leopard get up. She didn't seem that drunk as she smoothly stood up, leaning against him and giving him support as she grasped at his chest with a bright smile on her face.

"No, it's not," Sabre purred, sliding her other hand around on his back, "why don't we have more fun in another way?"

"Hm?" He hummed, looking her over and seeing her purring before moving her hand down to his stomach, flickering her gaze down to his pants and back up at him as he tipped his head back slightly before nodding. "Hm … that time of year for you, hmmm? " He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes and trying to dispel the fuzzy cloud over his head.

She purred, sliding her hand over his thigh and giving a light, suggestive squeeze as he grabbed her wrist and held firm with surprising strength considering how much he had to drink. For a human, Sabre had to admit she was impressed with his tolerance.

" … It's not right for a host to … to sleep with his Extraspecies." Werner slurred with a bashful smile, holding still as she rubbed against him.

"I'm not one of _your_ charges." She countered and glanced at the snoring lamia who was dead asleep with no signs of waking up for quite sometime.

"Yes, you … you are one of Jackie's, that girl's Extraspecies." He said, rubbing her back as he tried to lean back but she easily went with him.

"I never said that," Sabre growled as Werner deeply laughed.

"You are," he said with a shrug, "but either way, I should not sleep with you. I am a host and you're an Extraspecies." He lightly argued though his tone more inclined in wanting to know how she'd convince him.

"So? You aren't my host and it's not as if humans don't sleep with Extraspecies; it's far more common than humans would like to admit. Your words can't deny that you want to. I can see the bulge in your pants and smell your interest ... and I don't mind either. Besides, I know you're curious about felines because bastets normally just do it with other bastet and only during heat. This is quite the rare chance for you, more so because I'm quite the rare cat." She purred with a half lidded, seductive gaze.

"Rarity hash … has little to do with it and everything sho … to do with the fact I host," he said, leaning back. Sabre guided him back inside as he stumbled falling back against a seat as Sabre sat on his lap with a purr. She leaned against his chest, pushing her breasts against him while sweetly smiling.

"Host or not, you are a male with desires." Sabre sat with her legs parted and rubbed her chest against him, "and there is no rule against that. The deal you have only stands for a host and his charges but not with anyone else." She added on, rubbing him thoroughly and trying to make him change his mind.

Werner visibly gulped, appearing nervous now as Sabre kissed his neck and softly sucked on it. After some hesitation the man let out a deep sigh, putting his arms around her to hug her against him before he glanced at the passed out lamia. His cheeks flushed as he ran his hands over her back, making her growl enthusiastically.

"Your room or mine?" She moved up and tended her hand to help him get up.

"Mine." He said with a blush, grabbing her hand and taking her to his room.

Sabre purred loudly as she laid back against his bed, sprawling out with a wide smile as Werner took off his shirt, still appearing to be hesitant as he climbed onto the bed with her. "Just once, kitty … once," he said with a drunken wag of his finger before Sabre grabbed it, sliding his digit into her mouth and sensually sucked on it. He stared at her, wavering as he raised his other hand and appeared to be thinking hard, " … just once."

The 'just once' soon turned into all night.

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The closing of the door caught Eztli's attention as he woke up, sleepily stretching and shaking himself out before listening intently to the silence. Nothing … were those people gone for good now? Eztli snuck into the hallway, looking around the perfectly clean apartment with only the worker's handiwork showing anyone was there in the first place. Ezlti stared up at the large strange tubes, puzzled about their purpose before be crawled around the rest of the apartment. Only after he was sure that he was alone he tossed himself onto a large puffy couch in the living room, letting out a big yawning sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't help but wonder where that host took everyone. He was sure they'd be back but he was anxious for Jaska and the rest of them. Who knows what that human would do to them.

And thinking about the human host he noticed that this couch had some of her scent on it. His nose burned with her scent, bothering him to no end; so much so that he started digging his claws on it and it ripping it to shreds just by thinking what kind of horrible stuff this human would have done to him or to the other guys over this couch, which prompted him to tear at it with his claws. Most humans were bad humans. Everyone had a secret to hide or something they do which hurt others. It's impossible not to have that. Eztli's claws left large couch marks in the couch, biting and ripping it entirely while gutting and tossing the fluff inside all around the room.

When he calmed down from the little destructive feat he felt the need to discover just how bad was this human, and being here all alone at least could serve for that. He made his way to the hosts room and directly towards the closet to ensure there weren't any kind of weird toys or attires there. Anything that even remotely resembled Olivia in any way would be destroyed.

He began rummaging the closet but he really couldn't find any toy, meaning that those were hidden somewhere else. In the meantime, he examined the horrible clothes, relieved that they were at least not weird costumes. Regardless, he tore through them simply because he didn't like the way they looked. He glared at the dresses, ripping them all to shreds without a second thought.

The jaguar hissed before slamming the closet shut, glaring around the room with lowered ears. She had to have weird things hidden around here somewhere! Eztli looked under the bed, finding it full of boxes before he pulled them out, digging through them to find old clothes, shoes, blankets and linens. Nothing similar to what Olivia had. Eztli huffed, becoming more upset as he glared at the now empty boxes. He blinked, flickering his tail back and forth before he stepped into the box, sitting down and feeling rather protected on all four sides. Despite himself he smiled, jumping out of the box before landing on his feet, growling excitedly before tackling the cardboard box and rolling around with it. As he tumbled around he found himself laughing, biting and clawing at the cardboard before he tumbled into the bathroom where he continued to bite at the box, ripping off small chunks of cardboard.

His back foot kicked against something squeaky before he turned around, pupils growing wide as he watched the toilet paper trail downwards in a neat fashion. He leaned forward slightly, staring at it intently before kicking the box off of himself and hopped in front of the new toy. Slowly he raised his hand, pawing at the toilet paper before breathing in his excitement, pawing at it again and again as he quickly unraveled the entire roll. His hair stood on ends as he breathed excitedly, batting at the remains of the roll before rolling around in it, purring as the weak paper stuck to his fur and rolled him up like a cammel cigarette.

As he rolled around he came to a stop in front of the shower curtains, staring at them before frowning. That is an ugly pattern. The colors are similar to Olivia's shower curtains. With a snarling growl Eztli flipped over onto his feet, leaping up and grabbing hold of the plastic sheets before ripping it down, clawing it into shreds and biting it repeatedly to leave lots of holes in it. While gnawing on the plastic sheets he looked up at the mirror. He paused, seeing the reflection of a rather sickly thin looking black jaguar. His ears lowered, seeing the unease behind those eyes before he kicked the curtain away and stood in front of the mirror, getting a better look at himself. He … didn't really look much like a proud feline, did he?

Eztli frowned, taking in a deep breath as he saw the slight indents for his ribs and cavern for a stomach. His frown deepened as he sneered angrily, punching the glass and making it shatter but stay in place against the wall. The refracting pieces revealed a harsher glare of his eye as he glanced down at the counter, seeing the array of lipsticks, mascaras and other makeup items. With a hiss he slapped them off the countertop, gathering all of them up including the air driers and hair curlers before turning on the water and putting the items down to a watery grave, mixing all of the soaps and shampoos with them for good measure. Soon the large array of foam overflowed the bathroom, flooding the floor with a cascade of bubbles.

Eztli nodded firmly before turning away, having found nothing else in the bathroom, before slipping into the host's room. It was impossible for her not to have any weird tools or outfits! They just had to be hidden very well. Eztli yanked out the drawers to the dressers, tossing them out and sending the host's clothes flying everywhere as he searched the dressers thoroughly but found nothing strange or out of the ordinary at all. Eztli let out a stiff growl, knowing for a surety that this couldn't be right. She had none of the weird items that Olivia did. Eztli sat on the only thing intact, the bed, as he sat close together and stared over the room. Where else could he be missing?

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The alarm to Werner's room went off in the morning as the German flinched, achingly holding his head as he sat up and slowly recalled the night before. Sabre's soft moan made a blush flash across his face as she leaned against him, pressing her naked chest up against his back as she purred away and nuzzled against his head.

"Did you sleep well?" She teasingly smiled, licking the back of his ear before he stood up, gently letting her fall back against the bed as he began to quickly get dressed and ready for the day.

"Hm~ nya~ come lay down a little longer," she enticed with a purr, wiggling her tail as she watched him slip a shirt and pants on.

"Can't; need to get Yenna's breakfast ready and eggs for Siri. She'll be hungover from last night." He said, walking into the bathroom to brush his teeth quickly. He splashed cold water on his face, trying to wake himself up.

Sabre rolled her eyes in annoyance, stretching and glancing at the clock. It was only 7 in the morning. "You are quite a dedicated host. If we want any snack we must practically kill it ourselves. Jackie never gives us more, much less early." The clouded leopard playfully complained and stretched on the bed with her tail up. Werner looked just at the right time, or wrong, to see what he was looking at most of the night as she smirked, shaking her hips back and forth. "Why not have a bit more fun? They can wait a little bit. We aren't going home until 9."

"The girls need to eat before they'll be willing to pack. And this here was only a one time thing to satisfy your heat." He said, finishing up his teeth before putting dry shampoo into his hair and quickly cleaning it up. He paused to rub his aching head, letting out a stiff and pained sigh, "I've slept in late as it is."

"But I'm not satisfied yet," she hummed, rolling on her back and twisting a bit while pawing at the air towards him playfully, "come." She enticed, spreading her legs for him and letting him see her in all her glory.

"Then you can satisfy yourself with, what was it, Jaska? He is a bastet so he is surely more than willing." He stated as he righted his shirt, "besides, it is not natural for our species to intermingle. I was a little buzzed last night." He said with a shrug as he rubbed his aching head again, "I mean it's simply not possible for an Extraspecies to end up with a human so why bother having fun with them? You'll be paired up with a mate soon enough like they do in the zoo to take care of your desires for a few days and I'm sure it is Jaska who will take care of that." He said, brushing it off like nothing.

"I don't want that. I care about mating outside of heat." Sabre growled back with her ears flat against her skull, feeling rather hurt by his words.

"Mating outside of heat is unnatural for a cat in itself," he said, stepping back out into the room as he adjusted his pants better.

"It's not mating, it's just sex." Sabre pointed out with a frown.

He paused for a moment before sliding a cold gaze over to her. His uncaring expression sent shivers down her spine as her eyes widened, beginning to get an idea of what kind of person she had spend the night with.

"Animals mate, humans f***. There's a difference between that, Ms. Feline." He said.

"I'm not an animal." She hissed with lowered ears.

"Then what are you?" He questioned, looking her evenly in the eyes and seeming annoyed; with what exactly, she could only imagine, "you're not a human, Sabre. You're a cat." He firmly stated.

She looked away with a stiff frown, "I am myself, simple as that."

"And a clouded leopard at that." He said before heading towards the door, taking a deep breath before turning back to her, "why did you choose to sleep with me instead of one of your own?"

Sabre remained silent with a cast down gaze. Of course she couldn't say aloud that she was trying to keep some of her humanity by cohorting with a human man when she had an inhuman need of a male. Now that she was alone, she was afraid to lose whatever was left of her past self.

"Hmmm … well, Sabre, think of it this way. You can't mate with a human. Bastets only produce bastets, even with other bastets their kittens are always pure full breeds. A hybrid with a human, if at all possible, would be an unnatural monstrosity. Its very existence would be cruel in itself and would be both a danger and a crime against nature. Not a human and not an Extraspecies; a creature lost in between. The better act would be to kill such a thing and save it from the pain of it's own existence." Werner said with a stiffer frown, remaining firm in his reasoning.

Sabre's hands gripped the sheets tightly, ripping through them with her claws. She tensed up almost trembling and with her fur on edge by how shaken she was from his words. Her chest tightened by just thinking on his words. She wasn't human anymore but she didn't want to cast away whatever humanity she had left if there was any left at all. Her body wasn't human but her mind and person wasn't an Extraspecies either. What was she then? A monstrosity as he had said? "That's not true."

"You know it is." He sighed, clearly tired of the conversation already, "besides, there are too few cats left, so you should go have cubs with another cat. Be sure to clean yourself up and pack up to leave." He said, walking into the kitchen, leaving her alone in his room.

Sabre's eyes became watery, all her muscles tense and chest hurting. She hugged herself into a little tight ball, trying, forcing herself to not break down crying. To not acknowledge how much the truth of her existence hurt or how much she was truly torn apart on the inside. She was no longer human and she wasn't a feline either. She was a monstrous mix of the two. And … and it was disgusting.

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In another part of the house, a certain male lamia was oversleeping with a host struggling against him.

"D-Dumisa, seriously, get up! We need to get going soon!" Jackie hissed, shoving against his heavy body. She wasn't able to sleep at all last night because this snake had constricted around her tightly, preventing her from wriggling free of him. What in the world makes him think that just because he had a crush on her that he would be able to do whatever he wanted and she'd just sit back and watch?

For the first time in an hour of shoving his body twitched, making her jump in surprise as he slowly unwound himself, staring down at her with his infamous sexy snarky smile as she rested in the donut hole of his coiled body.

"Morning, Jackie," he purred, lowering himself down and grabbing her leg before she could successfully get away. Her nails dug into his scales as he dragged her back by the ankle, holding her right leg in the air before softly kissing her ankle. She tensed up, startled as red slapped against her cheeks. "You have strangely cute toes, you know that?" He murmured, sliding his slimy tongue between her toes and making her squirm.

"Dumisa, let go! That's gross!" She shouted as he shifted and moved, laying her on the bed before setting his scaly body over her torso and nearly crushing the life out of her with his massive weight as he continued to playfully flicker his tongue between her toes.

"How is it gross? You're mine now so I plan to get to know every little part of you." He grinned, nibbling on the arch of her foot, "does this make you excited? I will have to become aware of the human's erogenous zones to pleasure you thoroughly, so be patient," he teased, sliding his tongue up her shin and to her knee as he stared at her in honest curiosity, "would you like to touch me too?"

"No, Dumisa. I'm your host, not your toy." Jackie growled. "Come on, we need to leave soon and go home."

Dumisa reluctantly let her go but added an ominous note, "I will not be held off for long, Jackie."

"You'll hold off for as long as I want." She growled while stumbling out of the room, relieved to be free.

After an hour of struggling between all of her charges, Jackie organized and packed up everything and got the others moving, not seeing an ear or tail of Sabre. Jackie briefly wondered if Sabre left with Smith along with Jaska before brushing it off. There was no way, she could have told her first. Shrugging it off, Jackie went ahead and packed up the rest of her things, double and triple checking the rooms to ensure nothing was left behind.

Kroc strapped everything onto the van's top before Dumisa reluctantly slithered into the incredibly cramped back of the vehicle with Kroc sitting huddled into a tight ball. Jackie walked over, seeing everyone in the van before spotting Sabre sitting in the front seat with a hard and haunted expression on her face.

Jackie walked over to her, knocking on the window as Sabre looked away from her, hiding her face. Jackie frowned, puzzled as she opened the door, watching Sabre stiffen up. Her arms tightened around Antain as he tried making a fun dash for freedom, madly laughing and cuddling against the clouded leopard.

"Sabre? You alright?" Jackie asked, glancing into the back of the van and seeing both the males remaining quiet and were surprisingly well behaved. Red flags shot up in the host's head, running down a mental list of what could be wrong before finding nothing. She turned to Sabre, hoping for an answer.

"Nothing." Sabre answered low through her gritted teeth obviously having trouble to swallow up. "Just a bad morning. Let's go home, host."

"No no, Sabre, what is it?" Jackie asked, hesitating before she reached forward and very gently began sliding her hand behind Sabre's neck, gingerly rubbing her weak spots on her ear to help coax the answer out of them.

Sabre growled, not even reacting to the petting. "Let's go."

" … Sabre, tell me what's wrong." Jackie gently asked, watching as she held Antain tighter in her arms.

"I just had a bad morning with Werner, alright?!" The leopard hissed, "now shut up and drive or I'll do so." Sabre just wanted to get the hell away from here. This morning was a reminder of the reality that she would never fit anywhere or ever get a life was tearing through her like melted metal though snow. She was alone in this. A human would f*** her for the chance and Extraspecies kitties would do so out of the heat but would immediately tell there was something weird with her. Her existence now was just racing to try and finish hunting down the remains of the facility or until she got killed, captured or worse. Tears almost began coming out. All was nothing for her. There was no way she'd ever get peace or calm. She would never have a job besides being a spy, assassin or mercenary even though she had tried with the Extraspecies clothes. How had she even fathom that when she wasn't even a real Extraspecies? She was just an idiotic fool.

Jackie stared at her, baffled by her behavior and troubled deeply. There were only a few things that could upset Sabre this much and she was concerned about it. A part of her wanted to ignore it and go ahead and start driving but her intuition was sparking, making her want to look into this.

"Hmm … give me a minute. You don't mind the heat, do you?" Jackie asked, looking into the back and finding both Kroc and Dumisa nodding off, getting sleepy in the comfort of the hot van while Sabre was sweating up a storm and not answering or complaining. Jackie cracked the windows for her and Antain before walking over to Werner who was busy packing up his own van in the corner of the street.

"Hey, Werner, got a minute?" Jackie asked, trotting over to him and seeing both girls in the van already dead asleep for the trip home.

"Not really. We should have been on the road an hour ago." He grunted with a heavy sigh as Jackie's eyes narrowed. He had been grouchy this morning too and hadn't bothered to greet anyone. He had gotten his girls ASAP into the van after drilling them to move fast to pack. Something wasn't right. He was in an obvious rush to get away and that made Jackie suspicious.

With a snap of her arm Jackie grabbed his shoulder, surprising him as she stepped between him and his van with a fierce look in her eyes. "Make some." Jackie stated in a hard voice, surprising him.

"Alright. What's wrong?" He asked, leaning back a bit and seeming puzzled, his arms crossing and his prosthetic foot tapping against the floor a bit too fast and nervously. "We are quite late and are driving farther than you. We need to get going."

"First you're going to tell me what the hell happened between you and Sabre. She's really upset." Jackie said, puzzled, "did you say something to her?" Jackie asked, wondering if he tried to give her a useless lesson like he's been doing to her the whole time at the beach but that wouldn't make much sense since Sabre would have brushed something like that off.

"I don't know what upset her so much. She came to me and I helped settled her urges and in the morning she seemed upset about me reminding her she's a cat. We were a bit drunk last night but we sorted it out in the morning." He explained outright as Jackie blankly stared at him.

She stood in silence staring at him, processing what he just said. " … I'm sorry did you say _urges_?" Jackie quickly asked, tilting her head as if to hear him better.

"Yes. Jaska wasn't around so she came to me," he said with a heavy sigh, "she was merciless, I'll tell you, and the same goes for the rest of your Extraspecies even if in other circumstances. You should train your charges better and remind them they are in the program to learn human ways and not be so driven by their instincts-"

"You slept with my cat - WHAT THE _F***_ IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Jackie screeched in all her furious anger as he jumped, surprised at her outburst. "And _excuse_ me?! Where the hell do you get off in telling me how to take care of my Extraspecies, you son of a b****?! I work my a** off caring for them and making sure they are healthy and happy and you go off not only trying to tell me what to do- YOU SLEPT WITH MY CAT!" Jackie nearly screamed, earning odd looks from people walking down the sidewalk.

"What?" He said, startled, "she came to me in what I assumed was heat. I just helped satisfy the urge she had and you clearly haven't even considered or tended to-"

"ARE YOU MENTALLY F***ING INSANE?!" Jackie roared, shoving him against his chest and making him smack against his van as he put his hands up in defense but made no retaliation. "Why the hell would you sleep with her?! You, as a HOST?!" Jackie shouted. "And where the hell do you get off telling Sabre, or _any_ Extraspecies, that they're just an animal?! What the hell does that make you, you worthless, _stupid_ , idiotic p**** looking for an easy pickings! Why would you take advantage of her like that?!"

"I told you. I was drunk and so was your cat. She seemed to think that a relationship with a human was possible. Can you believe that?" Werner pathetically tried to defend himself.

"What kind of bigot are you, you, you-!" Jackie started, unable to think of any string of words bad enough to even begin explaining how disgusting he was, " _F*** YOU_!" Jackie shouted as, in her anger, her fist jabbed forward and caught him right in the nose. His head popped back and smacked against the van as he grasped his broken nose, covering it up as blood dribbled down his chin. "You're a disgusting _pig_ using a girl like that! Extraspecies or human, a girl has feelings! I hope you drive off the edge of a cliff you dumba**, piece of scummy S*** who shouldn't even be _allowed_ to care for Extraspecies!" Jackie shouted before turning away from him and angrily marching back to her van.

As soon as Jackie reached her own vehicle she got on the driver's seat and turned it on, taking a minute to notice the uncomfortable silence that had settled inside. She turned her head to look at Sabre but the leopard was curled into a little ball in the copilot's seat and not even Antain was managing to make her move or speak despite his mewing. Kroc and Dumisa looked between each other, and although they tried to approach despite the tight confines of the van, they stopped, reading the mood and just kept quiet to give the bastet some space, which by the quiet couple sobs that Sabre tried to hide, was much needed.

Jackie's fingers tightly kneaded the wheel as she backed out of the driveway with a crimson red face of absolute rage as she sped off down the street, refusing to speak one word through the entire drive. Well, this was a fun trip.

 _Note to self; NEVER vacation with another group of Extraspecies and their host._ _ **Ever.**_

Oh no~ what's going to happen next, I wonder? How will Jackie react to finding her home half destroyed? :D _**10 REVIEWS**_ to find out!


	15. Chapter 15

It was around 2 am when Jackie finally parked the van back at home; the trip back was, in a word, _terrible_. What took about 4 hours before took about 10 hours more this time around because someone, Antain, decided to chew up the map and rip it up into little confetti pieces out of the stress of seeing his mom like that when Jackie wasn't paying attention. The road trip had also been tense and mostly quiet except for the occasional sniffles from a heart wrecked Sabre. Thankfully Dumisa and Kroc had fallen asleep through the trip, not uttering one complaint; either that or had wisely kept very quiet and very still. But at least that was over and they were back at home.

As soon as the vehicle came to a rolling stop, Sabre opened the door and ran inside, leaving Antain in the van with the host. Not waiting for Jackie to unlock the door, the clouded leopard jumped onto the building's wall and climbed the face easily towards the window that led straight into Jackie's room.

"Hey, Sabre!" Jackie called out before Sabre slammed the window shut hard, making Jackie pause. Ah~ she was very upset. How could she not be? That stupid German host took advantage of her and then called her an animal. Jackie was going to write one hell of an angry email or make a call leave an even worse complaint to Ms. Smith.

With a sigh Jackie walked to the back of the van, unlatching it and seeing none of the guys move an inch except for Antian who ran out of the van. "Hey guys, wake up. We're home." Jackie gently shook both Kroc and Dumisa, trying to arouse them from their sleep.

Kroc looked at her, revealing he was not asleep at all; Dumisa, however, was in a very deep asleep in the back of the vehicle with no signs of waking up. Kroc calmly stepped out and followed her to the door, where Antian was already meter and half off the floor trying to climb up the wall and follow his mom. When Jackie tried to grab him and set him down the little pup growled a complaint but when she opened the door, the pup jumped down and tumbled on the floor a bit too hard before running inside. Kroc let out a tired exhale and went in while Jackie returned to the vehicle for the big rock of a sleeping snake.

"Hey, Dumisa, you need to wake up." Jackie said, lightly shaking the snake's shoulders. He mumbled to himself and curled into a tighter ball, wanting nothing to do with anything requiring him to move. The host shook him harder but he merely shifted around to completely cover his torso so she couldn't reach him through the thick scaly body between them.

"Uh … sheela?" Kroc called from the door, sounding hesitant, "we getting a new roommate soon?" He asked as Jackie looked towards the door.

"Uh, no?" She said, sounding slightly alarmed as she headed inside of the house, only to come to a dead stop to see everything had been remodeled and/or moved around. The smell of plastic was fresh in the air and, most alarmingly to Jackie, there were large thick tubes at least between 1-2 meters in diameter attached to the reinforced ceiling and walls. Her lips parted, baffled as she uneasily looked around. "Smith only told me they were going to get Sabre's room ready! What the hell is all of this?!" Jackie shouted, shocked as she looked around the living room and found large openings at least 1 meter wide with large metal submarine styled latches over them that could be opened and shut by closing a wheel. Her kitchen, most notably, was much larger and there was a small booth in the kitchen that looked like a small fancy food stand with the tubes leading into the empty area in the back.

"Then what's all this?" Kroc looked around. "Maybe they mistook the place?"

"I need to call Ms Smith." Jackie said, grasping her chest and feeling on the verge of hyperventilating from all the costs, upkeep and modifications done to her home without her knowing about the details.

"I'll go see if other rooms were changed." Kroc walked away towards the stairs while yawning. He had indeed been awake all the trip and was feeling very tired. He wanted to check on Sabre too but he knew she needed some space to vent first.

After calling Ms. Smith to leave a message that they were back and, taking the chance to leave a _very_ loud and screaming rant against Werner, Jackie went up to her own room and found Antain pawing at the door on the outside, crying and begging to come in with his mom while tightly hugging and holding the blanket with her scent on it. The poor pup looked completely helpless and forlorn. Jackie took a couple steps but stopped upon hearing the hysterical crying inside. _Poor Sabre_ … Jackie couldn't believe someone could do this to her or any woman for that matter.

Jackie picked Antain up, gently rubbing his back before going to Kroc's room. The crocodile was about to get some sleep under the heat lamp, after having found the other room empty, and barely cracking an eye open as Jackie set Antain down beside him. Kroc stared at the fox before stretching his arm around and curling with him, letting him curl up against him and softly sniffle, finally willingly going to sleep in the comfort of Kroc's presence but still sobbing quite a bit.

After Antain was taken care of Jackie went back to her room and, using her master keys to open it, stepped inside the dark room. Within the inky shadows of the room, Sabre's slitted yellow eyes cut through the darkness and glared at her.

"It's alright, Sabre, it's just me." Jackie said, shutting the door and keeping the room encased in darkness. Jackie understood that Sabre's attic room, although finally remodeled, was filled with weird and unfamiliar scents that did not sit well with the clouded leopard.

"Go away!" Sabre growled while ignoring Jackie's advances, curling tighter into a ball on the bed as she deeply inhaled the familiar scent of the bed.

Jackie walked over to her with arms outstretched, unable to see a thing as she staggered towards Sabre's glowing yellow eyes, fumbling and almost tripping over a variety of things, especially clothes, that she couldn't see and didn't remember having left on the floor. She had indeed left some things on the floor before they left but she didn't remember leaving so much of it out.

"Get out." Sabre hissed with a choking sob.

Jackie stepped on something hard. "Ow." She hissed out a breath as she looked over to Sabre, using her bright reflecting eyes as a reference. "It's fine, Sabre. I'm not going to ask questions or anything if you don't want to talk about it. I'm just here to pet my cat." Jackie said, leaning forward and feeling the bed. Petting would calm her for sure.

Sabre hissed, arching her back as she scratched Jackie's outreaching arm, "I'm not your cat!" She angrily roared with a choking sob at the end. Jackie's arm retracted, feeling the hot lines of the light scratches on her forearm.

Determined, however, Jackie climbed onto the bed, unable to see where Sabre went as she gently patted around and found Sabre's leg. "Sabre, come on. This is the least I can do." Jackie said, feeling sharp claws touching her skin and threatening to pierce her again.

Sabre growled and Jackie softly passed her hand over the leopard's leg, making Sabre retreat back.

Jackie still sat on the bed and found the kitty's leg again before gently petting her more firmly. "Relax, it's fine, Sabre. You're safe here." Jackie murmured, moving to the center of the bed and gently running a hand up Sabre's stomach and neck, softly petting her cheeks and jaws as Jackie felt the wet and ruffled fur from her tears. Sabre flipped around, laying her head on Jackie's lap as she softly cried.

Jackie pet her for the longest time, unsure how long she was petting the distressed feline for until her sobbing became mere tears. Hesitantly the host leaned down, gently kissed the top of Sabre's head as she continued to pet the hurt cat.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it. I, well, I'm just worried about you," Jackie admitted, gently running her fingers through Sabre's fur as she curled into a tight little ball with her head remaining on Jackie's damp lap.

Sabre didn't answer but her sobbing started again. "I'm just a cat, no? Why would you care? It's not as if I'm a human, right?" Her voice was cutout and shaky.

"None of you are just Extraspecies to me. I have never once thought any less of you just because you are an Extraspecies and I never will," after those words and no receiving an any response, Jackie remained silent, letting Sabre get it all out as she ran her hand down Sabre's back, gently scratching at the base of her tail and hearing a purr mingle in with her contained sobs before she took a deep breath, getting her back together.

Sabre hugged Jackie briefly and then set her head on Jackie's lap again as silence enveloped the room. Jackie gently rubbed Sabre's cheeks, hearing her gently purr in response before Sabre perked up with a growl, her velvety fur on edge as the bastet stared at the door. Without a sound the door opened, surprising Jackie as she saw a large looming figure in the doorframe before he entered the room despite Sabre's growling hisses.

"Who's there?" Jackie asked, trying to calm Sabre down by petting her neck before Jackie felt a furry paw grasp her knee. Sabre had extended her sharp claws and her fur was on straight up.

"Me, da." Jaska's voice said as the bed sunk lower. He had apparently just come back from whatever job he had with Ms. Smith. Jaska slowly approach and assumingly crawled onto the bed while Sabre lowered onto Jackie again, ignoring the bigger feline but avoiding looking in his direction. He circled around, staring at Sabre's curled up form before laying down behind her and gently cuddling up to the lightly growling cat. Jaska licked her shoulder, grunting and purring as he rubbed her legs and waist in an attempt to comfort the distressed feline. Just when he was arriving home he had received a call from Ms. Smith saying that something seemed to had gone on with the other host.

Sabre growled, nudging Jackie's hand and Jackie continued the petting but the host was exhausted at this point. She had been driving all day and she was wondering if she would be able to sneak away and sleep on the couch while Jaska was here calming down Sabre. Jackie lifted up Sabre's head, hearing her purring pause as she tried to get up, but Sabre needily crawled over Jackie and forced her back onto the bed before laying partially on her, basically saying through her movement. 'you're not going anywhere tonight'. Then Jaska accommodated also partly over Jackie as he continued to lick and groom the leopard, trapping the host further to ensure she was not going to leave.

After struggling with the cat's antics Jackie lost her balance, and accepted laying on the bed as Sabre laid on her back and Jaska over her leg. She let out a long, tired sigh and laid her head on top of her folded arms, preparing for a long night's sleep with the two big cats refusing to let her leave. Great. But at least she wasn't being harassed by Dumisa, the cats weren't fighting and things seemed to be going relatively fine. Not a second after thinking that, a big fuzzy tail fell on her face, making her jump slightly. Coughing and pushing the tail out of the way, trying to get comfortable before it smacked her in the face again. Jackie let out an annoyed grunt before grabbing the tail, not caring who it belonged to before she laid her face on it and used it as her uncomfortable pillow for the night.

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Bright green eyes glowed in the dark as the dark figure crept through the hallway, silent as a whisper. Without the clothes Ms. Smith gave him slowing him down or making bothersome shifting sounds, he was able to effortlessly slip overhead of Kroc as he headed to his room. The crocodile looked exhausted and Eztli, with his practiced eye, could see the recent wounds on the crocodile that had been expertly sewn shut. This sight made Eztli very, very nervous; it made Eztli wonder what the host had them all doing or what she could have done to them. His ears lowered at the thought, wondering what had happened to them the mere 2 days they were gone. His hair rose up on ends as he followed the fresh scent of Jaska and Sabre into the host's room.

Very slowly he crept closer, staring at the slumbering cats before smiling; there was Jaska his tiger friend and the furry clouded leopard Sabre. He wanted to join the bastets and drew closer but stopped, the smell around was of tears and the host was laying between the two kitties with all of them dead fast asleep. Although he didn't want to get near the host just yet he really wanted to join in with the other kitties. Their fur looked so warm and soft to cuddle with that he just wanted to get with them even though they seemed a bit roughed up, specially Sabre.

After debating, he crawled in between Jaska and the host, feeling more comfortable with the tiger for the time being. Very carefully he lowered himself, feeling the host pressing against his back as she shifted around sleepily.

"Ugh … Sabre, stop moving … ," Jackie murmured sleepily, making Eztli tense up as she pressed against his back and soundly fell back asleep. His skin crawled with fright as he trembled, glancing back at her and seeing her eyes firmly sealed shut and breathing smoothy. It … it was touching him. The host was touching him. The black jaguar gagged, shivering in fright before trying to put it out of his mind. Eztli remained still until he was sure the host was asleep before he cuddled with the tiger. He admittedly was tired too but at least with a friend here he felt safe even if the human was around.

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Some time later, movement made Eztli jostle awake. He cracked an eye open, stiffening up as the host crawled out of bed. He quietly lowered himself, closing his eyes and becoming invisible in the darkness as the human stumbled off and out of the room. Once she was out he decided that perhaps it'd be good if he presented himself to her … or at least to see if she wasn't angry that he hadn't shown up. So, curious, he got off the bed and followed after her to stalks her. As a jaguar, he was big and relatively large but the catwalks of rafters up on the ceiling held up without problem and he began trailing after her to observe the situation and the new host for hours.

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Jackie let out a loud and tired sigh, stretching herself. There was plenty of chores to do but first she needed to talk to Dumisa about what happened at the amusement park. He kissed her and it made her uncomfortable. She needed to make sure he knew that she wasn't about to get involved with something like that. But she didn't want to make him feel bad like Werner did to Sabre. As a host, in her opinion, she shouldn't be getting involved in that way with any of her charges.

Checking Dumisa's empty room she was puzzled she didn't find him there. Usually this early in the morning he was still out like a rock getting his beauty sleep.

"What the? Where did that lazy snake go now?" Jackie said to herself, thinking about the last place she left him which was the … truck, " … oh … ooooh I have a bad feeling about this."

Jackie raced down the stairs into her shop, seeing the van there before running to the back and quickly throwing the doors open, startled to see Dumisa achingly laying in the same cramped position he was in when he was forced into the tiny space.

"D-Dumisa?! What are you doing still in the van?" Jackie shouted, knowing he must have overslept and by the time he woke up it was already too cold for him to move.

"C-Cold ... it got ... cold ... ," he weakly uttered, hardly slithering his human torso out of the van before falling onto the ground with a pained groan, very slowly moving the rest of his body in an aching fashion.

"Awe crap, come on! How could you let this happen to yourself?" Jackie admonished, going into the front of the van and trying to help push him out from behind. His body landed on top of his still torso, sinking deeply into the ground as he achingly groaned.

"C-Cold … it got cold … ," he murmured sleepily, closing his eyes and trying to fall back asleep as Jackie hugged his body, trying to move the weight off his head so he wouldn't suffocate.

"Dang it Dumisa, help me out here!" She complained, tossing his cramped body aside and trying to free his upper half.

Dumisa achingly dragged his body upstairs, following Jackie as she kept his jaws in her palms. Her warm body temperature attracted him, pushing him forward after her. Slowly Jackie lured him into his room, setting him under the heat lamp before quickly flicking it on for him. An immediate pleasured groan escaped his lips as he laid flat on his belly, enjoying the immediate relief of the heat waves pouring down on him.

"Jackie … come here … ," Dumisa pleaded, reaching out for her before she jumped out of his slow moving grasp and escaped to safety.

"Take a nap, Dumisa. You're too cold." She said with a huff before turning off his lights, letting him bask in the hot darkness of his room before shutting the door.

With a heavy sigh she headed off to the kitchen, grabbing herself something to eat before the phone began ringing. With a roll of her eyes she hunched over, annoyed before she swallowed her food and answered. Up in the catwalks, Eztli paid attention and managed to hear some of it. Thanks to years of honing his senses to know when his pasts hosts were around so he could hide had let him developed quite the acute senses even for a bastet.

"Yeah?" Jackie asked, taking another quick bite of her bar.

" _I heard your message. I also spoke with Werner and he explained his case, but since you broke his nose and apparently the situation with Sabre was completely consensual, there are not going to be any punishment except for him attending some classes on social skills. That and he will be on probation before the second part of his contract gets considered to be abilitted."_

"What!?" Jackie couldn't believe that the man was getting out with practically no punishment.

Smith quickly continued the conversation onto a different subject. " _How are you getting along with Eztli? I didn't see him at the fair with you so I supposed he simply stayed home since he doesn't like crowds very much."_ Ms. Smith cheerfully asked, " _he hasn't been a handful, has he? He's a little green and rough around the edges but he's a very sweet jaguar."_

"Wait, jaguar? Who are you talking about?" Jackie asked, startled.

 _"Your Extraspecies, Eztli. He came by the other day when you arrived home from your examinations."_ Smith's voice said rather nonchalantly and loud enough. " _He left his phone in my office, so I'll send it to him later on."_

"What are you talking about? We just got home late last night." Jackie said, baffled.

Eztli crouched in his upper post completely invisible, his ears lowering on his head and his tail curling around his body. So the host did not even realize he was there? If he wasn't so hurt by that, he would have been proud by his stealth skills but at the moment he didn't know what was worse; if the host left him behind on purpose or that she didn't even know he was here. What could the human be doing to the others that they decided to hide him from her by not telling her about him by leaving for 2 days? Or was that so bad that they hadn't even been able to speak? He remembered Kroc's jaw and the wounds he had earlier, both old and new. Enough to make him curl up fearing what horrors this human host could bring.

Ms. Smith remained silent on the phone until she spoke in a hard and clear voice. " _... what?_ "

"Yeah, we arrived home last night, well, early this morning. There's no one else here. What jaguar are you talking about?" Jackie questioned, very confused.

 _" ... WHAT?!"_ Ms. Smith screeched into the phone, making Jackie's ear ache horribly and Eztli didn't even need to concentrate to hear her. " _I'LL BE THERE SOON!"_ She screamed before the line cut off.

"What in the world was that all about?" Jackie huffed, annoyed as she set the phone down. Was it possible there was a jaguar somewhere in the house? Jackie's face paled as he whipped around, immediately searching the rafters but finding nothing there.

" … uh … Eztli? Are you there?" Jackie hesitantly called, sounding nervous as she trotted down the hall towards some of the empty rooms.

 _(She seems … angry)_ Eztli nervously gulped, knowing that an angry host was not good. He watched from afar as she entered the rooms, calling his name again. He wanted to run away from the place, the human was already looking for him and would possibly try to make him shut up o what he'd seen and heard but Ms. Smith was already on her way so he only needed to hide until the coordinator arrived. So instead of continuing to follow her around, he returned to the other kitties where he felt safer and where he could hide in the mass of fur.

Jackie looked around the previously vacant room that was remodeled beautifully. She was startled to see it fully furnished and filled with many plants and other fake large trees reaching rather high in the room. The place was slightly dark and there was a large warm pool with and rather large fake tree in the middle of the room, along with many potted plants and appliances carefully integrated into the rather wild looking room. She was shocked how much the room looked like an actual rainforest. She could also see a very small trail of stepping stones reaching towards the tree from edge of the pool, and how the branches of it intertwined above with the branches made on the walls to form suspended bridges for the feline.

" ... Eztli, you here?" Jackie called, looking around the room and trying to find him. She knew, however, he wouldn't be found if he didn't want to be and she had no idea how he would react to have been left alone here. Ms. Smith sounded panicked; was it possible … that this Eztli guy was here the whole time they were at the beach? Jackie's jaw dropped, mortified with herself. "Oh jeez, I better start looking." Jackie said as she turned, leaving the room and heading to the kitchen to whip up a meal to try and lure him out.

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Through his comfy spot on the bed between the other 2 felines Eztli heard the host call for him but he felt too good to care and he didn't want to risk the host catching and punishing him. So instead of answering her call he stayed where he was and tightened his hug on the fluffiness that was Jaska. He was very warm and comfortable to cuddle with. As Eztli snuggled closer, the sleepy tiger began to hug back.

Half awake, Jaska woke up hugging someone fuzzy, most likely Sabre. He knew they had reached some truce and that she was not rejecting him, or at least he now knew she was willing to accept small advances. His hand patted against her back, mildly surprised to find her supposedly topless. She needed it, desperately. She needed the attention, the comfort and the relief. She had allowed him to give her some comfort after Kroc's fight, and last night when he came back, but since the host was around he hadn't been able to help properly. But now that Jackie wasn't he could comfort her in the way she needed.

He started groping the soft and furry body next to him and a deep purr responded, followed by an equally deep moan that was definitely not Sabre's. Jaska's eyes burst open, startled as the face of the weird jaguar he had meet some time ago in Smith's office met him, completely naked in all his black furred glory. Before the tiger could do anything the jaguar licked the tip of his nose and nuzzled back, returning the groping Jaska had given him as his padded hand grabbed his lower back

"Nice to see you too, amigo," Eztli happily said and then groped Jaska again, "you are so fluffy and comfortable," he groaned before leaning up and licking the tip of his nose once more, blushing beneath his dark fur.

Jaska looked horrified before he roared as he tried kicking Eztli off the bed but the lithe feline happily jumped over him to hug him with a friendly roar while Sabre woke up and rolled over the two males. She chirped in pleasure and moved to leap right back up at Jaska, not aggressively to hurt him but certainly aggressive in another manner. The emotional drain and left her prey to her instincts and Jaska was bowled over by her strength as she sat over him, purring and rubbing against him; which Jaska wouldn't have minded if Eztli hadn't leapt in to join the fray with overenthusiasm, rubbing against him and against the heated female too.

"OFF!" Jaska shouted, pushing them both off before clambering over the mess all over Jackie's floor from who the hell knows what.

"I missed you. I'm sorry I startled you. Can we continue greetings?" Eztli happily looked at Jaska and incorporated to jump on him again.

Sabre didn't wait, she jumped towards Jaska but he evaded, the she roared at him, proclaiming she wanted him under her claws; the peak of her dreaded heat had finally arrived.

"No!" Jaska roared, running away from them as he leapt into the living room. He jumped up, grabbing the rafters before both Sabre and Eztli jumped on him, dragging him to the ground as they both began ravishing the big tiger rather lovingly.

"Jaska? What's going on?" The host called, trotting back into the main room before sucking in a fast and startled breath, seeing Jaska wrestling with Sabre and who she could only assume was Eztli. "Whoa, whoa stop wrestling!" Jackie shouted but when no one responded, Jackie ran back into the kitchen, grabbing an emergency pack of catnip and prepared to throw it to the cats when it was pulled from her hands by none other than Dumisa, who dumped the catnip bomb it over her.

"That's for leaving me in the truck," he hissed and then pushed her towards the cats. Jackie tripped, falling flat on her bat as all three felines immediately locked their sights on her.

"NO, DUMISA PLEASE!" She shrieked as the felines attacked her, madly purring and clinging tightly to her in their enthusiasm. "Stop, all of you! This isn't fair!" Jackie shouted as Jaska hugged her, rubbing his head against her as Ezlti and Sabre leapt over one another trying to get a piece of the catnip covered host.

The new cat looked at her with slitted eyes and smiled. Even though he looked lost in the effects of the catnip he spoke with a deep groan, "I'm Eztli. I'll enjoy breaking you before you break me." He said before he began pulling her top up while Sabre started pulling her pants down just as Jaska started to lick around her ribs with a deep purr.

A loud booming noise distracted Jackie when the door banged open and Ms Smith came in, startling Jackie as the cats remained oblivious and continue to cuddle Jackie. Ms. Smith stops short, staring at the scene before blushing and taking lots of pictures.

"Ms. Smith, what are you doing?! Help me out here!" Jackie pleaded, grabbing her pants and keeping them on her hips before Eztli lightly bit her shoulder while rubbing her sides.

"Ho, ho, ho, this is priceless," the coordinator chuckled with a blush, taking pictures wildly in her excitement.

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Not too long or soon, they were in the living room with Eztli, completely nude while cheerfully smiling, standing besides Ms. Smith at one side and Jackie seated on the opposite couch with Jaska and Sabre, Dumisa and Kroc were still sleeping. Jackie looked confused, Jaska looked tense and Sabre was purring looking up at down at the naked jaguar, clearly checking him out and noticing the piercings he had in his ears, nips, genitalia and tip of his tail; which apparently was more than bothering Jaska who loomed closer, sandwiching the host between them.

Just by looking at him it was all too easy to see that he was malnourished despite his hard muscles, making Jackie very puzzled and wondering where he came from. His bright smile towards Jaska and Sabre portrayed nothing of the fact his ribs could be seen quite easily, revealing he was unhealthily thin and his fur did not hold a bright sheen as it should. The rather miserable sight of such a powerful Extraspecies made Jackie wonder how he got this way in the first place.

"I apologize for the slight mix up but this is Eztli Balam, Jackie. And Eztli, this is your host I've told you to introduce yourself to, Jackie Penske. He is a black jaguar Extraspecies and is the newest addition to your group here in the Penske household." She happily introduced as everyone stared at him and he, in turn, stared back at them curiously and waved enthusiastically at the Extraspecies but completely ignored the host. Eztli was already quite comfortable with them all after having met them during their examinations.

"Oh, uh, well it's nice to finally meet you, Eztli. I'm sorry for the mix up before." Jackie apologized, feeling quite guilty at realizing he was left here in the house all alone for a few days. Her mind was already spinning with ways that she could make it up to him.

Eztli did not so much as look at her as he appeared to shyly be looking to both Jaska and Sabre, seeming rather happy but trying to contain it in his easy to read expressions. He raised his hand, waving it as a sign of human greeting, "Hola," he said with a happy smile, clearly holding no shame for being naked. Jackie blinked, noticing he avoided eye contact with her intentionally as she stared in puzzlement before her gaze shot over towards Smith as though to confirm with her that they were going to have a good talk about Eztli in a moment.

Sabre blinked and then her ears perked, a smile forming in her lips. "Cierto, hablabas español _(Right, you speak spanish)_ ," she tilted her head, "que sucedio contigo estos dias _(what happened to you during these days)_?"

Eztli crossed his arms, his ears lowered. "Bueno, me quede dormido hasta tarde y cuando desperté, el lugar estaba vacio. _(Well, I slept late and when I woke up the place was empty)_."

"So you are already familiar?" Smith said with a smile, looking that between Sabre and Eztli there was some chemistry that apparently Jaska wasn't liking, guessing by the tiger's twitching tail and mini growl. Using a fake cough to cover her chuckled, she continued. "In any case let me present them formally, Eztli. She is Sabre… Neofelis? Nebulosa? I guess?" She pointed at Sabre and was ignored but the feline bastet, "and you already know Jaska."

"You have a last name, Sabre?" Jackie looked at Sabre upon this new information.

"No, I don't." Sabre stoically responded. "Neofelis or Nebulosa would refer to the bastet tribe or subspecies, in my case clouded leopard. For Eztli, balam refers to the jaguars. Jaska got his last name in a previous job."

"Da," Jaska nodded just so slightly. He had never told Sabre or anyone about it, but he assumed his brother had shared that their last name was given to them by the motherland. He kept looked between the other cats and clearly didn't seem to like the signs Eztli was giving off about a number of things, most particularly his blatant disregard for clothing and Sabre's heat.

"Neofelis … I like it," Jackie grinned over at Sabre, finding it familiar and comforting now that Sabre had a last name to hold onto.

"Whatever." Sabre rolled her eyes and her attention went back to Eztli and his groin region. "En cualquier caso, bienvenido Eztli ( _In any case, welcome , Eztli.)._ " She smiled

Eztli lightly blushed with a cheerful smile, happy at the new friend he just made. He hesitantly moved closer to her, looking like he wanted to say something before he took a deep breath, "c-can I hug you?" He asked before before going ahead and putting her into a hug, sniffing and cuddling against her like a kitten. His hands combed through her fur eagerly as he nuzzled against her happily, sniffing her and adoring her strangely alluring female scent. Her heat was a new but nice scent that only added to her own scent, making him smile and want to cuddle with her more.

Sabre was surprised for a mere second before she hugged him back. She didn't notice any bad intention, not the contrary, this was friendly and nice. However, her heat was in the front of her actions and she began running her hands on him, pulling him closer while meowing a welcome and invitation for him to do far more. His reaction was to purr back, nuzzle and rub himself against her.

Jaska's eyes widened and then he got his hands in the back of the cat's necks to separate them. Somehow he ended up dragged into the furry mass.

Jackie watched the exchange between the felines curiously, admittedly feeling a little awkward that the jaguar ignored her and even more awkward at the snuggling cats. She also felt a little suspicious. Why did Ms. Smith assign her someone so sickly looking? Jackie most certainly needed to know if something, or someone, made him like this so she could handle it appropriately. Jaska stomped right past the host, making her attention turn to him as he looked to Ms. Smith with narrowed eyes.

"Smith, he seriously stay here?" Jaska growled, seeming very annoyed as his ears lowered he tried to pry them off, at least Eztli while he didn't mind Sabre clinging to him.

"And uh, is there a reason he's not wearing any clothes?" Jackie asked at the other obvious question, glancing at his pelvis rubbing on Sabre and Jaska and causing the host to blush. While she was grateful his black fur hid most things from her it was hard not to notice the piercings in his groin area but she could not get a good look at it because of the black fur, thankfully. He looked almost wild without having clothes on.

"He just likes to go all natural. As his host its up to you to deal with it." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled and held up some paperwork that was perfectly signed by both her signature and Ms. Smith's. Before Jackie could ask how they got her signature she paused, remembering that she probably signed it when she got home from the examinations, "yes, it is official now." Smith then focused her attention on the action with the felines that was getting more intense by the second. " Be happy, Jaska. Eztli will be a very nice kitty here in this house." She smiled, slightly blushing in her excitement.

"You want kittens so badly?" He asked, sounding very put off as Ms. Smith shamelessly grinned.

"So start working on it or you might lose your chance." Smith said and pointed at Eztli as Jackie walked over to Ms. Smith.

"Hey, Ms. Smith, isn't there supposed to be some kind of folder with more information on Eztli? This has hardly anything at all on him," Jackie asked, hesitantly saying his name since she was not sure if she got it right or not.

"No, there isn't. Everything there is all you need to know for now." Ms. Smith said as she handed Jackie a very small packet consisting of 3 papers containing the most basic information on jaguar Extraspecies in general and half of it was repeated information she already had on felines due to Jaska's folder.

"This little?" She doubtfully asked, remembering the other packets that were so heavy her arms felt like they would fall off if she held them up.

"It's all you need to know," Ms. Smith said with an ending tone. Jackie suspiciously stared at Ms. Smith, knowing this wasn't all about the jaguar.

"Ms. Smith … is he … ?" Jaska started, glancing back at the jaguar suspiciously.

"He is a full blooded, natural jaguar I assure you." Ms. Smith smiled as she approached the cats and gently slid her fingers over the fur on Jaska's cheek and then addressed Sabre. "Also, I want to ask you what happened with Werner, Sabre. Your host left a very heavy complain about him regarding you."

Sabre stopped all movement stiffening. She then removed herself from the other bastets, throwing Eztli to the floor and pushing Jaska away before stood up with a dead expression, her firsts clenching and her ears dropping. She didn't bother to look Smith in the face to hide her watering eyes but her answer was an angry hiss. "Nothing." After saying that she began walking out of the room towards Jackie's room while everyone remained silent.

Jaska let out a heavy sigh, irritable after the black cats meddling. Running a hand through his fur before he went to follow her. Perhaps now he could give her the help she needs and that at this point he was needing too. There were also things they needed to speak about.

Eztli began following after them but Smith passed an arm over his shoulder and pulled him down although he was taller than her. "Eztli, in order to make up for the mix up, your new host will give you a thorough grooming today. All you need to do is ask and she will do it without a problem." Ms. Smith smiled cheerfully.

"Uh, yeah, I can do that if you'd like." Jackie said as she looked over to Eztli but he only looked to Ms. Smith and once again avoided looking at Jackie.

"Will you not pet me like before?" Eztli asked, sounding almost heartbroken as his ears lowered.

"I'm not your assigned host, Eztli. Jackie is. And I assure you, as you can see from the other Extraspecies glossy coats and well fed, or perhaps overfed," she muttered under her breath with a cheeky grin before looking to Eztli with a big smile, "that she is an excellent groomer." Ms. Smith assured him.

Eztli groaned. Wanting Smith's petting or going with his new friends but wanting nothing to do with the host. "I'm fine. I'll just go with Jaska and Sabre."

"No, you are going to be pet." Smith lowered her sunglasses for a second, smiling warmly. "I'm going to start the petting and then your host will help, alright?" She sat on the couch and patted the space next to her.

Eztli knew not argue. At least he was getting some petting, later he'd just have to remove all the scent of the human host from his fur-

"Jackie, sit beside me," Ms. Smith said as Jackie hesitantly walked over to her, leaving enough space for Eztli to sit comfortably between them.

"Come here, Eztli," Ms. Smith said with a cheerful smile, holding her arms out and open for Eztli to approach.

Eztli came close, sitting a bit away so only Smith could touch him, but Smith dragged him over her lap and began petting him starting with his ears and pretty quickly reducing the jaguar to a pile of mushy fluff while giving Jackie an example of how petting could be improved.

Jackie smoothly began petting his legs and hips, moving slowly and thoroughly over his body while Ms. Smith kept the biting end towards her.

"Be careful and caring with him, Jackie. He is a lovely kitten but he doesn't trust humans so easily" Ms. Smith gently smiled, tracing patterns over his face and thoroughly combing her fingers through his head as her hands worked their magic.

Eztli began panting, groaning and twisting slightly under their working hands. His head felt feverish as his eyes slid shut, nuzzling against Ms. Smith's body. With a smile Ms. Smith slid her fingers over his mouth, gently tracing his lips and poking his nose before Eztli gently began lapping at her finger with a smile, panting rather heavily with a blush before taking her two fingers into his mouth, generously sucking on them as his tail lashed around and his chest vibrated with his purrs.

"Did you know, Jackie? Bigs cats don't purr, but all bastet are able to," Miss Smith said, moving her shoulder so Jackie could join.

"R-Really?" Jackie asked, surprised, "how is that possible?"

Jackie took the opportunity to gently slide her hand over his tail, rubbing the base of his spine before scratching around his tail. Eztli tensed up, letting out a needy moan as his blush deepened, hitching his hips up a bit against her scratching nails while his tail lashed around with the piercings at the end lightly jingling together. His lips parted, emitting softer mewls of groans before he sucked on Ms. Smith's fingers more earnestly.

"Isn't he cute? All your cats are. I hope to see small kittens in this household." Smith then grabbed Eztli's head and pulled him over Jackie's lap, grabbing Jackie's hand to replace her own as sucking toy in the felines fanged mouth. "You try this. He likes to suck and lick a lot. You better get him back in good shape; this is where you can use more seasonings to help fatten him up once he's used to meat."

"Y-Yeah? None of the others do." Jackie said, feeling a little unnerved by the jaguar's sensual moanings as she continued to pet him. She gingerly rubbed his ears and dragged her nails gently over his shoulders, making him purr deeply before his arms wrapped around her waist and held her close.

Smith stood up and moved away to take a couple photos. "Remember Eztli's contract is general. Also he is shy around humans, so keep people away from him until he gets comfortable"

"A-Alright." Jackie said, thinking that was good to know. So no street walks for Eztli for a little while. "Anything else I should know?" She asked, rubbing Eztli's ears as he panted haggardly. His sucking increased, sliding his tongue between her digits while deeply blushing.

"Good, then I'm on my way. Keep up the good work." Smith said and made her escape, leaving Jackie under the moaning jaguar.

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Jaska followed after Sabre quietly creeping down the corridor towards the host's room, where he stood outside listening to Sabre rummaging around in search for something. What was she looking for? In any case, he needed to speak with her about whatever had happened at the beach while he was out. About that and about many other things, and the fastest the better. He opened the door and the full power of her heat hit him suddenly as his breath lightly staggered, finding himself almost salivating over the hot scen and drifting into other thoughts, but the troubling scene of Sabre holding up Jackie's tranquilizer gun up to herself sobered him up.

"What you doing!?" Jaska shouted, making Sabre jolt as she fired the gun and getting the red dart stuck into the wall. The tiger moved swiftly and grabbed the gun, yanking it out of her hands before she could reload it. She hissed and jumped back against the wall, breathing hard. She was startled and only frowned and growled at him.

"What are you...!?" Sabre muttered as she glanced over the extra darts still in the case, her eyes beginning to tear up, "it's just … ," she sniffed briefly before growling, "It's not your business." Sabre leapt forward, trying to snatch the gun from his hand but he held it away from her before hugging her tightly with one arm while tossing the gun away from her.

"Hey! leave me alone! I _need_ this!" Sabre shouted, struggling to get out of his hugging grasp while resisting the urge to claw at him.

"Why!? What you trying to do?!" Jaska hissed, keeping his grip firm around her waist as he moved around to try and contain her thrashing by holding her tighter, then dropped both of themselves over the bed.

She roared, angry and desperate, "I can't take this d*** heat anymore! So I'll just tranq myself! " She twisted more , almost in panic. "Let me go!"

"Fool! Bastet are sensible to tranquilizers, too little no works, too much you no wake up!" He snarled back before pinning her below him, this worried him "I told you I can help. I want to help. If that not enough you can ask any other male in the house, even the new full bastet in house, you friendly with him early; didn't he suffice to calm heat?"

Sabre narrowed her eyes and defied his gaze, twisting her neck to look at him as best as she could "I don't want to! Not with him, not with _anyone_! Aleksey just died not too long ago. Heat or not I can't just go with anyone as if he didn't exist. I'm not like that!" She sobbed. "I'm so horrible, I.. Werner…!"

"Calm down, Sabre." Jaska softly said, gently but firmly gripping the scruff of her neck, gently gazing over her as tears streaked down her cheeks. "Of course you no like that. No one forget about little bratya. But heat is too strong." He said with a softened gaze before he tightly hugged Sabre in a comforting and protecting way. "Go ahead, cry, stray. I here." He said with a faint sigh as she paused, hesitating before tightly hugging him back.

Finally unable to keep on holding everything up and bottling all she felt, Sabre broke down in mournful cries, her face buried on the sheet of the bed and her hands ripping on the fabrics. "I wanted to keep some of myself but I have no humanity left". It was too much. She has lost all and could not even control herself, she was a wreck and she knew it.

For a while, Jaska merely hugged and comforted her in silence, realizing that perhaps he did judged her far more than he should have before. She was really hurt by everything that was happening to her body and that had happened to her life. The tiger leaned down, nuzzling against her forehead before offering a soft and gentle lick. "You a fine kitty"

She cried, hiding her face by burying it on the blankets. "I don't want this."Sabre murmured a bit and cracked her eyes open, hugging Jackie's pillow closer to smell more of the calming and familiar scent. As much as she did not want to admit it, the host's scent was very calming and so was the tiger's.

Jaska kept a firm and good grasp around the distressed feline. "But that's what you have and can't avoid, da?" He softly responded, his hands trailing on her back to calm her.

The two felines cuddled in silence for a while, but admittedly the scent of heat was starting to drive the male crazy. So, to distract himself a bit, Jaska decided to ask something.

"Hey Sabre … tell me about my lil bratya Aleksey." Jaska asked in a soft purr, licking Sabre's ear and nibbling on the soft cartilage as she purred out of instinct and physical reactions. He was not being cheeky. Back was their initial fight and misunderstandings. "Tell me about you."

She tensed for a second, her eyes were still red and puffy from her tears as she tightened her grip, still very much distressed. "Aleksey … ?" She curled a bit more and closed her eyes, it was hard to speak about it, but Jaska did deserved to know, "he … ," she gulped down and took a few moments to gather her thoughts, "I met him at the facility of 'the company'. He went there looking for you … we somehow got along and … things happened … ," it was obvious that this was hard for her but she continued although she ended up sobbing again. "Later on he discovered the experiments on the facility, and blew it up. He didn't escape."

Her words were vague as always, but there were enough for him to think again deeply of his brother. Of course Aleksey had not escaped. Aleksey was trained for missions such as that, as was Jaska himself. Suicide missions, although rare, were possible. And it seemed Aleksey chose his final mission for himself. " … what of you, Sabre?"

Sabre curled up on the bed, sobbing hysterically before taking a deep, shaky breath in an attempt to calm herself.

Jaska was conscious what this experiments were. He was a victim himself. Softly kissing her shoulder he nudged her but she did not utter a purr or hum in response. "Please tell, da?" He was very curious as to how Sabre played into all of this. How she met his brother, how they came to love one another … and he knew it had to be love. The leopard girl would not be so saddened if she was not in love with Aleksey to such degree and it hurt his heart in ways he hadn't expected.

Sabre hesitated before laying a little more limp, seeming exhausted with just the thought of what he asked of her. She had not tell anyone about this. She gulped and swallowed before she spoke in almost a whisper "I was 18 at the time in other country. Scientists of the company came and offered the best graduates a direct job in a co-working program with Extraspecies. That's how I met Aleksey. We worked together and got along quite well." She took a deep breath a tightly closed her eyes, curling more against Jaska's fluffy warmth. "Some time later the upper ups asked us to partake in some tests that would supposedly grant us with extraspecies abilities. Aleksey convinced me to take part in it and I agreed." She couldn't muster the ironic smile she wanted, she had been a fool and he had been too naive "he didn't know what the experiments really were about and neither did I," Sabre explained, opening her yellow slitted eyes and stared at her long razor sharp nails strong enough to get her to climb a building's wall or rip off a deer in one swipe, "we didn't get to choose the exact species but we knew they were going to be mammals for compatibility. I got the Nebulose Leopard because it suited my skill set and what they wanted out of me. " She shut up and pressed herself down, her ears flat against her skull. "I'm sure they choose to make me a bastet because I was compatible with Aleksey"

" … go on." Jaska encouraged, curious about her background story and deciding not to interrupt at all until she was finished. Of course Aleksey didn't know; he never would have done it if he knew what it would do to humans. Much less if he had been involved with her even before the experiments changed her.

"The first experiment went wrong or perhaps it went completely right. I was completely changed into an extraspecies and something more. I was engineered for stealth, that's why a nebulose leopard was chosen. Nimble, agile with awesome senses but not much strength. I'm a perfect spy and info gatherer, and they made sure to train me well. After that they told me they could fix it with more experiments so I continued with them." She sighed,and tried letting out a chuckle but failed to do so. "if I wasn't in that situation I would have found it fascinating, although I would probably be crazy."

"You wanted to become an Extraspecies so badly?" He asked, seeming to want to put a slightly lighter tone on things as he kissed her forehead. There were humans out there who would love to cross over that boundary but he never met one crazy enough to try it.

She shook her head and shivered, "Not really. I was convinced out of developing science and because Aleksey convinced me about the possible advantages of better sight or ear. I think he was deeply suspecting the company even then but thought that maybe some extra abilities would help me up if we needed to escape." Sabre closed her eyes tightly again and sobbed some more, "it wasn't supposed to go all the way." She curled up to Jaska and whimpered. "And if it weren't for him I wouldn't have get passed the initial shock."

"Aleksey did?" Jaska asked, eyes narrowing. He leaned down, nuzzling her head to encourage her to continue, "what happened?"

"Aleksey felt guilty about it, but as I said, he didn't know." She rubbed her face on Jaska's fur " I.. I can't remember the days after the first experiment well. I supposed I was feral. I just remember waking up with a lot of weird sensation everywhere, I was overwhelmed by instincts and my new senses and went feral. They told Aleksey that some something had gone wrong with me and let him in. I don't know what he did but when I calmed down he was there hugging me."- As Jaska hugged her, some more sobs left her but she swallowed them and continued "He didnt left my side at all, not even when the supposedly 'reversing testings' continued, but when it was clear those weren't working as intended because they were really just further cementing my change, they told us that until they found new methods it would be best if I was trained so I could at least function in my new body. "

"That's how they trick most human changed Extraspecies." Jaska said, nodding in confirmation. "I've met some experiments that manage to recall that. But most those experiments are too gone to trust words"

Sabre shook her head "They didn't want more failed experiments. They had to made sure it would work and that once it was done the successful ones wouldn't go crazy. I had not much problem on that one because Aleksey was always there to take care of me and keep me sane."

Jaska remained silent, letting her continue as he licked her ears and softly groomed her. He wanted to know as much as possible but he also felt pity for the young woman laying before him. It certainly must have been difficult. He had some changes and only one physical alteration, while she had completely changed species.

"Aleksey and the company trained me. He helped me when I went feral, which was quite often. We even became partners and a very effective team. He fought, I spied, but we…" This was hard and she had trouble even wording it " we became far more… we became mates." She gulped down in apparent shame, "the word 'mate' sounds way too strange and animalistic. I don't like it but there Is no other word to describe my relationship with Aleksey. They paired us, we were partners and we mated, thus we were mates. He said so himself when I asked him about it". Tears came down her eyes once more

Jaska frowned and swallowed saliva, unconsciously holding her a little closer as his tail patted against the cushions."How?"

"I don't think they planned that out, but I wouldn't put it passed them if they did something else to me to provoke my first heat and force things to happen. They made sure I was fully compatible with Aleksey after all." She took a deep breath or at least tried to. "They dropped us without even clothes in the middle of a freezing mountain with the excuse that I should learn survival in 'hard conditions' and that's where it happened. We found some cave to pass the night and suddenly everything was very hot and I was very out of it. You can imagine what happened during those days."

"Da." Jaska numbly said, unable to bring himself to say more at the moment. So instead he ran his hand over her back, petting her to comfort not only her but also himself.

"After that we rarely were away from each other, but then Aleksey got in trouble," Sabre admitted, hugging Jaska back tightly "I don't know what he did but I think he hacked into the systems to search for information regarding you. Then he disappeared," she explained, her voice gone dead as she stared straight ahead, "after a few days I hacked into the system myself and saw their footage." She clenched her teeth and needed some seconds to be able to continue. " Aleksey was found out but he ran. He got trapped in the basement where there were many failures locked up and used for bioengineered weapons."- By now tears were flowing from her eyes again -" He blew it and himself up while I had no idea what happened on the surface." Sabre explained with renewed sobs, "it was so deep underground none of us knew what happened until I saw the footage." She said, biting her lip as she trembled. "T-That bastard …such idiot!." She angrily hissed as Jaska kissed her jaw, soaking it all in, "I destroyed it all. Blew all the facility, erased all the files. I killed every last living thing in that facility, including the others. humans, extra-species or else" She admitted with a snarl, digging her claws into the sheets as Jaska gently slid his hand over her stomach, numbly rubbing her belly as the scent intensified, She hatefully sneered and ripped off the sheets. Already so distressed that she was feeling hot and needy, for what? She wasn't sure if it was bloodlust or mere lust.

Jaska softly licked her ear, pulling her down and spooning on her smaller body while smelling her. His senses becoming aroused as he slid his hand to her inner thigh. " Can I help kitty?"

"Don't call it help" She made no moves to stop him so he continued, stripping her down and rubbing his body against hers, she was nervous but still she purred.

"Want me to call it mating then?" He had no idea why he had even said that, but he restrained himself until she responded by adopted the position that would let him entwine their bodies together;in all fours with her head down and her rear up with her tail aside. No more words were needed. He moved above her with care, tracing his hands on her body, purring and enjoying her purrs, trying to give some more care and comfort before they shifted and tended to the instincts and their needs for nearly an hour as he finally satisfied the impulse of the heat even if he got stuck due to his anatomy, de-stressing them both and making the situation easier to cope with.

After that, Sabre laid against the bed with haggard breathing, staring at the ceiling as Jaska laid beside her, rolling her over so she was laying on his chest. She softly purred, frowning still about everything she just told him. "What about you? I know you are a chimera. They experimented on you too."

"I am a hunter." Jaska said, making her pause, "I hunt rough extraspecies, failed experiments and humans that have been turned into Extraspecies and no longer have the mental capacity to control themselves." He said, staring up at the ceiling

Sabre twisted her neck, looking up at him with a dangerous eye but her hands kneaded on his chest. "You believe I am one of them?" -Her smile held no humor.

"No. I am grateful you of all hybrids are not. No hybrid really. You full Extraspecies, no difference I detect from any bastet." He said, kissing her on the forehead and deeply purring as his fingers ran through her a woman like this was very different from his night outs with humans that wanted money. This felt natural. "I and my brother joined the motherland's army seeking protection. Too few tigers left and too many wanting us. After that I worked for a private group before one mission. I suspected betrayal from one comrade and not told Aleksey in case they targeted him, da? I was right about betrayal and they captured me." He looked at the ceiling and felt her hug tighten around her as she pressed her body over his, "they tortured and experimented on, changing some aspects of physiology." He explained, "which is why I have a knot and not as sharp barbs." He said plainly while she licked his neck slowly and caring, "One night facility I was held got attacked. They began releasing toxic gas that killed off other experiments within seconds but a grenade went off by my cell, allowing me to get free. I owe life to Ms. Smith who no kill me like sane person would." He said with a grateful smile, "and instead, she take me into program, moving me around where necessary to certain jobs. But now she has stationed me here and I think it because of you and fox Antain as much as everyone else. Safer with more predators, even me."

"So what are you going to tell her?" Laid her head over his chest and closed her eyes.

"That you show minor signs of insanity but I going to keep close tab on you," he purred, licking her cheek and nuzzling against her, "you not present clear danger, that for sure."

"Tabs on me? Didn't Smith showed you the tapes … didn't you hear about the little mass murder party I did?" she eyes him carefully.

"Da." He said, sounding rather bored, "much less worse than thought." He said, licking the top of her head.

"Are you serious?" She let out a tired huff. There still some things she needed to say, "I ... I do need help with this heat and … and I'm sorry I called you all that at the beginning." She shyly rolled at the side and looked away "And I understand that once this cycle passes we might as well fight again, or maybe I'll escape, or maybe I'll finally lose it and you'll get to kill me, or…"

"You should be." He gruffly said to interrupt her, pausing before he heavily sighed, "I sorry too. I didn't know past and also mistook" He said, leaning in and kissing the corner of her jaw, "so let me help, da? It's comforting" He enticed, crawling over her.

Sabre looked up at him, seeing his form through the darkness and being reminded of Aleksey. A blush rose to her cheeks, watching as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips while sliding his hand up her waist. She hesitated continuing the kiss but didn't refuse the touch. "Thanks. But please don't be so nice when we both know anything will end once my cycle ends" she gritted her teeth.

"There old saying in motherland that translates to 'we shall see'" He went on and so did she.

They both tense up a bit as keys rustled the door handle before Jackie stepped inside and paused, seeing the two feline silhouettes on her bed with an weird funky smell in the air.

"What are you two doing in here? This is my room." Jackie said, watching as the two figures continued to rub against each other without a care that she was there and watching, "hey, come on, you got your own rooms." Jackie argued, listening for them in the darkness.

Instead of them going away, Jackie heard them start purring again and growling, then Sabre mewled and Jaska growled, and the host got an idea of what was happening in the dark. Maybe she couldn't see it but the cats surely had no problem with it.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" She took off her shoe and threw it in the direction of the cats, obviously failing the shot and really not willing to turn the lights on, she shut the door and went to go get herself comfy on the couch.

Note to self; _never leave the door unlocked to your room when in a house full of Extraspecies._

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There you go guys, another long chapter! _**10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter ~~~


	16. Chapter 16

Eztli was lost in purrland, dead asleep on the host's lap without realizing that Smith had left. Jackie paused in her petting, thankful that he had finally fallen asleep and calmed down. Thank goodness Smith came back because she forgot her phone; without her help, Jackie doubted she would have been able to calm the frantic and frightened jaguar down herself after she finished yelling at the two cats in her room. She would have to be careful to not yell around Eztli, that's for sure. Jackie's petting became a little harder, irritated with those stupid felines as Eztli let out low groan, curling against her more.

Her tongue dryly scraped against the roof of her mouth, looking between Eztli's happily content face and the drink of water on the counter. She carefully moved under the jaguar and took a look at him before taking a step away, but as soon as Jackie turned to leave she barely saw a red fur ball leaping down at her. She screamed, startled and fell back as Antain glued himself to her face, making her stagger back in shock and hold him upright so he wouldn't fall off.

Eztli opened his eyes and crouched down, ready to leap away. When the human had stopped the petting and moved away, he had woken up and faked sleeping, but the sudden scream made him jolt in fear; but what he saw puzzled him. The fox cub was attacking the human and winning by the looks of it. He didn't know if to watch or help the pup rip the human apart.

Jackie shook her head slightly before managing to grab Antain's arms, peeling them off her head before gasping in a deep breath. Antain loudly giggled and laughed as she pulled him off of her face, pinching his cheeks to scold him.

"Y-Y-You cheeky little … ," she trailed off, trembling as she still found herself startled from the surprise attack. Antain continued to laugh and squirm in her grasp, pawing at her face so adorably it was impossible to be angry at him. "Antain, seriously, you need to be more careful! You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days." Jackie huffed as Antain curled back in her grasp, stretching before he noticed Ezlti.

The little fox stared blatantly at the jaguar as Eztli's ears pulled back, appearing nervous. Antain let out a cute little hiss before hopping onto the ground, hiding behind Jackie's legs before staring at the black bastet from the safety of Jackie's body between them. His hands grasped Jackie's pant leg, hugging it closely while his ears remained directed at the strange new Extraspecies in their home.

Eztli tilted his head, confused at the pups behavior.

"H-Hey, Eztli, you've met Antain before, right?" Jackie asked, trying to step aside for Ezlti to see him better but Antain followed her leg, continuing to hide behind it while peeking out at the black jaguar curiously but cautiously, his red fur standing up slightly.

Eztli lowered himself a bit as his tail flickered back and forth, finding it strange to see such a young kit there in the house. "Hola, pequeño (hello, little one)." The jaguar greeted, carefully looking at the cub and noticing the scent was slightly familiar. Eztli took a step forward and sniffed. "You smell like Sabre."

"Well, Sabre is Antain's mother." Jackie explained as Antain's ears lowered, shuffling back a bit and keeping Jackie's leg between them at all times. The fur on his haunches rose a bit as he hissed at him, curling his fluffy tail around himself as though it were a small shield of protection.

"Sabre's pup!?" Eztli shouted, actually looking with widened eyes at the human host.

"Well, adopted." Jackie explained with a smile, "it's a bit complicated and I don't know the whole story but I'm sure Sabre would tell you if you ask her." Jackie suggested, lifting her foot and stepping back to expose Antain. The fox gasped, startled as he quickly retreated back behind Jackie's leg, again hiding from the jaguar but kept an eye on him while his tail swept across the ground like a feline's flickering tail.

Eztli crouched on the floor and rounded the two of them, curious while the pup kept on staying behind the human's legs. If the pup was Sabre's cub then Eztli wanted to meet him.

"As you can see, he's timid around new people unless his mother is around. It might take him a while to get used to you but since you are a feline it might be faster. He took to Jaska pretty quickly. Consider him a feline cub because that's how he's being raised." Jackie hopefully noted, thrilled that Eztli seemed playfully curious about the little fox.

Eztli wasn't sure how to treat a pup but he had an idea. He turned away slightly sideways, never fully giving his back as his tail swung rather invitingly in front of the pup with his piercings at the tip jingling playfully.

Antain's eyes began to glow as he jostled a bit, very cautiously reaching out and trying to paw at the tail while still clinging to Jackie's pant leg. Eztli smiled and let his tail fall limp, watching the predatory and playful glint in the fox kit's eyes as he very slowly crawled away from Jackie and inched closer to Eztli. The host happily smiled, very slowly moving away before taking her seat to watch the two play for a bit. She was honestly concerned about how Eztli might play with Antain so she figured she'd just watch them for a bit. Antain's tail twitched as he very cautiously drew closer, stretching himself out a bit while he tried reaching the dangling piercings that were easily 5 feet away from him still.

Eztli twitched the tip of his tail and the piercings made a jingling sound. Antain meowed while tilting his head curiously as Eztli dragged his tail on the floor and he walked away with Antain slowly following. When Eztli suddenly made his tail move in a fast swing, Antain jumped on it and began playing with the new entertaining thing in his life.

Jackie lightly laughed with a warm smile as Antain began madly chasing Eztli around, meowing and trying to grab at the shiny dangling piercings in his tail. The kit's eyes glowed brightly as he jumped and dove for the desired items, unable to grab them but managing to get a few swings in before they moved out of his reach.

Eztli began playing more avidly but always careful about the cub, jumping away in longer leaps now that the pup was immersed in the play and chasing the jaguar's tail. The little chase let them to the kitchen, where the space was more confined. Antain jumped on a chair and then to the counter to jump from above like a big predator on the tail. Eztli twisted to catch him, and in the process he hit the spice, getting all the seasoning over his fur.

Eztli jumped back, gagging at the bread crumbs that landed in his mouth before he heard the loud clatter of the bowl. His eyes burst open, startled as he saw the large mess around him. The jaguar's heart began racing, finding himself mortified at the mess he made. His lowered as he slowly moved away before Jackie popped into the kitchen, making him freeze in fear at what the host would do to him upon seeing the mess.

Jackie looked between the mess on the floor and back to Eztli, seeing the bread crumbs stuck in his fur. If it was just breadcrumbs it would not have been a problem but she added honey to that mix.

"Eztli, are you alright?" Jackie asked, picking up the bowl and setting it back on the counter while she eyed up the mess stuck all in his fur now.

Eztli pulled back against the wall and hissed, "I'm sorry!" He quickly apologized with lowered ears and large, wide eyes of fright. Jackie paused, seeing the frightened behavior as she looked off to the side slightly, trying to act more dismissively. She needed to take more caution.

"It's fine. Give me just a minute to clean this up and then we'll get that out of your fur," Jackie said, brushing up the seasoning into a pile before tossing it away.

Eztli sat there in the corner, the rafters at the ceiling looking like a good escape route but he knew that if he escaped now then the punishment would only get worse later. Although he was getting more scared and nervous by the second, he tried to be brave and at least not show that fear.

"There, that's taken care of for now." Jackie said after cleaning up the mess from the floor a bit, walking over to him. Eztli's eyes grew wide as he lowered his head obediently, finding himself trembling as Jackie tried to brush the bread crumbs out of his fur but they were stuck in there good. "Yuck, you got the honey all stuck in your fur too. Come on, I'll get your bath going." Jackie said, starting for his room while he watched her.

"I'll get it off myself." He said bravely … or rather hesitantly, leaning away from her as he began licking it as much as he could, finding the flavor a bit strong. The taste was sweet and delicious but it made his stomach churn, unfamiliar with the potent seasoning. He gagged a little bit, pulling away as he stared at himself. He wouldn't be able to get this all off.

Jackie opened her mouth to speak, pausing for a brief second as she noticed the rounded ball of a tongue piercing in the center of his spiky tongue. Eztli has a piercing there too? The sight surprised her but she quickly shook it off. He had piercings all over his body so it shouldn't be that surprising. "Licking won't help, you'll just spread the honey over your fur and then you'll be coughing up hairballs for weeks. If that dries in your fur it's going to be a nightmare trying to get it out." The host called to him before walking to his room without a care.

Eztli slowly peeked around the door into his room, watching her preparing the bathtub for him which was a fairly large Jacuzzi raised above the ground but not as big as his pool. When she turned on the water it fell from slightly above the tub, forming a small waterfall.

Jackie tested the water, making sure it was nice and hot with lots of bubbles before turning to him, "come on, hop in," Jackie said as she pulled out some heavy duty shampoo with conditioner in it for him.

Eztli hesitated and looked to see if there was a camera or something around. There didn't seem to be any and he hadn't seen the workers bring in any film equipment either, which maybe meant that the punishment would more likely be private. Perhaps she was making sure the water on the bath was on so the blood would diffuse and the wounds be kept open, or maybe she planned to half drown him, perhaps even electrify the water...

"Come on, you need to at least take a bath now. I don't need Kroc thinking you're his new snack." Jackie teased, waving him over.

"Kroc?" He asked before remembering the Saltwater Crocodile and the Black Mamba that were also in the household.

"Yeah, Kroc. He and Dumisa are sleeping right now though, so you can meet them later. Korc is an Australian saltwater crocodile and Dumisa is a Black Mamba." Jackie answered as she got some heavy duty soap ready.

"Mmhhh … Miss host?" He gulped down rather anxiously, trying to gage what could happen here, "Do I need to put on some clothes and then undress in some specific way?

"Uh, no?" Jackie said, glancing back at him a little strangely. That was a little weird but maybe he's still learning English? Either way, he probably didn't mean anything by it, "just hop into the tub. I'll wash your head and back since that has the most honey crumbs in it." She turned her back so he could more comfortably get in. Maybe he was just shy.

He gulped again, fearing she'd drown him a few times. He slid closer to the tub, staring at her back while she patiently sat against the side of the tub. When he was sure she was not paying attention he went to the jacuzzi at the side farthest away from the host.

"You in?" She asked, glancing back at him and seeing him in the tub. "Alright good. Now this will help soften everything up so it's easier to clean out the honey." Jackie said, moving to get behind him but he moved forward into the center of the tub. She stared at him, puzzled. "Eztli, come here. I can't wash your back like this."

"No, I'm fine. I can wash my back myself." He answered, lowering himself in the water and gliding away from her.

A sudden scampering of feet made Jackie look back, seeing Antain dashing into the room with his eyes shining and his rubber duckie in his mouth. Jackie's lips parted, surprised as he made a sudden leap aiming for the tub.

"Antain _NO_!" Jackie shouted, diving forward and catching him before she tripped over the edge and belly flopped onto the surface with a hard slap. She sunk below the water before popping up with a sudden gasp, coughing out the water as Antain squirmed in her hold and tried to get into the deeper water. "A-Antain! You know you can't swim so be careful!" Jackie scolded while wildly coughing, having swallowed some water on her sudden dive in. She uneasily waded through the water and set Antain in the shallow step of the jacuzzi before she hunched over and began to wildly cough.

Eztli watched the scene, finding that it was weird that the host had caught the little pup, who actually seemed quite happy to be around … and what was that toy? He stared at the rubber duckling, interested in the buoyant little plastic toy while ignoring the coughing and hacking host.

Antain cheerfully laughed and splashed around with his rubber duckie, splashing his way over to Eztli before tripping over his leg and landing in his lap. The little fox paused, tensing up as he shyly pulled his ears back and looked up at the black jaguar.

"Mmhhh … hola, peque?" Eztli's ears flickered. He could clearly see that the pup was in good condition and didn't seem hurt in any way. The host caught him rather gently and fell into the bath while doing so. The action certainly caught him off guard.

Antain's nose twitched as he leaned over against the jaguar's chest, sniffing his fur and picking up the faint scent of his mama. A cute little purr vibrated his chest as he cuddled against the jaguar, climbing over his chest and hugging Eztli while burying his nose into the jaguar's neck and happily sniffed at Sabre's scent while munching on some of the seasoning in his fur.

"Are you ... purring?" Eztli was surprised at that, but that was a confirmation that this up really was the child of a bastet, right?

"Antain - ah?" Jackie said, looking around for him a little panicked before spotting him in Eztli's arms. "Thank you, Eztli. Antain can be a bit of a handful sometimes; he likes to jump into everyone's baths but he can't swim very well." She sighed, wading over to take Antain out of the jaguar's arms.

Eztli hugged back the pup as if protecting him from Jackie, "he's fine." He said, blushing slightly as he gently rubbed Antain 's ear.

"It's fine if you want to hold him but at least let me scrub the honey out of your fur. I can already tell it's starting to harden." Jackie noted out of concern, trying to get behind Eztli again before he turned to his side. " … here, then. I'll stay by your side instead of getting behind you. Is that alright?" Jackie asked, not really caring about getting wet or anything. It was really strange how he was avoiding her like this and she almost wanted to think that he had a bad experience with humans before. "What is the matter, Eztli? You've been avoiding me." Jackie asked, curious about the reason why he didn't seem to like her very much. Most of the time she needed a crowbar to peel the other Extraspecies off of her but Eztli was avoiding her. It was very different compared to the others who looked forward to having a host.

Eztli gathered his courage and looked her in the eyes for the first time, "I don't trust humans." He firmly stated, hugging Antain a little closer as his green eyes narrowed in her direction.

"You don't?" Jackie asked, taken aback. The others didn't seem to really care about humans one way or another. The host studied Eztli's eyes, seeing the distrust and almost fear shuddering behind his unwavering gaze. " … ah, sorry, then, for uh, pushing my boundaries. I get it." Jackie said, honestly taken aback by his honesty. She knew something had to be off but she didn't realize it would be because he disliked humans in general. The news shouldn't have taken her by surprise; there were plenty of humans who hated Extraspecies an awful lot so of course there would be Extraspecies who would not like humans. "Well, if you need anything just let me know. I'll show you around the house later after your bath. If you want me to I can groom you later; if you want." Jackie reassured, letting him know he had a choice as she looked off to the side and feeling rather flustered. She didn't think about it until now but she was being awfully pushy with him earlier. "So uh, have a good bath then," she said, getting out of the tub and using a spare towel to dry herself off a little bit.

"Are you … going away? Are you angry?" He carefully asked, fearing a 'yes' and whatever punish she could think while away.

"No no, it's fine, I know I can be pushy sometimes. Sorry that I made you uncomfortable," Jackie said with her cheeks a little red flustered by her own sudden awkwardness, "do you want me to take Antain or are you going to take a bath with him?" Jackie asked.

"He's fine." Eztli caressed the pup's back, carefully eyeing the human.

"Alright. Well, um, before I go, this is the soap you use first to help soften the seasonings and everything. Then you use this soap to get it all off before using the shampoo here. And it has conditioner too so you don't need that," she said, finding herself rather nervously rambling. How was she going to help him get over his dislike of humans? It was clear she already made a not so good impression by coming onto him so strong about giving him a bath. Maybe that was too forward of her? She was so used to her Extraspecies that she didn't think twice about it.

"Aren't you going away? I'll take care of him." Eztli was expectant on the human leaving, the pup now munching on his black and seasoned fur.

"Well uh, enjoy your bath and just call for me if you need something." Jackie said, quickly leaving the room.

As soon as the human went away and the sound of her steps was lost, Eztli sighed in relief, breathing deeply and his heart still pounding hard under his chest. That had been scary and strange; perhaps the human had been estranged by him stating clearly he didn't like humans? Maybe later on she would try to force him to like them? That thought made him shudder. He knew what humans could do. A squewk sounded, distracting him as he turned towards the little munched on his rubber duck, making it squeak again, before he pawed at the water with a cheerful smile on his face.

The sliding of scales over woodwork made Eztli's head snap towards his doors, finding Kroc halfway into his room with his mouth open. A greedy rumbling in the air made Eztli flinch slightly, seeing Kroc looking over to him before spotting Antain in the bath with him. Apparently coming back to his senses, Kroc perked up.

"Ah, still up, mate?" He asked, sniffing the air with his jaws still cracked, moving his tongue around as he tasted the delicious aroma in the air.

"Hi." Eztli waved while holding Antian in one arm.

Kroc walked over closer, sniffing the feline and staring at the crumbs before grinning toothily, "what you wearing there? Smells good." He laughed, dipping his hand into the hot water.

"I got some honey stuff over my fur. Taking a bath to remove it before it sticks more ... hey! Can you hold the pup for a moment?" Eztli asked, seeing Antain already stretching his arms towards the crocodile and grabbing at the air without any of the shyness that he himself had received early.

"Only if I can join, mate." He said before crawling into the water without receiving an answer.

"Eh?" Eztli tilted his head and then smiled. "Of course! Any time, friend. Also if you wanna use my pool later you are welcome."

Kroc let out a satisfied groaning hiss before Eztli set Antain on his back, letting the pup run around on his scales with quite the adept agility for a small pup. Kroc's eyes slide shut, lulled into a sleepy state by the hot water while the jaguar scrubbed himself and removed the seasoning from his fur.

Meanwhile, Jackie walked down the hall sopping wet, heading to her room for a change of clothes while Eztli took care of Antian.

When she was nearing her room, she heard the very distinctive sound of feline yowlings, growls and other kitty noises. Earlier they were rather quiet, making Jackie hope they were sleeping but were they _still_ going at it?! She threw open the door with a loud bang, planning to drag them out before the moving silhouette against each other made her lose her nerve. If there was any doubt the thick scent of sweat and musk in the air confirmed it for her.

"What are you doing?! _OUT_!" She shouted, throwing something her shoe at them and clearly failing before slamming the door shut. Jackie stood outside the door in a cold sweat, mentally censoring what she knew was happening behind the door. What … what the hell-?! "YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STUPID ROOM, YOU KNOW!" She shouted while pounding on the door before shivering in near disgust and discomfort, angrily striding into the guest room where she kept some spare clothes.

Jackie quickly grabbed some dry clothes, putting them on angrily. She couldn't believe those two were still-! And in _her_ room, not theirs! That's gross! Jackie grumbled to herself in annoyance before slumping into the living room, almost furious that she was kicked out of her own room in her own house!

She would need to deal with them later when there were done but there was also another cat she needed to take care of but he clearly didn't want her anywhere near him. For the moment what she needed was some good sleep. Jackie fell onto the couch with a loud huff, laying there and closing her eyes but all she could hear was her headboard slamming against her wall from her room accompanied by the sound of feline roars along with the rain of an oncoming storm tapping against the window. Jackie internally cried at her misfortune before sitting up, rubbing her head in annoyance. There was no way she could sleep there like this, listening t-to-! A loud yowl came from behind the door of her room before she shot up with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks. She couldn't take this anymore; she needed to go deeper into the house and maybe even sleep in someone else's room for the night; maybe Jaska's. His bed was pretty big.

Jackie let out a haggard groan before she headed back down the hallway towards Jaska's room, hearing Antain let out an excited trill from Eztli's room. Jackie uneasily stood by the door, feeling rather awkward. There was no way Eztli would be able to get all that honey out of his fur by himself. Jackie sucked in a deep breath, trying to get her lady egg in order before she opened the door and stepped inside, startled to see Kroc pop his head out of the water and give her a glance before continuing to float around the fairly large jacuzzi of a tub.

"Hey, uh, how's it going?" She awkwardly asked as she stepped inside.

Eztli suddenly became less chatty and his posture became more rigid, although notably not as much as earlier. Her eyes drifted to his fur, seeing the hardened tufts that clearly were not properly washed at all.

"Do you want my help? The honey is hardening and there is a lot stuck in your fur, Eztli." Jackie offered as she drew nearly, glancing at Antain curled up comfortably on Kroc's back and appearing to be napping but it was hard to tell.

"I'm fine." Eztli curtly stated, his eyes locking onto Jackie's hands seeing she was empty handed.

" … I really don't think you are." Jackie honestly admitted with a frown, walking over closer to him to get a better look at his fur. Eztli's ears lowered as he shuffled back and away, barring his teeth slightly and letting out a very faint hiss as Jackie stopped and waited patiently by the side of the tub, plotting and trying to figure out a way to convince him otherwise.

Kroc half opened his eyes to see the exchange staring at the two of them before letting out a heavy sigh. The movement made Antain jostle awake in excitement, gasping in happiness before he dashed around excitedly over Kroc's back. Kroc barely turned towards Eztli, letting out a huff, "just let her help, mate."

Eztli looked at Kroc and then at the host, his ears lowering as he seemed quite torn.

"I'll be careful, Eztli. If it hurts just tell me." Jackie said, hoping that would entice him into letting her help.

" … alright." He very reluctantly agreed. He needed the help but he didn't want to be closer to the human. With Kroc nearby, however, he felt safer; at least safe enough to allow the human to approach.

Jackie smiled gently before rolling up her sleeves, grabbing the four bottles of shampoos and conditioners before getting to work. She lathered up her hands before rubbing it into the back of his neck, watching him shiver as he leaned forward and away from her. With a frown Jackie hitched her knee to the tub's lip, scrubbing the beads of the soap into his hardened fur. Finding most of it to be on the back of his neck, Jackie reached around his shoulders and began scrubbing his neck.

Eztli stiffened, he hadn't expected her to try and strangle him in front of Kroc but he was not going to stay idle and let her.

"WHOA-!" Jackie shouted, startled as he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, landing with a big splash into the tub. Kroc ignored them while letting out a tired sigh, staring at them while floating in the tub as Jackie splashed around in the water before shooting up out of the water gasping for air. She let out a few hoarse coughs, getting her thoughts together before looking back at Eztli in surprise. "W-Wh-What? What's wrong?" She asked, looking him over in complete confusion.

Eztli hissed, his big fangs showing "I'm not letting you strangle me, human!" He growled and backed away to the edge of the tub.

"S-Strangle-?! Why the hell w-wou-would I do that?!" Jackie hoarsely coughed again, gripping the side of the tub, "you have crumbs and honey all over your head, shoulders and back! How else am I supposed to help you?" She asked, looking him straight in the eyes before slightly glancing off to the side, remembering the lessons of showing submissive behavior. As much as it annoyed her to be 'submissive' it was the only thing she could think of to defuse the situation.

Eztli hissed again, but then he saw Jackie's slightly offset gaze and her lowering herself to the ground a bit, allowing him to stand up taller than her. Eztli stopped his growling, puzzled by her behavior, and took a step forward and Jackie didn't move while at the other side of the tub, Kroc was watching carefully while doing nothing as Antain observed them curiously.

"Fine," Eztli resumed his position on the edge again, "but don't try anything weird, hooman"

"You act as if I can." Jackie said with a sigh, approaching slowly and within his sights at all times as she sat beside him, moving slower as she scrubbed his shoulder and back and only part of his neck, making sure never to move her hands on either side of his neck at the same time, "I told you, if it hurts, just tell me. You don't need to throw me." Jackie said.

Eztli unwillingly began relaxing, but he tried to remain alert throughout the petting, ultimately failing to do so given how well this felt, just as Smith had said. He leaned against her and began enjoying it.

"Told'ya, mate," Kroc muttered and closed his eyes, then opened them again when the jaguar started moaning weirdly.

Jackie let out a faint sigh, standing in front of him and smoothly rolling her fingers through his fur to make sure the honey and crumbs were all gone before she grabbed the conditioner and began lathering up his fur generously.

 _Note to self; never wash a cat's cat's back from behind where they can't see you._

 **MWMWMWMWMWWMMWMWWMMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMMWMWM**

Sabre stretched, waking up and hearing the rain outside. She groggily looked outside, flicking her tail back and forth. It appeared it would storm soon. Silently she slipped out of the bed before Jaska's arm reached out, gently grasping her waist as he leaned into her and very deeply purred, mingled with a groan.

"Stay and cuddle." He enticed, licking her lower back as his tail flipped around.

Sabre smiled and rubbed herself on him but then pried his heavy arm off. "I will, but first I'll go check on Antain and then I'll come back with drinks, da?" She licked his nose, purring as he turned his head up and kissed her. She accepted it, pulling back while he licked her lips.

"Hrmm~ soon. I not done with you." He pouted, lightly nibbling at her tail while sleepily laying on his belly on the host's bed. It was funny, Sabre mused, how they both found the host's scent comfortable enough to sleep with. She leaned down and gently kissed his head, rubbing his ear before smoothly walking out of Jackie's destroyed room with only her miraculously intact shirt and underwear on.

Sabre felt the blush on her cheeks, wondering if it had been so wild and nice with Aleksey given that she could hardly remember any of it. In any case, Jaska was actually very good at it, and his canine problem hadn't been a problem at all. She stopped in her tracks for a second and shook her head, meekly remembering clearly how well Jaska had performed and how much of a big cuddler he was. Her heart racing again.

She kept on walking, and when she passed by the living room she saw the host cleaning but she kept on walking towards the kitchen.

Jackie turned, seeing Sabre walking into the kitchen and grabbing herself a drink from the fridge. The host glared at her, absolutely furious. "You done with _my_ room yet?" She growled in annoyance, seeing the near naked feline shamelessly drinking away at a carton of milk. Jackie was as embarrassed as she was furious with the feline who did not seem to care at all about taking the host's room as her personal love shack.

"No. We are just starting." Sabre finished the milk and started on another carton.

"J-Just move it to your own stupid rooms!" The host irritably snapped at her.

"No." Sabre shrugged, walking over to the furious host.

"Why not?!"

"Because we like your scent." The feline purred, licking the tip of Jackie's nose, "It's calming enough for me to be around and I'm not bothered getting aroused when near it," Sabre then hugged Jackie and rubbed herself on the host. "Since you are not a predator but not exactly a prey we can go at it and instincts will not even notice all the other predators in the house, who are rivals for Jaska and possible mates for me. We can just concentrate on each other."

The moment the feline's arms enclosed around her, Jackie could feel and smell the thick scent of sweat and other fluids on her as she leaned away, repulsed and mortified.

"EW! Don't do that!" Jackie shouted, leaning away from her sweaty hug.

Sabre tightened her hug for a second and chuckled before letting go. "You know, this heat is still weird for me … but … but maybe it's not that bad. At least we kitties aren't fighting anymore, are we?" She winked at Jackie while taking a couple bottles of water from the fridge before walking away.

"UGH!" Jackie shouted in annoyance, grabbing some cleaning products and scrubbing the hell out of every surface in the living room and kitchen, a prelude to the sort of cleaning she would have to do in her room.

Sabre giggled on her way back. She left the water bottles at the entrance of the host's room and then went to check on Antain. When she got into the attic, her eyes widened at how it had been remodeled. It wasn't stuffy anymore. It was enormous with many fake trees and a canopy that formed catwalks or places to climb. She wanted to explore it, but she knew that would have to wait. First of all, Antain wasn't here, so she turned around and walked back down towards the other's rooms to see where her pup could be.

Eztli was in his room entertaining the pup. After the host had left he had scrubbed himself harder to remove her scent from him. Kroc had left too, wanting to take Antain with him but the kit had clung to Eztli's tail so the crocodile had left with just a warning towards Eztli about taking care of Antain. At least the cub distracted Eztli from thinking about how Smith had left him with the human host and how he hadn't been able to get more time with the others.

Antain was playing with Eztli's tial piercing when a roaring call was heard somewhere in the corridors and Antain responded by calling back. Eztli seeing this, decided to imitate him and roared too. A few second later, Sabre crashed inside the room with an angry snarl and her fur on edge ready to fight upon hearing the strange roar, but relaxed when she saw Antain on top of the black cat.

"Oh, eres tu. (Oh, it's you.)" She let out a breath of relief as Antain came running to hug her legs.

"Si." Eztli said with a cheerful smile, watching as Antain mewed and snuggled his head into her leg with a little purr of excitement.

Saber passed her hand over the pup's head and responded the hug. "Así que ya conociste a Antian. (So you've already meet Antian)." She received a hug from Antain when he heard his mama say his name. "¿Ya te sientes mejor? ¿más calmado? (Are you feeling better? More calm?)"

"Si," Eztli said, glancing away with a slight flush on his cheeks. He looked back over at her with lowered ears, "¿Que clase de humano es esta anfitriona? ( … what kind of human is this human?)," Eztli asked with a frown as his tail twitched back and forth.

"Ya veo (I see)," Sabre nodded and approached the jaguar, examining him up and down before approaching to the lowest den of his tree that contained a bed, She sat down and motioned Eztli to come sit at her side. "Esta anfitriona es el tipo de humano algo estupido pero con buenas intenciones. Bastante ignorante e ingenua pero no es una mala persona (This host is the kind of human that is somewhat stupid but with good intentions. Pretty ignorant and naive but she is not a bad person)."

"Humans … can't be like that." He walked up to her and stood by her side, speaking as if he was forcing himself, "humans are scary a-and mean." He said, trembling slightly as tears visibly bud up in his eyes. He sat down, curling his tail around his legs and trying to hunch into a very small ball.

"Not all of them. Or rather, very few. Most are just stupid, greedy and or ignorant. There are some that are of course way worse, real monsters," she looked away and closed her eyes remembering her own past, "but there are also the other extremes of the ones that are nice even if they are fewer. "

Antain looked at the jaguar and light munched on his ear, unsure of why the big cat was so scared. After pulling back and spitting out some hairs, he mewed to his mom while hugging Eztli's head. The jaguar shivered, refusing to answer. So many years stuck in a cage and here was another human trying to convince him she was good? He didn't want to believe it.

Sabre set Antain between herself and Eztli and then laid on the mattress to hug them both. "Eztli … you can tell me what's wrong and I'll try to help. Even if you don't tell me what humans did to you, I'll help if I can. Not because I care much about the host, but because you are giving Antain a bad example," she chuckled and then nuzzled him, "bastets are proud and strong. You are a big male jaguar, so act as if you own this continent even when you don't feel how strong you are. Pretend for yourself and look as tough as you are supposed to be and no one will mess with you."

Eztli looked up at her, clearly looking upset with his chest huffing before he pulled her into a deep and strong hug, trembling.

Sabre blinked in surprise, but she let him hug her as she returned the gesture. She remembered how scared she had been on so many occasions, and began licking his head and grooming him to calm him down, passing her hand over his back as she did with Antain when her pup was distressed.

Eztli nuzzled deeper against her, continuing to tremble as she continued to groom him her purring helping him calm down somewhat.

"Don't worry Eztli, there are plenty of big strong predators here. If the host intimidates you, you can be sure that we'll be there to help whenever you need something from her. Be the cat you are and demand she acts like a good host, and if you are in doubt, just ask any of us to be around when you interact with her or you can spy on her to know her activities."

"Ah … I-I will." Eztli said, wondering if spying on the host would make her angry. He paused at the thought, ears lowering as he lightly growled. N-No, Sabre was right. Who cares what the host thinks? All that matters is proving she's not a good human.

"If anything happens just roar for us to come….Although Jaska and I will be a bit busy for the next week." She blushed, taking note that Eztli strangely did not appear as affected by her heat as the others. That was weird in itself but very good; or maybe it was very bad if he was so scared and distressed that her heat didn't affect him. "And when you are ready to tell me about anything, I'll be there to listen."

"Alright." He said with a happy smile, leaning in towards her and kissing her on the cheek, "gracias (thank you)." He smiled.

"¿De nada? (you're welcome?)." She lightly blushed, embarrassed by the unnecessary gratitude.

A loud roar was heard again, this time it was Jaska. Sabre stood up and roared back in a 'I'm coming' equivalent of a response. She then looked down at Eztli. "Uhhmmm … I'll go with Jaska before he get grumpy. Can you watch Antain or take him to Kroc?"

"Si." He said, eagerly leaning towards the fox kit before gently nuzzling his head against the little boy.

"Thanks." Sabre gave Eztli a kiss in the cheek before she scurried away back to Jackie's room where Jaska waited. She grabbed the bottles she had left at the entrance and went in directly to the bed, where Jaska immediately smelled Eztli's scent.

"New cat smell?" He grumbled, already sounding grumpy and jealous as he sat up in the bed, staring at her.

"Eztli was with Antain… And It seems he is still wary of Jackie and all humans. No, not wary, scared. I helped him calm down. And not in 'that' way, grumpy cat," she cuddled next to him, "he actually doesn't seems as affected by my heat."

"Niet, impossible." Jaska said, waving off the thought as he eagerly hugged her back, taking in a deep inhale of her scent and began rubbing himself on her and grooming her head to get rid of any other male's scent on the female bastet.

She leaned into the hug. "More like he was too scared and distressed to even attempt anything." Maybe Eztli hadn't been as affected, but she sure was and laid back down on the bed to let Jaska get on top and groom her all around or start the foreplay again.

"Enough talk, detka." He deeply purred, kissing her cheek while rubbing her body, "relax, I take care." He encouraged with a gentle smile.

Sabre timidly smiled back, her heart racing as she let him take the initiative.

 **MWMWMWMWMWWMMWMWWMMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMMWMWM**

It was late at night, nearing 12:47 with the others having gone to sleep hours ago but Jackie was still cleaning the house and trying to take her mind off things. Her movements were rigid, her eyes constantly drifting and looking out the window before continuing her work. Unknown to her, Eztli was secretly watching her from the rafters up above. He noticed her continually glancing at the window, staring at the rain pelting against the window.

"Phew." Jackie heavily exhaled, plopping herself onto the couch before she sleepily rubbed her eyes. Working herself to exhaustion might help her sleep through the storm but she could only be hopeful.

Eztli tilted his head and accommodated on the rafter better. He wasn't willing to go to sleep yet until the human had gone to bed herself. He also thought it was sort of weird that the human was cleaning the house now instead of sleeping and he thought it was also strange how she kept looking at the windows when she had already cleaned them.

A strike of lightning flashed, making Jackie suddenly become rigid before a resounding boom shook the air. Jackie let out a startled scream, making Eztli jump in surprise as she suddenly rolled off the couch and held her head. Her breathing became erratic as she staggered back, knocking into the coffee table as she scrambled away from the windows, hand over her racing heart.

Eztli, digging his claws on the rafters to not fall off, climbed back up to see what had happened. She seemed on edge and ready to have some attack of maybe hysteria or fear, but that wasn't right. He hadn't met a human that ran in fear like that unless they were directly threatened, and neither he nor anyone was hunting the host. After some staring, he decided to follow her and find out. What if she was going crazy?

The host stiffened up suddenly, holding her mouth as she hysterically breathed with tears dripping from her eyes. Her eyes remained glued down the hall, seeming intent on making sure she was alone. Muffling her fright she staggered down the hall towards her room before another loud boom resounded, making her jolt and smack into the wall with a loud gasp only held back by her arm.

Eztli was confused, not knowing if he should go to wake up Sabre or Jaska, but he decided against it. If the host was crazy then she was dangerous and he didn't want to endanger anyone even if he wasn't sure what to do. First, however, he wanted to find out what happened to her, or rather, what was currently happening to her.

The host staggered to a nearby closet, stuffing herself inside before hastily shutting the door as Eztli stared at the door, baffled. With his ears alert, he could hear the host sobbing behind the door and hysterically breathing. She was clearly frightened by something but he could not tell what.

A new thundering crash caused a little jolt from Jackie, making her utter a small frightened cry before it was once again muffled. Finally gathering some courage, Eztli leapt down from his observation post and approached the closet, silently walking closer. A series of soft bubbling sounds was heard as he pressed his ear lightly against the door to hear what she was saying.

"No, no I'm safe, I'm safe, s-s-she's not here, she's not here." Jackie's voice muttered incoherently between trembling breaths.

Her haggard breathing filled the air with sharp intakes of breaths overshadowed by the hiccupping sobbing muffled behind the door. Whatever happened frightened her deeply. With a glance outside he watched the lightning strike, listening to the boom before hearing an almost immediate echo of fright from the host inside the empty closet.

Eztli was surprised. The human was afraid of someone, some ' _she'_. He had never met a frightened human before, not like this. He hesitated, his tail rolling at its tip. He was very familiar with being scared and wanting to feel safe. For years he had found himself hiding from someone in small places, scared to death about being found. So now he found himself curious about what could scare a human, the scariest species in the world.

He swallowed and took a step forward, still away enough from the closed. "Hey, host … mmhhh, you fine in there?" He asked, cocking his head to the side as he listened to her.

"Y-Y-Y-Ye-," she barely choked out, sounding like a broken record player, "f-fine, I'm just fi-fine," she forced past her staggering sobs, clearly having a difficult time speaking through her heaving breaths.

"Why are you sobbing?" He had no idea how to be subtle here. "Are … are you scared?"

"I'm fine … I'm j-ju-just fine," she breathed, seeming to be talking to herself more than to him. "I'm jus-t fine. G-G-Go to bed, E-E-Eztli. I'm f-f-fine." She painfully breathed.

"Why are you in a closet?"

"Just … I-I'm … I-," she started to say. A new thunderous boom sounded, and with it, a new muffled scream from the host as she shuffled around inside the closet with a trembling breathing pattern worse than before. "I'm sorry … I'm s-so-sorry … I'm sorry," she rasped out between choking tears from behind the door.

"Why are you sorry?" Eztli paced outside the closet; now he was unsettled. She was … scared? Why would she be? And what did she do that was bad enough for her to apologize like this?

"I'm sorry … I-I'm sorry … ," she repeated before she stopped talking all together, softly crying now. "Please … just stop, please." She whispered before her sobbing became noticeably more muffled.

Eztli had no idea why she was apologizing or why she asked him to stop if he wasn't doing anything, but many times he had been punished for doing nothing; then he noticed the faint smell of blood coming from inside the closet. "Do I call Ms. Smith?"

"Nhh nhh," she whined from inside the closet, her breathing becoming more deep and forced before it broke into short, hard sobs.

He would call Ms. Smith later. If she was hurt then he needed to tell Smith because hurt humans were dangerous. He finally decided to open the door but as soon as he did so, he jumped back in case she tried to hit him or something. Instead of that, he saw her crying and desperately hugging herself, laying on the ground on her side with her back to him and her head pressed against the wall. She reeked of fear and anxiousness as her form visibly trembled in fright. She smelled like … like some prey would, not as the apex predator of the world that they were.

"I-I-I'm fine," she barely rasped out before curling into a fight ball and hugging herself. The moment her fingers gripped her arm he could see bits of blood on both her middle finger and wrist where she must have bitten herself to keep quiet.

"You aren't fine. Why are you afraid?" He softly asked. ( _what can scare a human … except ... other humans?_ ) Eztli tilted his head slightly, pondering the thought.

Jackie merely shook her head, letting out a short scream as another thunderous boom resounded from outside. Her arm whipped around as she shakily breathed, once again biting into her wrist only this time deeper to muffle her fright, drawing more blood.

He grabbed her wrist and pull it away, very hesitant before he licked the wound. "Host? Are you afraid of some other humans? Do humans hurt other humans and make them scared too?"

Jackie only curled into a tighter ball, weakly trying to pull her arm back but Eztli easily kept his grip. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks as she turned away from him, refusing to look at him. "P-Please … don't look at me. Just go to bed a-a-and I'll be fine." She shakily breathed as her entire form began to shake uncontrollably.

"Tell me, host. Are humans scared of other humans? Why?" He needed to know. Humans were clearly cruel to Extraspecies but were they also mean to their own kind? The human here was not just scared, she was terrified; just like he had been so many times before Ms. Smith rescued him.

"S-S-Some … l-later. I will tell you later." She shakily breathed, continuing to try and turn her body to hide her face from him.

Ezlti practically felt her fear, and he was not going to get her to answer until she calmed down. He silently studied her, flicking his tail back and forth in thought. The only way he could think for making her calm down was what Sabre had done to help him or Antian calm down. He pulled the host out of the closet, feeling her frightened resistance but it was no match for his strength.

"E-E-E-Eztli, please … j-just leave me." She pleaded, frightened to be out in the open during the thunderstorm.

"I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" He said, moving her so she was on her hands and knees still curled into a tight little ball. Eztli kept her wrists held against the ground while he laid on top of her curled figure to keep her restrained so she couldn't attack him that easily if she went out of control. Then he swallowed nervously before he began licking her behind the ear and nuzzling her neck and side of her face. "Calm down, host," he continued the treatment.

"E-Eztli? W-Wh-What are you doing?" Jackie shakily breathed, looking back at him through a teary gaze. She was clearly shocked at his forward behavior suddenly where before he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Calming you down. Sabre helpped me and her cub calm down like this so calm down, host." He rubbed his head against hers and kept his body over.

"C-C-C-Can we please mov-move away from the window?" She quietly pleaded, trying to inch back into the hall and away from the windows in the living room.

"Yes but tell me why." Eztli said, flickering his gaze from the window back to the host. Was something outside frightening her?

"Why … why what?" She breathed.

"Why do you want to move away from the window?" He asked slowly, seeing her calm enough to answer now. Yes, that was it, one question at a time.

Jackie shook beneath him, frighteningly taking a gulp as she swallowed the painful lump in her throat. "T-The … thunder. The sound … it sc-scares me." She admitted, pressing back against him. Thinking she was trying to push him back he leaned more weight on her, feeling her shoulders trembling as she turned her head away from the window and kept her eyes opened and staring at the wall.

Eztli didn't understand her answer very well. Why would anyone be afraid of thunder when they were inside? However, if it helped her calm down … , "okay, host. I'm going to move slowly and then I'll carry you to the couch on the living room. Don't try anything sudden." he warned.

"N-Not the living room-!" She gasped, holding her head and bunkering down in fright as she continued to tremble.

Eztli, who was beginning to move back, stopped. "Why not the living room?"

"Please … anywhere … anywhere I won't hear it is fine." She laboriously breathed, tears still falling from her eyes.

The sound triggered that fear. His ears lowered, trying to think of a place to take her. He was not going to invite her to his territory. Eztli looked around the room, walking a small ways into the living room before spying the small hiding hole above the kitchen where the large catwalks were placed. After having explored the house while being alone he knew the interior well and knew the heater was near that little hole. It would block the sound out well.

"Alright host. We are moving, so don't try anything," he slowly moved up from her and waited a second to ensure she wasn't gonna try anything before he let go of one wrist and pulled her up by the other. "I'm going to put my hand over your eyes." He did so, feeling little to no resistance, and then began pushing her in front of him and towards the small step platform near the kitchen.

"W-Where-?" Jackie asked shakily, walking where he directed her before they came to a stop. Eztli removed his hand, letting her look up at the catwalk in the corner of the kitchen before he suddenly picked her up by the hips. "Eztli-!" She gasped, startled as she remained tense, trying to keep her balance.

"Don't try anything host or I'll drop you." He threatened, flinching away slightly but held his ground.

"W-W-Wha?" Jackie began, not understanding what he meant.

He jumped into the small platform and then threw her up to the edge of a small semi hidden platform on the rafters up above, using the kind of strength that startled Jackie considering how thin he was.

"Th-there's a rafter here?" She asked, surprised as she looked around to find a small and somewhat cozy but cramped space tucked away with a nice pillow cushion on the floor. The whirring of the heater was also on nearby, drowning out some of the sound of the storm outside.

A moment later, Eztli jumped besides her and pushed her into the small den before he crawled inside, cornering her in. Jackie rolled inside from his rather forceful pushes, making her look up at him in confusion.

"I-I did-didn't know this was here." Jackie admitted, looking around as her chest heaved but her tears seemed to have been tamed by the distraction.

"It's a cat's space. Ms Smith wanted to give us plenty hidden places." Eztli answered, observing her carefully. He looked so meek and mild but it could be some sort of elaborate farce. At least she didn't have any tools with her that she could potentially hurt her with. "Now lay down, host."

"I-I didn't kn-know that." Jackie stammered, feeling her heart racing with her previous fright still working in full effect. This place was warm and dark, a perfect hiding place from the thunder outside.

He pushed her down and once more immobilized her exactly in the same way as previously, only now she was on her back with her hands pinned above her. "Now you'll calm down, host?"

"Y-Y-Yeah," she breathed. Jackie struggled to accommodate but she was totally restrained. "Thank you, Eztli. You can let go." She thanked, letting out a breath of relief.

"I need to be careful so you don't hurt me. A-And if you try anything to hurt me, I'll at the very least drop you from here." Eztli threatened, seeming unsure of himself now that the host was regaining her senses.

"Hurt you?" Jackie asked, startled by what he said, "w-why would I hurt you?"

"You are an unstable human."

"Y-Yeah I'm scared, Eztli, but I wouldn't hurt you. Besides, you'd turn me into swiss cheese." Jackie shakily laughed, smiling towards him surprisingly brightly.

Eztli didn't laugh or relent his hold.

"E-Eztli-," Jackie started before another boom of thundered roared. The host flinched and tightly shut her eyes with a small cry of fright. Her sudden movement making Eztli press himself over her more of his weight. The weight did not bother Jackie at all. His soft fur offered a strange sense of relief and safety before she tilted her head forward, pressing her head against his shoulder as she closed her eyes, reminding herself that she was indeed a host. "I-I'm sorry … Eztli. Th-This is a really bad first impression." Jackie apologized with a very strained laugh.

"Not first. You left me alone in the house before. You didn't even notice me on the way back from the hospital." Eztli began again to nuzzle and lick to calm her down.

"I had no idea you were here. No one told me and I never saw you." Jackie said with a frown, "I'm so sorry, Eztli. I really am. I feel terrible for not being a good host to you. I-Is there any way I can make it up to you?" Jackie asked, trying not to become flustered from his licking and nuzzling. It was just him trying to calm her in his own feline-like way. Sabre did that to her pup and Jaska had done that to Sabre recently too.

Eztli remained quiet. When it seemed he was not gonna say anything, he finally spoke. "Why are you afraid? Who scared you like that?"

"I … ," Jackie breathed, fear creeping back into her eyes before she glanced away, abashed, "I … don't really want to talk about it. It's just … I … ," Jackie tried to explain before she took in a deep, shaky breath, "I … did not grow up in a very loving home, to say the least. The thunder … each time it thundered she … well, the thunder scares me is all." Jackie relented, sealing her lips together with stiffly frowning.

Eztli had not grown up in a loving home either, unless 'that' was real love as he had always been told. But there was something clear, this 'she' scared the host and so did thunder. He just wanted to know something. "Was she a human? Do human hurt and scare other humans too?"

"Not … not all humans are bad," Jackie reassured him, "it's just … well, yes, she is." Jackie breathed before she leaned against him, surprising him a bit, "can I please pet you, Eztli?" Jackie asked, hoping for a distraction.

"No. I don't trust you. 'Petting' from humans has never been nice for me." He left her wrist firm under his grip.

" … Eztli, did past humans hurt you?" Jackie asked, sounding rather firm in her question. She had suspected as much but was not sure. She knew it was hard and just how difficult that could be.

"I didn't grow up in a nice home either," he just said, far too more than what he had intended to.

"Then … well, would you let me show you how nice humans can be?" Jackie asked, "I know there are good humans and bad ones too. So, why don't I show you what a good human is like?" Jackie suggested, studying him. This feline … had a control issue. He felt lost and afraid too. So if she were to give up some control, he would feel more comfortable. It was risky but worth a shot.

"No. I don't trust you." He repeated with lowered ears.

"Will you let me pet you if you hold my neck or something?" Jackie hesitantly offered, "and if I do try to hurt you, you can hurt me back. Would that help?" Jackie offered, feeling uncomfortable offering him that but felt it was right.

Eztli stopped and eyed her with suspicion. "Why do you want to pet me? Where do you want to pet me?"

"Because I need to be a good host, don't I? And to be honest, I think you need some nice petting too." Jackie said, "only your ears, neck and back. And shoulders," Jackie offered, trying to word her sentences properly, "if you don't like it just tell me and I'll stop." Jackie asked.

Eztli narrowed his eyes, twitching his tail back and forth in suspicious thought. After some debate, he moved one hand to her throat and carefully let go of her, moving just a little aside to give her space to reach where she had said and facing her to keep an eye on her moves. His tail moved nervously but he awaited her moves.

"Just relax, Eztli." Jackie encouraged, reaching up to his face. Her hands very gently and softly brushed over his jaws, dancing her fingers gently beneath his ears before she swept her caresses up and gingerly rubbed his ears.

Eztli's ears flickered. This felt nice but he was not trusting her so easily. He lightly squeezed her neck, deciding to test her. "My shoulders, host. Pet my shoulders."

"Alright." Jackie said. Her fingers inched towards the back of his neck, rubbing tenderly but firmly before she moved closer and gently dragged her fingers over his shoulders and moved her hands in a massaging and scratching motion.

"Now my lower back," he ordered. Eztli was stiff but purring at the precise and thorough petting.

Jackie's hands moved closer to him, scratching and petting his lower spine and scratching at the base. One of her hands trailed off, gently gripping his tail and playing with it before giving a small tug while her other hand scratched and massaged the base of his spine.

Once again Eztli squeezed her neck, "my ears now," he demanded and let out an unwilling moan at how good this felt. It was way different than any other human's petting. Not that he had let any human near besides Smith, but this was what real petting should feel like.

"See? I have my faults but I'm a really good petter." Jackie said, sliding her hands back up his spine. With a moan he curled his back away from her hands, feeling her fingers slide through his fur before gently grasping his ears, petting his cheeks and jaws.

The host softly looked over Ezti with a small frown. Based from how he had been acting around her she had guessed that he disliked humans and now she knew why. Deep in the recesses of her mind she began to plot about how she could help Eztli get over his fear of humans. First and foremost was getting his trust with good petting and tasty food. She cheerfully smiled, thankful for her experience with Jaska and Sabre that helped prepare her for something like this.

Eztli let out a new sensual moan as his body pressed over hers, then his hand swept down her back, holding her cheek and holding her closer before he blushed and kissed her jaws.

Jackie continued to pet him, puzzled by his actions and not quite understanding what he was getting at. Jaska and Sabre did not do this but maybe Eztli was just an affectionate cuddler?

Eztli licked his lips and then started licking and kissing her more in automatic, his body rubbing against her now. One of his hands gripping her buttcheek before his hand slid between her legs.

Jackie pulled away from him, seeing him follow her before she gently squished his face and held him at bay.

"Eztli, what are you doing?" Jackie asked, uncomfortable. He was getting way too touchy for just cuddling.

"Qué!?" Eztli shook his head and stopped, realizing what he had been doing out of conditioning.

"W-Why are you kissing me?" Jackie asked awkwardly, realizing her position before she moved back a bit to get some distance between them.

"I didn't!" He growled, his words harsh and denying what had just happened, then he put his hand back on her neck and pressed hard. "I didn't say stop." He was nervous, but he was not gonna let her see that, but at least the confusion in her eyes and how she had pulled back proved a little bit that she had not really tried taking advantage of what he was doing.

"A-Alright, that's fine but just don't touch me like that. It makes me uncomfortable." Jackie said, sliding her hands over his shoulders and neck. His tension which she massaged out before was back and not relenting; he seemed more tense than ever now with no signs of letting up.

Soon, however, Eztli began to sleepily lean to the side. Jackie tried keeping him up but found herself too tired to do so as they slumped over onto the soft bedding. Eztli scooted closer to her, surprising her as he nuzzled against her neck and deeply purred. With a tired smile Jackie continued petting, feeling herself getting heavier and heavier.

After a few minutes Eztli noticed her petting had stopped, and looking over at her he saw that the 'hooman' was already falling asleep right then and there against the cushion. He considered leaving her here, but he did wanted to sleep too after the day of spying and his room was too far away for his tired self; besides, he was a big strong bastet like Sabre had said and he could handle the hooman if she tried anything, even more this was a test for her to see what she would do, yes, that was it. It wasn't that he was too lazy and the place WAS too cozy; no, it was a test for the host. He was, nevertheless, going to take extreme caution. Slowly applying his weight over her he moved on top to make sure she couldn't get away, getting ready to fall asleep himself.

"Oof," Jackie, who wasn't completely asleep yet, sighed, glancing up at him as their eyes meet. Rather than resisting Jackie simply fell asleep with Eztli, tense, watching her before he falls asleep as well over her chest. Jackie laid there silently.

 _Note to self: scared predators can only relax when they get some self control … and lots of petting._

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I should have asked this a while ago, but what kind of Extraspecies would you all as an audience like to see come join Jackie's family? Leave your answers in the REVIEWS so chaos-dark-lord and I can see them; we're very curious as to what species you can come up with that would be fun!

Chaos-dark-lord asks: Who is your favorite Extraspecies and why? Also, if there is something you'd like to know about the Extraspecies, leave a REVIEW and we will think of an answer with what we know!

 **10 REVIEWS** for the next chapter, our lovely readers!


	17. Chapter 17

Jackie rubbed her aching back as she carried the cleaning supplies back into the rightful closet, sore from having the jaguar laying on top of her the whole night. The thunderstorm had subsided and now the pitch black early morning was taking on a downpour of just rain. Jackie let out another heavy sigh, rubbing her back. Thank goodness he was pretty light already because of his malnourishment but _dang_ it still hurt! For looking so underweight he was still a heavy cat.

The host paused by Jaska's room, hearing some loud purring before she quietly peeked inside the cracked door, finding the three kitties plus one baby fox all resting in Jaska's bed in a tight cuddly bundle of fluffy furs. She gasped in happiness, thrilled to have her room to herself now. Now she could go clean it and bolt lock it so they can't get back in! She excitedly hurried to her room, tossing the door open before flicking on the lights.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jackie shrieked with a mortified gasp, seeing the terrifying mayhem that had her room torn apart and into shreds. " _JASKA_! _SABRE_! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM?!" She screeched in horror more than angry as she stepped inside, looking around at all the torn up curtains, clothes, scratch marks in the dressers and torn up bed. The figuring of the costs alone was giving Jackie a mild heart attack as she staggered over towards the bathroom and stepped onto sopping wet carpet which immediately soaked the socks she was wearing.

Her eyes bulged out of her head as she saw the water leaking out of the bathroom before she ripped the door open, seeing the water still running and large plumes of soap pouring out of the tub. Jackie fought her way through the bubbles, quickly turning off the water before rushing over and grabbing towels to throw them over the carpet in a desperate attempt to save some of her things at the very least.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM, YOU STUPID CATS!" Jackie screamed while trying to dampen the water from the carpet with a towel.

Jaska flickered his ears, thinking for a second he had heard something. After a few moments of debating he snuggled back up to the felines, wanting to go back to sleep. It had been a long night with Sabre and he knew they deserved a nice long rest. He cuddled closer, feeling someone's tense back tense and tremble in fright. Jaska perked up, looking over and seeing the jaguar who must have snuck his way into his room sometime in the night with his bright eyes wide awake, his breathing coming in fast and lowered ears pressed against his head.

"Hey." Jaska said as Eztli shivered, looking down at him with a mortified twist to his lips. He didn't like another male cat nearby but he could not ignore how scared the jaguar looked. "What wrong?"

"Is she going to hurt us? What will she do to us?" The jaguar almost trembled, clearly freaking out about the host being angry.

"Calm, Eztli, calm," Jaska yawned, running a hand through his sleepy head as he heard the host screaming up a storm from her room. With a frown he listened, narrowing his eyes. So she finally noticed the mess, huh? And hardly any of that was from Sabre and him; the broken bed, yes, but not much else. He and Sabre hadn't even noticed the state of the room until they left earlier and decided to rest more in his clean room.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault," Eztli guiltily mewed with downcast eyes as he pressed himself down into the cushion of his bed while tightly hugging Sabre who groggily woke up and, with a satisfied purr, hugged him back.

"Calm." Jaska said, licking his ear briefly before heavily crawling out of the bed, letting Sabre cuddle up against Eztli and purr as Jaska casted her a glance and noticing that somehow the jaguar was completely naked; and more alarmingly, so was he along with a partially undressed Sabre. His eyes bulged as he looked around, finding his pants and boxers in a small pile of shreds. He stared at it before glaring at the jaguar. So not only does he like to be naked but he loved to cuddle nude as well. Jaska's ears lowered as he sighed, grabbing a pair of loose sweats. There was something obviously wrong with this jaguar so Jaska knew he would have to exercise his patience.

"Where are you going?" Eztli asked, clearly worried.

"To deal with host." He sighed, rubbing his face and trying to wake himself up. The host was clearly very upset and dealing with it was the last thing Jaska wanted to do but if he ignored it, it would only get worse.

"Y-You can't!" Eztli gasped, eyes widening in shock, "she's angry! Can't you hear it?!" Eztli cried, clearly terrified since he was the one who tore up her things. She seemed so submissive last night that he was beginning to think she was actually a nice person but angry humans were the most terrifying!

"Jaska is a big, strong bastet, Eztli. He can deal with the host." Sabre purred, reaching up and hugging him before nuzzling happily against him. Heat speaking somewhat for her but too satisfied and tired from getting it with Jaska to do much else but cuddle at the moment. "You stay and cuddle with me"

"Calm down. I handle host. She not scary at all." Jaska said with a light laugh, trying to imagine an actually scary human host. She was more amusing if anything.

Eztli looked at Jaska's eyes, seeming really quite nervous and desperate to keep him away from the host. The jaguar's eyes went down to between Jaska's legs, spotting the incredible morning wood the tiger was sporting. "Can I at least help you with that? I don't want the human hurting you."

"Nyet!" Jaska immediately growled as Sabre purred, cuddling closer to Eztli with a cheerful smile, "and host not threat." His ears lowered, annoyed at seeing the two of them cuddling in his bed before faintly growling. He needed to go take care of the host now.

"No worries, I be careful." Jaska brushed off as Eztli rolled over a bit, showing the tiger he had the same problem.

"See? You can help me too." Eztli cutely smiled, seeming quite anxious still and desperate for him not to go.

Jaska's eyes narrowed as he sneered, opening his mouth to speak.

"JASKA!" Jackie screamed in outrage in the other room, making Jaska sigh. The tiger looked at Sabre happily sleeping and cuddling with Eztli, glancing between them and the door and down at himself; against all instincts, he took control of his mind and pointed at the jaguar, "get dressed and no try anything with Sabre," he snarled before he trotted towards the host's room and away from the horribly awkward situation, wanting to get done as quickly as possible and come back to his room to tend to the sleepy bastet. He peeked inside the host's room, listening to her rummaging around in the bathroom.

"Da?" He asked, glancing around at the details he missed prior that night. Eztli really did a number on this room; nothing was left intact. The bed held the signs of his and Sabre's doing but the rest of it, judging by the claw marks, was Eztli. However, it was clear the host believed it was him and Sabre since she didn't see the mess when she came in that night to comfort Sabre because of the darkness.

Jackie staggered out of the bathroom, looking at Jaska incredulously. Jaska rolled his eyes bracing himself as he yawned off to the side enough to show off his large teeth. And here comes the scolding. He braced himself mildly, knowing the host's anger wasn't much.

"W-Wha-What the hell is this?!" Jackie shouted, gesturing madly over and around her room as she visibly began hyperventilating, "Jaska, why the hell would you and Sabre claw up my room so horribly?! I-I-I mean look at this, you even tore through my _closet_?" Jackie asked, astounded as she looked into her closet and found a horror show of messes within it.

Jaska stared at her for sometime before glancing away, knowing that Eztli would be mortified if he thought the host was angry with him. So, with a sigh, he looked away with lowered ears. " … da."

"Da? DA?! T-That's all you can say?! Jaska, the cost alone of this is going to cost an arm and a leg! Why, how, I don't even understand- _how did you get claw marks on the ceiling?!_ " Jackie shouted, slapping a hand on her head in disbelief.

Jaska looked at the ceiling and wondered how Eztli's scratch marks had ended up there. He must have been quite intent on ripping her room up entirely.

"Jaska, don't look away from me! Why would you, I-I mean why?! How?!" Jackie demanded, clearly flustered and unable to think straight as her mind raced with how much cleaning would be involved along with going back out and shopping for a whole new wardrobe, not to mention how she'd probably have to rip up the floorboards and replace them due to the bathroom flooding.

"Interesting. No idea." He yawned, still looking away and wondering when her screaming would be done so he could get back to Sabre.

Jackie's fists shook with anger as she glared at him, wanting to hit him out of her frustrated anger. "At least look at me when I'm yelling at you! I'm _pissed_!" Jackie raged as she stumbled over to him. When he still did not look at her she, on impulse, slapped her hand over his forearm as though to scold him.

Jaska paused, seeming to perk up as he looked back down at her in confusion. After studying her for a few moments his gaze flickered between his arm and back to her, sensing her intention of hitting him before he burst into a roaring laughter. "You hit like kitty tap!" He laughed, holding his stomach as a flush smacked across her face.

"Jaska, it's not funny!" Jackie shouted, smacking him some more but his cushioning fur easily softened the already light blows to nothing more than pats.

Jaska deeply laughed, finding it almost adorable how the host was trying her best to scold him thoroughly while not overstepping her bounds; it made him want to tease her for a bit. "So host wants to be rough? Keep on hitting same spot and maybe I'll feel more than mosquito bite in few hours," he chuckled.

"Don't be such a jerk! You wouldn't be saying that if you didn't have such thick stupid fur!" Jackie angrily shouted back at him, trying to hit him harder but was having the internal dilemma of not wanting to hit him hard since she didn't like violence in this sort of reprimanding sense while also wanting to hit him very, very hard at the same time because she was pissed her entire room was destroyed.

"Even with no fur your punches are light," he laughed, "you so weak that even old uncle would spare you." Jaska mentioned quite offhandedly.

"Uncle?" Jackie asked, puzzled. Jaska glanced down, noticing her sudden interest before smirking.

Jaska stopped laughing and went quiet, noticing his slip mention of the only family he had now, before he teased again. "That means your strength so pathetic that a predator wont even bother with.

"An _who_ is the apex predator here?" Jackie snapped at him in annoyance, her fists shaking as her head spun in circles about all the phone calls she was going to have to make soon regarding the repairs in her room.

"Not you. You host hitting her charge with no effect" He yawned.

"UGH!" She shouted shoving against his unmovable stomach and nearly fell back herself, "you're such a jerk!" Jackie shouted at him, fruitlessly hitting his chest as he stared at her and laughed at her weaker punches now. She wasn't even trying to hurt him now, she was just venting all of her frustrations out on him.

"Heh. Only way you beat me is petting," he smirked, twitching his tail back and forth as he deeply laughed at her. He would have continue teasing her but the sound of plodding of feet hurrying towards the host's room made his ears flicker. With widened eyes he yanked Jackie into a hug, startling her just as Eztli slid in front of the door, looking inside with a worried frown as Sabre came running after him close behind. Both felines stared at Jaska as he smiled, appearing happy while rubbing Jackie's back despite her struggling.

"See? No worries. Host not angry." Jaska smiled cheerfully in an awkward way. If Eztli had seen the host hitting him, which was out of character for her regardless, he perhaps would have taken the sign of aggression into account before potentially attacking her.

"Even if she was, there is nothing she can do. Anyone here can kill her easily." Sabre laughed reassuringly to Eztli while patting his shoulder as her hand began trailing his shoulders. She got closer to the jaguar and leaned on him, sniffing his neck and started to purr. "¿También tú eres un bastet grande y fuerte, no? (You are a big and strong male bastet, no?)."

Jackie continued to struggle before stopping, catching everyone's attention. After a few moments of stillness she reluctantly hugged Jaska back with her body almost engulfed by his thick fur, suddenly scratching at the base of his tail and petting him furiously quickly.

Jaska let out a deep purr and let her pet him so Eztli would see how 'not so horrible' the host was. Despite the damages to her room she was still petting him. The jaguar's eyes darted between them, clearly confused at the positive reinforcement the host was using. Seeing his confusion, Jaska let himself relax in the petting.

Jackie's hands smoothly stroked up up his back, digging her fingers into his shoulders before he tightened his grasp, purring against her. Jackie turned her head away, gasping in a much needed breath from the fluff as she rubbed his sides fervently and scratched his hips.

Eztli was very confused the scene but it looked like Jaska was enjoying the host and was getting excited by the petting, even without the host using 'toys & tools'. The jaguar too was starting to get excited because Sabre was rubbing against him in a way that reassured and comforted him. He turned towards her, happily hugging her while her greedy hands trailing over his belly and down, rubbing his hips. He didn't mind it. Unlike all his past experiences Sabre was being very gentle, nice and comforting.

Jaska's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the host scratched the base of his tail, leaning back and taking Jackie with him before laying back onto a pile of torn up clothing. Jackie sat on his stomach, letting out a tired huff before furiously moving her hands over his chest and neck. A groan slipped out of his mouth as she pet up his neck and cheeks, never looking behind her towards the unseen growing problem.

Suddenly Jackie stopped, making Jaska roll his hungry eyes over her as she sat back and folded her arms together.

"Don't tear apart my room again. I am _really_ upset." Jackie huffed, feeling better now that she turned the big scary tiger into a pile of mush before she leaned back, bumping into something that was certainly not his tail. With a sudden gasp of realization she jumped off of the tiger, immediately looking away with a startled blush.

Jaska only had a second of rest after the host moved aside because the next thing that happened was that Sabre was on top, tossing her clothes away and rubbing herself on him while kissing his throat all too passionately, much to Jaska's delight; he responded the kisses and licks, his hands moving to his pants to discard them.

"Whoa _whoa_ WHOA! HEY! Not again!" Jackie cried out in terror, fearing for what else in her room they would rip up before Sabre grabbed the front of the human's shirt, startling Jackie as she was yanked into the pile and somehow being pushed to the middle of the sandwich by the two yowling cats.

Sabre and Jaska were all too enthralled in their instincts and were cooperating to undress themselves and the host too, which she tried to prevent by wildly grabbing onto her own clothes and shoving their claws away and trying to roll out of the pile but each time she attempted to, they reached around her to grab at the other feline and inadvertently trap her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jackie screamed in horror, trying to get away from them but she was most unfortunately stuck in the center between them, catching some of their kisses and caresses aiming for the other feline.

"Mmhh can I ... can I join?" Eztli timidly asked, taling a small step forward and looking at how much Sabre and Jaska demonstrated their mutual care for each other. He disliked that the stupid hooman was interrupting them and getting in their way, but since they didn't mind it he assumed he could just maybe ignore the host; or maybe he could join later.

"What?! No! H-Help me out, they're crushing me!" Jackie desperately pleaded, trying to shove Sabre off so she could worm away but between Sabre's and Jaska's hot kissing and moaning, the host went ignored. Jackie's screaming was muffled by the feline's breasts, suffocating her as she grabbed the pillows and tried to shove her off but only received a needy and loud yowl.

"I won't help you do anything to them, human." Eztli hissed. Getting some of his courage to refuse an order to help the hooman do anything to his new friends. The thought of taking power into his own hands made him shiver in anticipation but his fear staked him in place, unable to draw nearer.

After a desperate shove and kick, Jackie manages to spill out between the bodies. She desperately looked away, not wanting to see or be part of anything that was happening, before she staggered to her feet and made a desperate shot towards the door to escape.

Eztli's eyes widened seeing the human kicking the other cars and charging at him with a mad expression in her face. A cold jolt of fear in his spine made him turn tail and run away to hide as far away from the human as possible before she could get a hold of him.

Jackie whipped out of the door, slamming it shut while haggardly breathing in her shock and listening to the feline yowls and growls on the other side. She angrily smacked the door, gnashing her teeth. "SERIOUSLY?! A-At least go to your own room!" She shouted at them through the thin door, grasping at her heart in startlement as it was still racing from what could have happened to her and what _was_ happening with them. The list of things to yell at Ms. Smith for was getting larger and larger by the hour, from asking her about Eztli, her torn room, and the stupid cats humping in her room!

"What's wrong, sheela?" Kroc asked as he walked towards the host, daring his eyes between her and the door before pausing, cracking his jaws open and tasting the strong hormones in the room. Gulping down at the scent clearly coming from behind the door and impregnating the host.

"W-Wha-What's happening is that those two can't keep it in their pants! Is it really _that_ hard to do?!" She desperately cried running her hands through her hair in despair as she mourned the loss of her room. She'd have to go in with a hazmat suit after this to clean up after those s-stupid cats and she'd probably have to burn down a lot of stuff.

Kroc got close and sniffed her, quickly backing away and gulping down. "Yes, it is… and you smell like it to."

"Ugh … Kroc, can I use your shower?" Jackie asked with an annoyed frown as she shivered, feeling the two excited felines all over her still. She paused, looking around and noticing that Eztli was gone, already far far away to infinity and beyond. Where did he go?

"Sure Sheela, I don't care." He shrugged as he turned back around, heading towards his room as Jackie followed after him.

"Thanks, Kroc." Jackie breathed out a relieved smile. The feline's shampoos and conditioners were way too strong for her hair but Kroc liked the feel of normal shampoos and conditioners on his scales since, in his words, makes him feel more refreshed rather than the branded ones specifically for Extraspecies with scales.

Kroc stepped into his room before allowing her to enter, watching her as she slipped into his large bathroom and shut the door behind her. His tail slid over the ground as he kept his jaws open, tasting the strong scent covering her through the air. That smell was hard to resist. With a huff Kroc turned away, trying to distract himself with some deadlift presses.

Inside Kroc's shower, Jackie marveled at how large his bathroom was. She had to admit the workers Smith hired were _good_. She let out a sigh, seeing the completely open shower before going ahead and getting undressed. Kroc wouldn't come in; he's more polite than that. She stripped off her somewhat ragged clothing and slipped beneath the large shower head, reaching up on her tippy toes to reach the handle and adjust the warm water to her liking before she began washing herself thoroughly, knowing that the scent on her wouldn't go away completely but would at least diminish.

The warm water felt amazing on her skin as she washed thoroughly, not wanting the smell to be any stronger than it had to be. While she lightly hummed to herself she heard the door open, making her eyes burst open as she whipped around after covering herself poorly with her arms. Soundlessly Kroc opened the cupboards under his sink, rummaging through them for something as if having the naked host right besides him was nothing special.

"Any reason the cats are in your room, sheela? Normally felines like mating in familiar places. " Kroc asked, starting up a completely normal conversation with her as she stood under the shower, dumbed and unsure of what to do.

"Uh … not really?" Jackie said, hesitating as she kept her back to him; better her butt to be seen than her other parts. "They uh, just kinda started and then I ran." Jackie explained, looking around for any sort of coverage but found nothing to help cover herself up; not even a towel, much to her surprise before remembering that Kroc liked to air dry. She smacked herself on the forehead for her own stupidity of not thinking of that beforehand.

"Started? What did they start to make you run away?" Kroc kept rummaging in the drawers until he took out a can of something and a toothbrush, "did the heat finally make Sabre accept Jaska's help?"

"Uh … yeah … that's one way to put it, I-I guess." Jackie said, feeling extremely uncomfortable as she kept herself facing the corner.

"She resisted a lot. Normally if an Extraspecies female doesn't want cubs they ask help from someone of a different species, but I guess Sabre was too attached to her past mate for that," Kroc sighed and opened the toothpaste to put some of it paste on the toothbrush, "I wanted to speak with her earlier after all that happened in the vacation, but I guess I'll have to wait a few days. Fluffy boy better not hurt her after it." he began using the toothbrush on his metal jaw.

"Yeah … it's, uh, kinda weird, I guess." Jackie said, having a hard time comprehending how heats were so strong that the horny kitties couldn't wait until getting into their own room.

"What's weird, exactly?" He asked, tilting his head her way but kept his eyes in the mirror as he continued brushing his pearly white and intimidating teeth.

"Um, the heats and whatnot you Extraspecies experience. Is it really that hard to contain?" Jackie asked as Kroc let out a sharp laugh, dipping his head into his wide, water filled sink before rinsing his jaws and mouth out, letting the water drain out between his metal teeth.

"It's the call of nature, Sheela. When it's at the peak it's impossible to contain, making everyone want to made and produce little ankle biters. What's weird is that you humans don't seem to have one." He said, shifting his jaw to either side to ensure it was fastened on tightly. "Or rather, it's weird how humans have one all year round but with such a long gestation period, you would have to, eh, sheela?" Kroc lightly laughed, turning her way and looking at her as she jumped slightly, giving him her back in embarrassment but in his eyes she saw no bad intentions. "It's strange too how humans tend to their cubs for so long and how many they can have at the same time, getting new ones while past litters are still around."

"Y-Yeah, I guess we do. I never really thought about that." Jackie admitted, uncomfortable from his continuous and unblinking staring. His gaze ran over her back, making her skin crawl in surprise. Was he … checking her out? Him, Kroc, of all Extraspecies? Not that she thought there was something wrong but it made her quite uncomfortable.

"Hey, Sheela … didn't know you had those scars. Where you got them? You are not the type to get into fights." Kroc asked after finally having noticed the scars on Jackie's body with lots of them everywhere, most small and some large, looking to have been done through time and in different ways; the type of scars that one didn't get while on the attack. He knew this might be private for her but he just had to ask; those scars reminded him on how his mother's body ended up after being with his father for so long.

"Oh. Uh, it's nothing, really." Jackie self consciously brushed off, awkwardly looking away, "they're kinda old so they don't really bother me." She said but the expression on her face clearly said otherwise.

Kroc used a fiber towel to clean the remain of the anti corrosion paste on his metallic jaw and approached the host to see the scars better. When Jackie no longer heard him asking questions she glanced back, startled to see Kroc crouching behind her and staring over her skin to get a better look at her scars.

"WHOA!" She shouted, slipping on the smooth ground but Kroc easily grabbed her shoulder and held her up, bending her forward a bit to better see her scars in the light She froze, hardly able to comprehend just how awkward this was. "K-Kroc, what are you doing?!"

"These were not done in a fight, sheela." He looked at her in the eyes, letting out a slight hiss under his breath, "who did this?"

"K-Kroc, it's fine, really. I've taken care of the problem." She said, looking away again, "n-now can you please get out? You're making me uncomfortable." She asked.

Kroc inhaled deeply and then then stopped whatever he was going to say. D*** was Sabre's heat strong. Kroc had never had a mate before since he was always so busy training but with the host standing in front of him in such a bare manner while carrying Sabre's scent … it invoked a deep and primal desire to hold her and court her. Following his instinct he leaned closer and sniffed again before engulfing Jackie into a tight hug, his chest vibrating.

"K-KROC?!" Jackie shouted, mortified and shocked at feeling his hulking body towering over hers. She felt quite tiny and defenseless in his grasp as her heart raced, startled and embarrassed at being so exposed while his chest continued to deeply thrum.

"Don't be scared, Sheela. I would never hurt you," he gently assured her, protectively hugging her in his firm yet gentle embrace. A deep slap of red hit her cheeks as she deeply blushed, gently grasping his large hand but losing the strength to try and break free. The more she moved, she felt, the more danger she would be in. If Kroc was being affected by Sabre's scent, and that was enough to drive Jaska wild … she could just imagine what this situation right now would cause.

"I-I know that, Kroc. I'm not scared of you," Jackie assured with a sheepish smile, looking up at him, "you're the best guard crocodile anyone could have." Kroc stared at her, sliding his tail over the tiled floor before leaning down towards her with softened eyes.

"Leave him alone, hooman!" Eztli's roar came from above.

Both Jackie and Kroc looked over, baffled at the naked jaguar perched on a catwalk beam. His bright white fangs gleamed against his black fur as he hissed, shifting his shoulders as though he was about to pounce.

"What do you want, mate?" Kroc said, holding Jackie rather protectively. He was aware that Eztli did not like the host at all for some strange reason but he was not about to allow the jaguar to harm her if he tried it.

Eztli growled, his ears flat against his head and his muscles tense. He had decided to gain some courage. Earlier he had managed to deny the host's order to help her. Now he was gonna stand up.

" … what nonsense are you going on about?" Kroc asked, turning towards him with a low resonating hiss. The large crocodile let go of Jackie, stepping out of the shower and in front of her before Jackie quickly grabbed her clothes, wrestling them on quickly while behind Kroc. What the hell was Kroc about to do?! He was leaning in towards her but there's no way he saw her like that, right? She couldn't possible have not one but two Extraspecies pining after her. In her heart she thanked Eztli but she was also very puzzled as to what he meant by 'leave him alone, human'.

"That human almost abused Jaska and Sabre when they were trying to be friendly. Then she wanted to get me to her her punish them and when I said no she charged at 's using Sabre's cute smell on herself to make us males drop our guard and then do awful things! Humans do that!" The feline hissed, glaring at Jackie before Kroc stepped in front of her, forcing Eztli to look at him.

A new voice joined the conversation, "I knew she'd be awful at it but she hardly needed to use Sabre's scent on herself. She can just come ask for help if that is what the host wants." Dumisa entered the room, attracted by the scent and commotion. The black mamba stood there with his arms crossed, smirking before sliding his strange gaze in Jackie's direction. "You really don't need to do that, host. You are already taken. However I will allow you to play with the others if it's more training and preparation for pleasing me is what you want but rather than going after meager reptiles, you should have simply asked me yourself." He smiled, slithering closer as he circled around Kroc and leaned in towards the host, "no worries, I don't mind teaching."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jackie bluntly stated in annoyance, backing away and getting behind Kroc again as he stepped between them, eyeing the snake up.

"That's enough, Dumisa." Kroc hissed, narrowing his gaze as Dumisa snarkily smirked.

"Oh? What's this? You think you're even worthy for pleasuring Jackie at all? I doubt you even know a woman's body." Dumisa playfully grinned as Korc lowered his head slightly with a blush, making Dumisa pause in surprise, " _really?!_ Never?" Dumisa asked, sounding almost appalled before laughing at Kroc, making the reptile's face turn red in embarrassment. "I can't believe you've never mated before! You are worse than a juvenile!" He loudly laughed.

"Too busy training to mate; I'm more than capable." Kroc sternly hissed.

"See?! You're already fighting over her. That's what she wants!" Eztli accused from above as Jackie's head spun, deeply confused.

"Wait, wait, guys, seriously, they's enough." Jackie said, stumbling over to them and standing between them, "Dumisa, stop egging on Kroc and Kroc, just ignore him," Jackie said, trying to figure out how to separate them as to avoid a potential fight.

"Defending the weak now, are we? How cute. Fine, host, I will do as you wish." Dumisa lightly laughed, flashing Kroc a rather dark grin as the snake dipped down, scooping up the host and slithering away. Before reaching the door to the hallway, however, Dumisa jerked to a stop, surprised as he looked back and saw Kroc tightly gripping the end of his tail and managing to hold the snake in place; which was quite an impressive feat alone. Dumisa let out a fierce hiss, "let go." Dumisa demanded, coiling his tail around Kroc's arm and tightly crushing it but the crocodile's arm remained firm and easily handled the pressure.

"Let the host go, snake. You haven't claimed her," Kroc's voice was calm but menacing.

"As a matter of fact, I already have." Dumisa smirked, barring his fangs as Kroc

Then Eztli jumped down over Dumisa's tail, his weight making the snake let go of Jackie. "Yes, let her go, she _wants_ to lure you somewhere!"

"L-Lure _them_ somewhere?! _I'm_ the one that needs to be careful!" Jackie shouted back as she stayed between the two alpha males, trying to keep them at bay, "seriously, this is enough out of you two! You're both adults, so act like it!" She snapped at them before realizing that basically meant a fight, "s-s-so stop arguing!" She said, turning towards Dumisa and pushing against his stomach.

Startlingly fast and before anyone else could react, Dumisa's tail wrapped around Jackie's waist, making her let out a small shout as he tossed her up into the air, startling both Kroc and Eztli as Jackie landed on one of the higher rafters against the ceiling, slinging to the wooden boards with her eyes bulging at the sudden height she found herself at. "Quiet, host. The 'alphas' are talking." Dumisa miffed before turning his attention back to the surprised and hissing crocodile.

"Put her back down, mate." Kroc hissed at the serpent, knowing he can't climb into the rafters without breaking them.

"Can't get her down yourself?" Dumisa retorted with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

"Well done! She can't get us if she's stuck there." Eztli smiled at Dumisa. He knew that there weren't rafters to easily jump out of in this room, especially for a hooman.

"Get her down, snake." Kroc threatened with a deep, resounding hiss as his eyes narrowed.

"I think not." Dumisa smirked.

Before Eztli could argue further, something tugged on his tail and mewled. Eztli looked back, seeing Antain lifting up his baby bottle to Eztli and looking at him quite desperately while he whined with his ears down and tail curled around his legs. "¿Que tienes ahi pequeño (what you've got there, little one)?"

Antain lifted his bottle again and whined some more, his big eyes looking straight at Eztli, who was a basket and right now smelled a lot like his mom. He sniffled a bit, shuffling a little closer but still stayed close to the ground, seeming very hesitant in asking but his growling stomach overrode his anxiety about the new guy.

Eztli looked back at the arguin reptiles and at the 'hooman' all trapped up in the room. He supposed it would be alright. Kroc might have been mildly confused, but Dumisa clearly saw the reality of the situation and could handle things, while the little kitten was also clearly very hungry and needed help. So Eztli nodded to Antian and held him in his arms, retreating to the kitchen with the cub without the two reptiles noticing.

Once Eztli was in the kitchen, he set the cub on the floor. "Mmhh… what do you eat, Antain?" He frankly had no idea what to give to Sabre's cub, but given that the pup was holding a sippy cup, then he most likely ate formula like himself, but maybe also some small pieces of meat.

Antain reached out towards the counter as Eztli followed his direction, seeing the kit get to his feet and hop around the counter with a cheerful smile on his face. He eagerly stopped below a cabinet, opening it up and making small calling sounds as he reached up towards the bag and grabbed at the air with excitement.

Eztli opened the cabinet and saw some metallic bags that he hadn't paid attention to earlier. Checking the labels, he noticed it was actually extra special formula for carnivore Extraspecies. Something he had never seen and he was lucky it was in Spanish because it was obviously imported like any Extraspecies stuff. All his life he had been fed kitten's formula because it was cheap, thus his current inability to stomach real meat. He sighed and began preparing it by warming some water in a pot while Antian passed him extra ingredients like powdered milk and some small chunks of chicken nuggets that he had gotten from the fridge. Once it was prepared, Eztli gave it to the pup. Now that he knew where the formula was, he could finally eat something later on. No way was he gonna prepare himself some baby's formula when the other could catch him. He was supposed to be a big, strong bastet, right?

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Later that night, Eztli's eyes glowed against the darkness of the house as he stealthily slipped into the kitchen. With everyone asleep now, he'd finally be able to eat something in peace and be able to keep it down unlike all that meat earlier. He took out the ingredients for Antain's food and one of the pup's sippy cups and began mixing the ingredients together. Silently Eztli brought the contents of the meal packet to a boil, gagging at the rather bitter smell of the supplement food. He didn't want to eat this at all although it smelled better than the brand _she_ used to get for him; that stuff was horrible tasting but at least this smelled more appetizing. However … the meat in the fridge was so much more tasty. Eztli's mouth watered as he glanced at the fridge in the kitchen, tempted to take some and eat it instead but he knew his stomach wouldn't be able to take it. For now he needed to suffice off of the food packets Ms. Smith gave him to help him move on to real food by slowly adding small chunks of meat into the mix.

The light banging and clacking in the kitchen awoke a certain host as she listened closely, sleepily wondering who was in the kitchen at 3 in the morning. Since her room was still a complete and total mess she was forced to sleep out on the couch while she spent the next few days cleaning it. Tired and still half aware of anything going on around her, she slumped over to the kitchen. She walked loudly so whoever was in there knew she was coming.

Eztli, too engrossed staring at the bubbling food, got his bottle and took the pot off the stove. He very carefully began to pour it, making sure none of it spilled over and burned his fingers. His nose scrunched up as he sniffed at the familiar scent of formula but at least this smelled more appetizing than what he used to get.

" … Eztli?" Jackie asked as she flipped on the lights, startled to see the black feline out and about on his own instead of being with any of the others. It seemed to her that Eztli got along quite well with everyone which was good at the very least.

Eztli let out a horrified screech and turned around so fast that he hit the pot he was using and, trying to unsuccessfully catch it, the hot formula splashed over his hands as he immediately screamed in pain from the burn. The sequence of events left Jackie dumbfounded in shock, mortified.

"Whoa, Eztli! Are you alright?!" Jackie asked, quickly starting for him as she saw the hot glow of the stove. What in the world was he cooking?

Eztli turned around in confusion between the pot, his pain and the dangerous hooman approaching before, not knowing what else to do, he roared at her and backed towards the counter while hissing in pain.

"W-Whoa, Eztli, calm down." Jackie said, putting her hands up and backing away, giving the injured predator some space. This wasn't good; he's hurt and he was not going to let her get near him and it really didn't look like he'd let her talk to him. "Ezlti, please you're hurt-," she started.

Eztli let out a very loud, terrifying screaming roar again as Jackie's heart staggered, startled by the furious counter response. She backed away quickly, giving him as much room as he wanted as her heart jerked in fear.

"What that noise?!" Jaska came in running into the kitchen followed by Sabre from his room, both of them thankfully clothed.

"E-Eztli burned himself." Jackie said, putting her arm out to block them, "don't get near him, he's angry." Jackie warned but of course they knew he was angry; from his roaring earlier they could easily tell he was very upset.

"What?" Sabre ignored Jackie and ran to see Eztli and slowed down when she was near. Eztli snarled at her, his claws out as a warning against her. Sabre stopped, startled at the intimidating show before Jaska cut in front of her and approached the jaguar first.

"Calm." Jaska ordered with a stiff growl, weary about the jaguar potentially going feral.

Eztli roared at Jaska but Jaska gave a roar of his own; a louder, deeper and more fearsome roar that shut the black feline up and made him crouch on the floor, his hands at the sides in amazement at the power behind Jaska's roar. Eztli's breath quickened as he looked at the tiger with wide eyes, remaining low to the floor as an automatic show of submission towards the fearsome tiger.

"Don't move." Jaska ordered, crouching in front of him and seeing the red burn marks on his paws. "Give." Jaska ordered, taking Eztli's claws and flipping them up to see the burn marks on them. The tiger leaned down, sniffing the odd scent before strangely being reminded of food supplements for younger felines. "What you cooking?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Sabre looked at the counter and turned off the stove, finding a few packets beside one of Antain's baby bottles. She read the packages and then grabbed the bottle to smell the contents, confirming her suspicions of what Eztli was doing. Jackie stayed where she was, remaining quiet and observing while trying to figure out how to help the stubborn jaguar without frightening him. Sabre lowered down to the floor besides Eztli to see the burn in his hands before she turned to the host, "go get the medkit, host. Eztli needs some ointment and bandages."

"Ah, yeah, of course." Jackie said, hurrying back to her room to get the supplies.

Sabre then looked at Eztli, who was startled and scared. "Eztli.. ¿Qué hacías con una de las botellas de Antain (what were you doing with one of Antain's bottles)?" She crouched besides him, "¿Era para ti (was it for you)?"

Jaska huffed, annoyed he couldn't understand the exchange but figured it couldn't hurt. The tiger lightly rubbed Eztli's back, sniffing him and sensing the fear still lingering in his scent. Why this feline was so frightened of the host he could only begin to imagine but if Smith had not told him about it then there was a reason for it.

Eztli sunk even lower to the ground and tried to hide his face under his arm. "Si (yes)."

"¿Y me puedes decir porque (and can you tell me why)?" Sabre began petting the jaguar's head gently, trying to ease his frightened tension. "No te preocupes. Te prometo que no le diré a nadie (Don't worry. I promise I won't tell anyone)."

"I-I'm back. Here, let me see his hands." Jackie said, pulling out a small handbook specifically for feline possible incidents as she walked towards them with the little med kit.

Eztli turned to see the host and half roared, half hissed, trying to scurry away and below the other two felines. They held him in place firmly but not forcefully, allowing him the option to run but not to lunge at Jackie. "Stay away!"

"W-What?" Jackie asked, startled by the order as she stared at him. The fear in his eyes was impossible to miss as she locked eyes with him before looking slightly to the side, a sign of submission for big cats. Why in the world did he look so frightened?

"Calm down, cat!" Jaska said with a commanding voice that stopped Eztli in his movements as Sabre hugged him in a way that secured his arms.

A few moments of uncomfortable silence ensued as everyone let the tension loosen a bit, all eyes towards Eztli as he shivered in fright. The only sound which interrupted the silence was Eztli's growling stomach.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Sabre said more than asked and then she stood up to grab the still warm bottle, looking between it and the jaguar's hands. "I'll help you out, Eztli. But you must let the host bandage your paws and later answer some questions for me, ok?" She bargained, holding up the bottle as Eztli's eyes locked onto its contents.

"What?" Eztli meekly squeaked as he looked at Sabre with bright green eyes before back at the host and then back at Sabre; then at the host again and at Jaska, his ears lowering. "Can't Jaska bandage me?" He was very hungry; he had waited all day for everyone to go sleep and in any case so he would be able to eat but with his paws as they were, he wouldn't be able to hold the bottle himself.

Sabre sat on the floor and set the bottle aside to get Eztli's head over her lap. "No, Jaska will be hugging you so he can't bandage you at the same time." Sabre narrowed her eyes at the surprised sneer Jaska directed at her. After a growl of acknowledgment, the tiger reluctantly agreed; he needed to 'hug' the jaguar in order to keep him from potentially attacking the host or Sabre, if he became desperate enough.

"Mmhhh … ok." Eztli timidly said, his ears flat against his skull.

Sabre pet his head, licking his forehead and nuzzling Eztli to help him relax while Jaska sat behind the trembling jaguar, hugging the other cat around his waist and rubbing his head against the back of his shoulder as Eztli shivered in fright, clearly uneasy and still very frightened. Jackie stayed back with the med kit, waiting for the 'okay' from the two other felines. At least Eztli didn't seem to be panicking over the felines restraining him.

"Calmate, Eztli. Va a estar bien, ¿si (calm down, Eztli. It's gonna be alright, okay)?" Sabre softly spoke and tilted his head up, making it so he couldn't see the host.

Sabre licked his ears and purred down in a calming way while holding the bottle up for him to hungrily sucking on. Jaska looked at the host, and with a small confirming nod Jackie finally walked over slowly, setting up the bandages before gently taking his paw in hand and applying the ointment.

As Jackie carefully spread the ointment onto his padded palms she glanced up at him, watching him hungrily sucking on the bottle. Why was Eztli, a full grown Extraspecies jaguar, drinking from a baby's bottle with formula? The more she noticed about Eztli's odd behavior, the more she suspected that something was not right with him at all. He had to have been raised in captivity; he doesn't act like a bastet at all. And he was so afraid of humans … he obviously had a very bad experience with humans before, which is why he wouldn't trust her.

Eztli finished the bottle off quite fast and was done the host was done with the bandages. He uneasily twisted but tried to remain still as both Jaska and Sabre hung onto him, licking and nuzzling him to keep him still and calm. Eztli tipped his head back against Jaska, trying to distract himself along with Sabre's cuddling but the host's fingers on his paws sent frightened shivers riveting up his spine. When Jackie tightened the bandages on his hands, he felt as if she was binding him and freaked out. Before Jackie could avoid it she was kicked back by Eztli's leg as he lunched at her, trying to bite her but Jaska ripped him back and slammed him against the ground, hovering over him with a forceful snarling.

Jackie let out a startled shout, sliding over the tiles a good few feet before she hunched over and tightly hugged her stomach with a painful groan. Her head spun as she held completely still, clearly in pain. Sabre glanced at Jackie to see if she was alright and then stood in front of Eztli to block his view of the human.

"Stay still, cat!" Jaska snarled with power, securing the feline in his grasp and scaring Eztli enough to make him keep still.

"B-But she was trying to bind my h-hands! Did you not see it?" He stammered, trembling in fright as he looked up at the large tiger. Eztli's heart raced, feeling quite confused and frightened. Why was he being yelled at for defending himself? Ms. Smith said it was alright to defend himself so why was that suddenly so bad? "I don't understand … I-I-I don't understand-! No entiendo porque los humanos pueden ser tan crueles pero nosotros no nos podemos defender (I don't understand why humans can be so cruel towards us but we can't defend ourselves)!" The black cat sobbed.

"Eztli!" Sabre roared, trying to calm him.

"No! No es justo! Los humanos son horribles, malvados-! Adoran herir a otros y causar dolor para su entretenimiento! No lo hacen para defenderse! Aman ver a otros sufrir y no les importa nadie más que ellos mismos (No! It isn't fair! Humans are, evil, mean-! They love to hurt others and cause pain for their entertainment! They don't do it to defend themselves! They love to see others suffer and don't care about anything else other than themselves)!" He sobbed wildly before leaning against Sabre, muffling his pained and frightened yowls into her shoulder.

Sabre hugged the jaguar tightly and nuzzled against him while petting him. She too closed her eyes tightly, shivering at whatever it was Eztli had gone through. If it were not for Aleksey, she too would perhaps fear humans to such a staggering degree as well, "si, Eztli. Algunos son asi. No todos lo son. Esta anfitriona no lo es por lo que he visto, pero es algo que tienes que ver por ti mismo. Pero no estas solo aquí (Yes, Eztli. Some are like that. Not all are like that. From what I've seen this host isn't , but that's something you need to see for yourself. But you're not alone here)." Sabre did her best to calm him. "Y si, te puedes defender si lo necesitas, pero primero debes asegurarte de que estás en peligro (And yes, you can defend yourself if you are threatened, but you must be sure you are in danger)."

"Jaska, Sabre … what's wrong with Eztli? What in the world is going on here?" Jackie asked, honestly confused as she shakily got to her knees, rubbing her sore belly and looking over the three of them. She hadn't the slightest idea what was going on.

"GET AWAY FROM US, YOU D*** HORRIBLE HOOMAN!" The jaguar was furious in his confusion as he screamed and roared at the host, trying to attack her feebly while Jaska and Sabre kept him restrained.

Jackie slowed her breathing, lowering herself to the ground and looking away slightly but kept him in her peripherals. There was no other explanation for his behavior other than he was hurt horribly by humans somehow. She bit her lower lip, debating on leaving but knew if she left it would be retreating, almost like a prey would. And so, trying to restate her residency in this territory to Eztli, she stayed there while trying to remain calm. Her heart pounded wildly as she slightly trembled; she wouldn't doubt that they could all smell her fear.

"Why are you holding back?!" Eztli roared, freaking out with all of the stress of not being able to understand this human's strange behavior. Why had she faked submission? He couldn't comprehend it beyond that she was waiting for an opportunity to get close to hurt him. She had to be, all hoomans were like that!

Jaska let out a fierce, low pitched snarl as he covered Eztli's eyes, hugging him tightly to his body as Sabre nuzzled against him. Tears wet the tiger's paws as he held firm, rubbing Eztli's side to try and calm him before glancing behind the host and into the hallway.

"Come out, Dumisa." Jaska called, surprising Jackie as she glanced back and saw the snake peek out from behind the corner with a frown on his face.

"Dumisa? What are you doing here?" Jackie asked as the serpent loudly yawned, rubbing his eyes before glaring at her.

"The screaming black cat is annoying and I'm cold. Come here." He said, taking Jackie's arm before pulling her back to his room.

"Wait, what?! Dumisa, let go! I-I need to figure out what's going on here." Jackie said, feeling pride as a host and feeling that she had a right to know what was going on. Dumisa let out a sigh, pulling her into the air and holding her above the ground with one arm. Jackie remained still, staring right back at him in annoyance.

"Then let the screaming cat get it all out now. You're just upsetting him." He pointed out as Jackie paused, not wanting to admit that was probably for the best.

"But … but Dumisa, why? I haven't done anything to hurt him." Jackie said with a deep frown as the snake poked between her eyes, making her loosen up.

"Instincts are instincts. Whatever those other humans did to him made him frightened of humans. Your regular tactics from before won't work on him; adapt and try again tomorrow." He said as he slithered into his room. Without a pause in beat he set her on the large cushion that was his bed, wrapping around her for the night and letting her sleep comfortably against his long body. Jackie did not resist, being quite exhausted herself from the stress of the day. And, admittedly, sleeping against Dumisa was more comfortable than her couch.

"But Dumisa, really?" Jackie started but Dumisa stopped her, pushing her back down on his tail.

"Sleep. Let the cats lick the wounds of their own for now." Dumisa loudly yawned again before settling in for the night. Jackie frowned, uncomfortable with just leaving Eztli as he was but she had no other choice. With a soft sigh she curled up against Dumisa, trying to get some sleep for the time being. Eztli … what happened to you?

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Back in the kitchen Eztli was still clinging to Jaska and Sabre with his burnt paws, sobbing and growling in fear. Jaska held him more so to restrain him than to comfort him; still, the tiger had little experience of comforting a frightened feline. The bandages on Eztli's hands were loose and unfinished as Jaska glanced to Sabre for assistance who silently nodded.

"Eztli," Sabre called, taking the bandages and showing them to him, "I'm gonna finish bandaging you, Eztli. Shh … calm down," Sabre slowly said and as soon as Eztli nodded, she finished the first aid and hugged him too while softly licking his head, all while dedicating Jaska a glance.

As Eztli sobbed hysterically against them, both Jaska and Sabre silently conversed. This development was certainly very troubling. With such a powerful jaguar like this being so aggressive towards the host it was only a matter of time before he hurt or killed her.

"Let's go to Jaska's room. Alright?" Sabre proposed and Eztli nodded again. Having trouble standing up, Jaska helped him, both tiger and clouded leopard standings at the sides of the jaguar and holding him as they walked towards the tiger's room where they laid the still hysterically frightened cat over the bed.

"This … no good." Jaska muttered into Sabre's ear as Eztli hyperventilated against them, too disoriented and panicked to listen to them.

"It's really bad." Sabre passed her hand slowly over Eztlis' back, situating herself to enclose the black cat in the middle of her and Jaska's furry forms while thinking just how horrible whatever happened to him had been. When she destroyed the facility which held her, she had found some experiments in bad conditions similar to how Eztli was acting. Least to say, she had been quick to put them out of their miserable conditions but this was different.

"Getting him in program be difficult for host to handle alone." Jaska said with lowered ears, hugging Eztli tightly as the jaguar trembled, the tears unceasing.

"Yeah … we need to help." Sabre grimaced, licking Eztli's ears to help calm him. "I don't know how to help." She nuzzled him, her hug tightening and her hands petting him as she sometimes did with Antain.

"Nyet; all need to help." Jaska frowned, glancing at his phone and reminding himself to call this in and report to Smith before demanding for Eztli's background. He did not smell like an experiment but he was certainly very unstable. "First … first comfort." Jaska said, rubbing his back. Although he didn't particularly like stroking another male, he felt if he did not do this then Eztli might just go psychotic.

"I think the best would be if he is never alone with the host. Someone should always be with him when he is near Jackie." Sabre continued her ministrations and began singing a small lullaby in spanish. Eztli softly whined as he leaned into her, breathing erratically in his panic.

"Da. He scared of humans but need to get to know humans." Jaska said with a frustrated frown, "need to make him comfortable with host at least."

Sabre didn't answer. She kept on the soft melody, accommodating closer with no space between them and pulling Jaska's arm, tracing a couple circles on the tigers bicep. She looked at him in the eyes and held her breath for a second, blushing, before she went back to nuzzle Eztli.

Jaska saw her reaction, and his own breath stopped for second before he leaned forward and gently kissing her forehead before situating himself back and against the jaguar, letting out a sigh, "tomorrow we talk to others of ideas to help Eztli and host." Jaska said, closing his eyes and trying to sleep as the jaguar very slowly began to calm down, his crying growls becoming choking sobs. However strange this company was, it was not so bad being with other bastets.

 _Note to self: Get all the information on new charges upfront._

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Poor Eztli … hopefully the new arrival of another Extraspecies will be just the distraction he needs! Leave your thoughts in the REVIEWS about what Extraspecies you would like to see Jackie receiving; 10 REVIEWS for the next chapter~!


	18. Chapter 18

After almost half a day of cleaning, deep sanitation and scrubbing, Jackie finally deemed her room habitable once again. She proudly stood up tall, more than happy with all of her cleaning finally being done. Although the walls still had giant scratch marks and her clothes were practically only the ones she had left on her back, the room was finally clean. With a relieved sighing smile she picked up her heavy cleaning supplies, carrying them back out into the hallway before she heard a series of small thumping. With a quick look up, she was starting to see Antain's face pressed against the glass and staring at her with a wagging tail, making Jackie laugh at the sight. Oh Antain … he was seriously just adorable.

Jackie trotted down the hall and Antain followed her from above, hopping around and off the walls in his excitement while spastically fumbling and leaping into the air, acting as if he was flying in the clear glass which Jackie assumed would soon have water flowing through them due to the blueprints she had seen in the design of the remodels of everyone's rooms and the tanks. Jackie had to admit she was very happy the attic was remodeled for Sabre, giving her the perfect room.

From the living room the phone loudly rang as Jackie headed over and picked it up, while she was answering, she spotted Dumisa's tail sneaking down the hall into the new Extraspecies room.

"Hello?" She answered, hearing thumping reverberating through the tanks. _Ah~ they're inside the tanks now._ Whoever the new Extraspecies was she was getting next _had_ to be aquatic and needed saltwater. The plans all demand for that sort of upkeep which was going to cost Smith a fortune, making her wonder why she would put whoever is coming here to her apartment in New York in the first place.

"Is this Jackie Penske?" The man asked, sounding rather busy on the other end of the line.

"Yes, this is her. Who is this?"

"I am a representative for Ms. Smith. I was told to get the saltwater tanks ready for your new charge by tomorrow night." He said as Jackie stared up at the tanks and watched Antain leap around in excitement, especially when Sabre came crawling out of Jaska's room and shuffled along the ground with the cub, looking up at him, smiling brightly as Antain bounced around in excited circles.

"Uh huh. So when can I expect you to come and fill up the tanks?" Jackie asked, watching Antain excitedly pushing against the glass with a brilliantly wide smile on his face.

"Actually I'm calling to confirm that someone is there so we can arrive later today after our morning job to start filling them and test the filtration systems before they set the fish in there before we bring in all the fish," the man on the line explained, "would it be fine around mid day or a bit later in the afternoon?"

"Alright, and yeah, you could come over in a few hours and start filling up the tanks. How long do you expect it to take?"

"That depends what Extraspecies you have already." The man on the other end laughed.

"All predators but the one you'll be dealing with the most is probably Kroc; a saltwater crocodile." Jackie answered, seeing Antain's expression within the tank fall into a slightly panicked frown as he pushed harder against the class, making Sabre perk up. Antain fell back on his bottom, ears down in fright as he began to cry inside of the tube before Sabre shot down the hall.

"Crocodile huh? He or she is going to love it then." The man laughed again as Sabre appeared impossibly fast next to Antain, picking him up and squishing him into a tight hug before she bit the scruff of the baby fox's neck and trotted off down the tube while carrying the little fluffball like a good mama cat.

"Yeah he will," Jackie said, looking down the hall with a slight frown as she listened to the near silence. Normally around this time she'd be able to hear Kroc running on the large treadmill he had in his room but she didn't hear anything.

"Alright Miss Penske. Just one thing. If your other extraspecies are heavy, like the crocodile, please don't let them play in the tanks or the pools until we are there. If anything cracks we'll have to redo the entire system." He warned as an afterthought.

"Alright. See you later then." She hung off and trotted over to Kroc's room and taking a peek inside, finding him nowhere. Or rather, no one was in their own rooms at all. She frowned, turning her gaze to the wide open door into the new roomy's room. She hurried into the room with the large cemented hole taking up about 2/3s of the room. As she suspected, everyone was inside; Sabre, Antain and Eztli were busy frolicking inside of the tubes as Kroc and Jaska wrestled in the pit of the soon to be pool while Dumisa watched, smirking rather deviously the entire time.

" … you look like you're plotting something, what are you plotting?" Jackie suspiciously questioned with a frown.

"Plotting? The obvious would hardly require any plotting." His smirk widened slightly.

"Fine, don't tell me." Jackie sighed, looking down at Kroc and Jaska as she stood a little far from the edge while looking down at them. "Hey! What are you two doing?" Jackie called, baffled as they continued to fight as if the future tank was some kind of arena.

"We exploring new area, host." Jaska grinned and threw a punch that for a moment that unbalanced Kroc due to the slippery floor.

"Well get out of there! Scratches will weaken the structure!" Jackie shouted at them, seeing them lock arms together and try to overpower one another with brute strength. Jackie paused, thinking of another tactic. "If you get out of the pool right now and leave the room alone, I'll make you both 10 pounds each of the special flavored steak!" She called down, seeing them both immediately whip their heads around towards her with their eyes greedily gleaming.

"Yeah?" Kroc said, grinning quite eagerly but held his grip on the tiger, and vice versa to prevent each other from fleeing the fight.

"Yeah. Now come on out and I'll start making it for you." Jackie grinned, happy her plan worked.

Jaska let out an eager growl. "I bet I get to kitchen first." The tiger then shoved Kroc away but Kroc grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back.

"Not so fast, mate." Kroc once more locked arms with Jaska and tried tossing him aside but the slippery surface made him slide sideways and toss Jaska towards the edge, from where the stripped bastet gracefully jumped out and away towards the door and off to the kitchen quickly with his tail wriggling in excitement.

Kroc let out an aggravated hiss as he flipped to his feet, hissing as he charged at the wall and ran up a few steps, his eyes widening as he slid right back down to the center of the empty pool. He frowned deeply, looking around the edge of the pool.

"Kroc?" Jackie asked, confused, "come on up." She said, having a sinking wondering feeling if he was trapped inside of the pool. Dumisa broke out into hysterical laughter, holding his gut as Kroc let out a low bearing hiss.

After another attempt to jump, Kroc went to the center of the pit and sat down, crossing his arms and looking sour. "I'm stuck."

"What?! Stuck?! What do you mean, stuck?!" Jackie shouted, shocked, "you got down there but now you can't get out?"

"Yeah." He looked away, a small blush of embarrassing tinting his cheeks.

"Hhh? What's up? Why is Kroc still down there?" Sabre poked her head out of a nearby tube along with Eztli who stared at Jackie rather suspiciously.

" … I'm stuck, Sheela," Kroc said with a heavy sigh, "didn't realize the floor was so slippery." He continued, looking away as his face turned a bit red in embarrassment.

"Mmhh … damn." Sabre jumped down and looked around the place. "Well, we could try tying a rope around you and then we all try to pull you up, but that might damage the pool." She sighed and jumped besides Kroc to rub herself of him in an affectionate way as he turned slightly towards her and stared at her, "second option is to wait for the tank to be filled." The leopardess then looked at the host. "Hey, host! When is the team coming to fill this?"

"Sometime in the afternoon they should be here." Jackie answered with a frown.

"Then call them and get them to come faster, hooman" Eztli growled from hi safe spot in the tubes away from the host.

"It's not that easy. They have another job before this." Jackie answered with a frown, feeling a little worried. It's not like it's the end of the world but the longer Kroc was in there, the more likely something will get damaged.

"Then call Smith to tell her you need them here sooner." Sabre rolled her eyes.

"It's fine. I can wait a couple hrs. I'll just take a nap." Kroc shrugged, laying back on the pool's curving side for a bit.

"I'll go ahead and call to see what she can do." Jackie said as she took out her phone and dialed for Ms. Smith.

"Host! Fulfill word and get my meat. " Jaska was back and grabbing Jackie by the arm to pull her away towards the kitchen. He had managed to hear some of what was happening and he found no problem at it. The crocodile could survive a few hours of boredom.

"Jaska, calm down!" Jackie said, leaning away from him as the phone clicked.

"Hello Jackie? Need something?" Ms. Smith asked with a hum, sounding to be enjoying herself.

"Yeah, Kroc got stuck in the _pool-Jaska_!" Jackie growled as she pulled her phone away as Jaska tried to take it and hang up for her.

"Kroc is stuck? Where? What's up with Jaska?" Smith asked, sounding not very caring towards the situation.

"In the bottom of the new room's pool. Jaska, stop trying to take the phone away!" Jackie snapped at him, hiding it against her as he picked her up by the waist and started carrying her to the kitchen as his tail eagerly flickered around.

"The crew should be there in a few hours, so there's no problem except for one thoughtless host that didn't prevent certain crocodile from getting in there in the first place." Smith sounded more amused than angry. "Tend to Jaska, he seems to need you. Bye bye~," she playfully hummed before hanging up.

"I want to eat now, host." Jaska deeply purred, pressing himself up against her and leaning over her with his weight, sniffing at the scent of the seasoning. Jackie staggered struggling to elbow him back as she continued to get everything together.

"Just calm down, jeez! I'm almost done!" Jackie shouted at him, trying to push his arms away as she took the raw strips of steak and rolled it around in the seasoning.

"Cut it in small cubes… wait no, I want it big so it's ready faster." Jaska moved around her like a normal cat would do around a can opener, trying to sneak a few strips away here and there. "Add rosemary."

"Stop it!" Jackie snapped at him, "wait until I'm at least done, you impatient tiger!" She growled, pulling the large tray away from him, "and I know how you like it just give me some breathing room here!"

Jaska growled playfully. "Be fast host, or I eat you." He gave Jackie's shoulder a small playful bite, receiving a hard pinch on his nose.

"OFF." Jackie growled as she quickly diced up the meat, putting herself between him and his food while she quickly began tossing them into a bowl. Jaska reached for the bowl before Jackie smacked the back of his hand with the wooden spoon she was using to stir the meat into the seasoning. "Out of the kitchen! Out!" She shouted as Jaska pulled back his paw with a purr and lapped at the seasoning in his fur eagerly, watching as she put together his light snack quickly.

"Good host, I won't eat after all, but hurry or I change mind." The tiger laughed, playfully sniffing her and licking her shoulder.

"UGH!" Jackie shouted in frustration. Cooking for any of the predators was always so difficult when they hunt around her like this! Jackie diced up the meat faster, tossing it in with the seasoning before dumping it all into the large bowl. "THERE! It's done! Now _out_!" Jackie ordered, lightly smacking the base of his spine as he took the bowl and quickly trotted away with it. Sabre stepped into his path, however, making him stop as she eagerly eyed up the bowl with Antain playfully reaching out to him with a bright smile.

Before Jaska said anything, Sabre looked away cutely and walked past him into he kitchen, Antain still reaching back towards the bowl and happily grasping his hands. "I'm hungry too host, so prepare me something too."

Jaska let out a sigh and smiled, moving besides her before taking some of the meat and presented it in front of her. Sabre paused as he held it up to her, placing it into her mouth when she opened for him. "Let's go to room, detka." He smiled and purred as she happily chomped on the meat with a blush and followed him down the hall happily while he nuzzled against her and let her and Antain eat some before he helped himself to some more.

Jackie let out a sighing smile, finding them to be a very cute couple as the trotted away now that they weren't trying to kill each other.

"You done with the kitchen. So get out." Eztli growled anxiously, appearing rather shifty as though trying to decide if he should make a run for it or stay.

"Do you want more formula?" Jackie asked, opening the cabinet with the desired supplement food as she took it out for him.

"I'll prepare some myself, so go away, hooman," Eztli's tail flickered.

"I want to watch how you cook it; I need to know how to start making formula now that I know it's what you eat." Jackie said, backing away and looking in his direction with her gaze slightly off, again showing her submission.

"I prepare my own food. I don't trust you, so go away." He growled, his fur rising up against his shoulders.

" … Eztli." Jackie said, looking him in the eyes and seeing him flinch slightly before she looked to the side again, "I want to prove to you that I'm a good human and a good host. So let's make a deal." Jackie said, not hesitating in the least, "if I hurt you then you can hurt me back and I won't tell Ms. Smith about it." Jackie reasoned, seeing his eyes burst open in shock as she continued to hold very still. She thought very long and hard about how to get his trust and this was what she came up with.

"What do you want right now?" Eztli asked, very suspicious.

"I just want to help. I'll do whatever you say." Jackie said, looking quite eager to help him.

"But you won't go away." He huffed. Getting tired of this and wanting to eat already, he continued, "step away with your arms up where I keep you in sight."

"Alright." Jackie said, having no arguments against it whatsoever. If this is what it took to earn his trust then she'd do exactly that. But … , "Eztli, why don't you relax and let me prepare it for you? You can watch me if you want. You just tell me exactly what to do and I'll do it, please" Jackie reassured him, determined to be a proper host. Normally she wouldn't push like this but she wanted to help him.

Eztli growled, and before he could say no again, a hard smack on the back of Eztli's head startled him as he whipped around with a roar before stopping, seeing Dumisa's tail retreating back.

"She will keep nagging until you agree so hurry up and just let her make your snack. If you don't like it you can just eat her later instead." Dumisa huffed, frankly getting fed up with the jaguar's attitude. Being so friendly with other predators and only having his guard up against the host was insulting more than idiotic. This stupid jaguar had the food chain all backwards.

Braving up now that Dumisa was supporting him, Eztli walked back to where he would be able to see what the host was doing. "Alright, hooman. Just follow the instructions in the package. And don't try anything."

"Got it." Jackie agreed, trotting over and quickly taking over the pot, taking the box and following the instructions while Eztli closely watched. Dumisa let out a huff, glancing at the jaguar out of the corner of his eyes.

"If you hurt her, cat, I will kill you." Dumisa spoke in a very deep and resonating tone that did not register in Jackie's ears but certainly did in the jaguar's. Eztli turned to him, puzzled before the snake slithered away for the time being. Eztli felt glad at Dumisa for the reminder about how bad it would be for everyone if he did hurt the hooman. It didn't matter if she told Smith or not. It would end up bad for them. So he would watch, and if she did anything suspicious he would just go away and would come back at night.

Jackie let the pot come to a nice boil before she took it off the stove, dipping the hot metal portion into a small tub of cold water in the sink, letting it get to room temperature before she carefully poured it into the bottle, "do you prefer it cold?" She asked, wondering if it would be better to put i in the freezer for a few minutes.

"Warm." Eztli ordered while observing, flickering his tail back and forth in thought.

Jackie nodded, following the instructions on both the box as Eztli kept a very close eye on her. Very soon the formula was done, and after Eztli told her to drink some of it to test it wasn't poisoned, she had to stand back so he could get closer and take it from the table. Jackie grimaced, staring at his bandaged hands and recalling what Sabre did for him. "Want me to hold the bottle for you to drink?" She asked him.

"No." Eztli said, getting near to grab the bottle but his paws ached, reminding him that would not be possible. As he stared at the bottle in thought, the two of them heard a hiss.

"You bothersome predator." Dumisa hissed in annoyance, making them turn to see Dumisa had come back. He slithered into the kitchen, filling up his water bottle to make himself look busy before turning and glaring at the jaguar, "what sort of predator can you possibly claim to be when you're this weak? So weak that you won't even attempt to assert your dominance?" Dumisa angrily hissed at him, startling Jackie by his rather fierce display. "Have her feed you. Don't wait for her to think she's the one offering to! A predator must feed one way or another."

Eztli perked before looking like a guilty cub, he then took a deep breath and looked up at the host, his confidence renewed thanks to the snake's words and presence. "Feed me, hooman."

"O-Oh … are you sure?" Jackie asked, acting hesitant now, "why not have Dumisa do it?"

"Because Dumisa is right, hooman, you feed me!" Eztli re-ordered and Dumisa rolled his eyes, clearly finding this situation dreadfully boring as he looked away, hardly able to bear this any longer.

"Alright, alright," Jackie said, hands up in surrendering as she tried to think of a way to move him to the couch; if she could do that then she could groom him too and she knew he'd love it. If asking outright won't work then reverse psychology would. "I'll feed you anywhere you'd like, just not the couch in the living room." Jackie offered with a smile.

"Then let's go to the couch in the living room. You said anywhere I want and I want that place." Eztli declared, quite certain that this would bend the hooman.

"No really, here is just fine." Jackie said as she took the bottle, offering it to him but he frowned, glaring at her.

"You said you would do as I say! Feed me on the couch, hooman. That's what I want." He snarled, his ears pulling back in anger.

"Alright, alright fine! Come on then." Jackie said, walking away with a victorious grin as Eztli trotted behind her, keeping as short distance from her. As soon as she sat down Eztli leapt onto the far side of the couch, making her stretch her arm out towards him. He startled her as he latched his mouth around the bottle and began drinking quickly before another hit against the back of his head made him spurt out the milk, whipping around and spotting Dumisa staring at them.

"You're acting like prey, you pathetic excuse for a predator. Prey eat quickly, predators take their time. Idiot." Dumisa hissed, seeming to grow more and more aggravated as he slithered closer, grabbing the back of the jaguar's neck. "Staying away from her like that makes you look weaker. Lay on her lap! Show her that _you're_ the dominant one here, not some weak prey." Dumisa hissed, being surprisingly assertive as Eztli quickly did as he ordered, seeming more nervous of Dumisa, his current sudden mentor, than Jackie herself.

Eztli dropped himself heavily over Jackie's lap and began sucking on the bottle more slowly, trying to contain himself from feeding fast and n on it. After years of having to feed fast in order to avoid being caught and taken advantage of while feeding, it was hard not to do so.

Jackie held the bottle firmly, watching as Eztli began to slow down his drinking, taking his time to enjoy the flavour; something he had never really gotten the chance to do. However, if it showed his dominance over the hooman, then he would do so. Eztli lightly groaned in the back of his throat, enjoying the taste as Jackie's fingers slowly combed through his fur, grooming him while she let him feed. Although Dumisa was being rather pushy and aggressive, it was working amazingly well on the stubborn feline.

"And don't just have her feed you, have her groom you while doing so. Show her she is your servant." He hissed at him, grabbing the jaguar's head and moving it closer to Jackie. Eztli growled and directed a narrowed gaze to Jackie, not even bothering to say what Dumisa was demanding for him to do. Jackie lightly smiled and brushed her hand through the fur on Eztli's cheek, sliding her fingers down around his neck and shoulders. The black jaguar's eyes rolled back in pleasure as he leaned forward against her, resting his cheek against her shoulder while slowly taking his time drinking his meal. Jackie stared in disbelief, hardly able to believe that Dumisa was helping so much with his insults.

Dumisa lingered close by, glaring at Eztli in annoyance while grumbling to himself about what a foolish predator he was. Jackie reached up with her free hand, gently holding Dumisa's cheek before kissing him on the cheek. Of course she didn't want to give him any weird ideas but this was the only thing she could think of to thank him. The black mamba froze where he was, his pupils suddenly narrowing as his head snapped in her direction with a startled expression. Dumisa's gaze darted from Jackie's lips to her eyes again as though to second guess what the host just did.

"Thank you, Dumisa." Jackie sweetly smiled. Dumisa dumbly stared at her, his mind going blank with his lips slightly parted. Jackie continued to groom and pet Eztli, waiting for a smart remark from the snake and when none came, she looked back over. Dumisa's usually narrowed pupils had expanded a startling degree with a deep flush on his cheeks, his lips twisted in a way he could not express in words what he was feeling. " … Dumisa?" Jackie asked, surprised by the sudden 180 in attitude. Dumisa reared back at hearing his name, his eyes narrowing but his pupils remaining just as large and face just as red.

"Don't th-think so highly of yourself, h-h-human." Dumisa stumbled with his words, covering his mouth before slithering away rather quickly. The host tensed to get up after him but Eztli lightly growled, pressing his palm against her shoulder to make her stay where she was. She turned his attention back to the needy feline, combing her fingers through his fur fervently. Well that was weird of Dumisa. It was rather out of character of him to help her out with Eztli like that and then suddenly get so embarrassed. She mildly wondered if something was wrong with the snake before she set her worry aside. It was Dumisa of all Extraspecies, he'd be fine.

Eztli twisted his body and slapped his tail over Jackie's leg to remind her that he was expecting her undivided attention on him. He lightly growled in his chest, shifting to that of a purr as Jackie reached around his back and dragged her fingers up his spine, making his breathing stagger with a moan as he happily suckled away at the milky formula. Distracted by the food and the host's petting he hadn't noticed that the snake had left at all; he was too busy concentrating on not rushing his feeding and thinking of ways to show dominance over the hooman from now on. He absolutely was a powerful predator and she should know that.

A deep purr resonated deep in his chest as he nuzzled against her, his tail flicking back and forth in pleasure before he lapped at the bottle's teet with little kitty kisses as he noisily drank out of it. Jackie smiled at how adorable this was and teased him a bit, pulling the bottle back up high as he followed it up, wrapped his arms around her wrist and hugging it as he enjoyed suckling at it with his eyes closed.

The moment Eztli finished the bottle Jackie continued to thoroughly pet the large cat, listening to his groans of pleasure as he nuzzled against her, perfectly content. She continued petting him nice and thoroughly, seeing he didn't seem to notice that the two of them were alone now. Eager to earn some more brownie points, Jackie combed her fingers through his fur lavishly and did not stop for anything. She was going to make him trust humans again; not all of them were bad.

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Jackie let out a heavy sigh, disappointed that her last good shirt was torn up, just as she nearly was by Eztli's claws. She hadn't noticed the time and when she did it was too late; the workers coming to check on the tanks and fill them up just barged right in and Eztli, startled, realized that Dumisa wasn't there anymore and nearly clawed her stomach out in his frenzy to run away and hide. She was lucky to escape with just a few scratches.

A downpour outside was soaking the city by the time the crew finished inspection and filling the pool and tanks up. The water was already filled with salt and set at the right temperature, and the filters were working well; all that was left was for the crew to come back the next day and put in all the fish, coral inserts and other furniture for the new Extraspecies. Jackie couldn't help but wonder, however, as to why so much money was being put in for the one new guy or girl in particular … unless … Ms. Smith was planning to give her more aquatic Extraspecies. Jackie's heart sunk at the thought, wondering just how many more she was going to be getting before a light clapping brought her back to reality.

"Alright, just sign here and here darlin' and we'll be on our way." The big bellied man grinned as he handed Jackie some papers on a clipboard, to which she glanced through before signing off on them.

"Alright, sounds good. I'll be seeing you all tomorrow for the rest of the room." Jackie grinned happily, "oh, wait, since you're setting the room up, you know who the next Extraspecies for me to host is, right?" Jackie asked, seeing the man's grin widen.

"I'm not saying a word, sweetheart. The surprise is half the fun!" He grinned, taking the clipboard from her and waving at her, "see ya tomorrow, darlin'!" He called as the last of the crew carried out the once heavy salt barrels out of the house before he shut the door behind himself. Jackie let out a deep sigh, exhausted. This was certainly one long day. She glanced at the time, finding it already 12:58 am. That went a lot longer than she expected.

Jackie stretched herself out, hearing nothing but silence through the house. She was grateful that everyone was trying to adjust to the hours humans were awake and denying their nocturnal instinct. Although it was hard for them sometimes it seems that playing in the tanks and empty pool all day tuckered them out. With a grin Jackie yawned and stretched, tired herself before hearing a scampering of claws. She looked over, surprised to see Antain alone jumping around the couch in an excited burst of nocturnal activity, giggling happily and having a blast at having the house to himself.

"Come on Antain, time for bed." Jackie smiled, going after him but he gasps, excited before he bounced around all over the place to escape her. "I'm going to get you!" Jackie laughed as she chased the little fluffball around the living room. The cub giggled excitedly and jumped onto the closed door leading into the workshop, trapping himself. "Mwahaha~ come come little foxy," Jackie teased with a grin, wriggling her fingers as Antain laughed and pressed against the door before turning around and jumping up, pulling down the handle. The host's eyes widened, startled before realizing the actual danger he's in. "Hey Antain, wait!" Jackie shouted as he ran down the twisting metal stairs excitedly.

Jackie chased him around some of the older cars, careful not to direct him anywhere it could hurt him before she grabbed the laughing little boy and held him tightly in a hug. "There we go, you little troublemaker," Jackie laughed before the lights suddenly went out. She paused, looking up and around in confusion as Antain hugged her more tightly.

" … uh oh." Jackie said, looking around the shop. A power outage, really. Antain held onto her tightly, letting out a small whine as Jackie hugged the little boy. "Shhhh, it's alright." She whispered, kissing his forehead as she very carefully walked towards the wall, feeling up her workbench before grabbing a flashlight. She grinned and flicked it on, taking a look around the shop before looking outside the window at the rain pouring down. Hopefully it was just a prank someone was pulling on the only creature in the building that can't see in the dark. Antain whimpered, grabbing at her for attention as he reached for the lightsource with some scared sniffles, trembling against her. "Alright, alright here." Jackie smiled, letting him hold the light as she directed Antain in the direction she needed to go. The little fox giggled and hugged the warm flashlight happily while purring as Jackie pulled out her phone and used the spotlight on it; granted it was not great but as long as Antain was happy it would be fine. With a few hops of avoiding tools, she reached the wall and flicked the light a few times. Definitely not a prank.

"Power's out … dang it, I need to go outside." Jackie heavily sighed as she opened the door, finding it cold, windy and wet. Leaving Antain here with the flashlight would be better than taking him with her outside. It would be hard trying to get up the stairs with him since he wasn't giving up the light source. She looked between her phone's light and the flashlight Antain held tightly onto, thinking of a way to get it from him. "Hey~ Antain, switch with me, alright?" Jackie said, trying to tug the light from his hands but he tightly hugged it more, vigorously shaking his head before snuggling with it with a tiny little purr and happy smile.

" … fine, fine, I guess." Jackie sighed as she set Antain down, watching him playfully bat at the flashlight and roll it around. Jackie briefly wondered what would happen if she ever used a laser pointer near Antain or any of her cats, adding another activity to try on them in her mental list. The host slipped out of the door, making sure to unlock it for herself as she stepped outside, finding Antain trying to follow her. If he got out and ran away Sabre would have the host's head served to her on a platter. "No no, stay inside." Jackie said, lightly pushing the curious Antain back with her foot before closing the door. At least this way Antain would be fine and not get out.

Jackie walked around the back, looking at the box and trying to restore power by checking out the breakers. The cold rain chilled her to the bone as she vigorously shivered, trying to quickly figure out the problem. As she worked on flipping the switches, she looked up at the other windows of the nearby homes and found all their lights were out too. Ugh, looks like they'd be without power for a bit. Oh well. Jackie walked back over to the door, seeing Antain pressing his face against the glass before gasping with a bright smile, hopping over towards the door as the handle jiggled. Awe … he must be trying to open it for her. The host smiled as she reached out for the handle, hearing a small click before she froze. Antain … didn't lock the door by mistake, did he?

"ANTAIN! HEY!" Jackie shouted, looking inside the window and seeing Antain happily batting at the flashlight, his attention taken off of her. "Hey! Antain, unlock the door okay?" Jackie called inside, seeing the fox look over to her. He sat down, staring at her before he backed away slowly, hugging the flashlight to his chest before quickly running away. "Hey! No! Stop Antain, it's me!" She desperately called out but the little fox was already dashing up the stairs, assumingly running to his mama. Jackie's face paled as she shivered, cold from the rain as she pounded against the door with all her might. Someone had to hear this, right? She hit the door harder and harder, not seeing anyone coming to check out her knocking.

Before she was about to grab a stupid brick and bust her way through she paused. Wait, she could call. Jackie pulled out her phone as she stumbled, watching her hopes drown in the nearby puddle along with her phone. The host stood and stared at her horrible misfortune, her lips parted in numb disappointment before her fingers curled into fists.

"Oh come _on_!" Jackie shouted, grabbing it but finding the screen completely dead. Well, great, that's just … great. Her seeking eyes found a nearby brick as she picked it up, about to bust her way through before thinking about the costs. She was already going to have to probably pay out of pocket for a whole new wardrobe so she really couldn't go breaking her things. Her hand trembled, dropping the stupid brick down before throwing herself against the door and pounding against it. "Please open up! I don't want to lose anymore moneyyyyyyy!" Jackie shouted to no one in particular as she continued to loudly his the door. Someone _has_ to be hearing this!

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Hours later Jackie was still locked outside, circling the house and trying to figure out a way to get inside. By now her fingers and toes were numb and she was shaking like a leaf. This was stupid and ridiculous-! Forget about the cost, paying for a new window is better than paying a doctor to sew my toes and fingers back on at this rate! Finally exhausted and out of options, Jackie grabbed the brick; to hell with the repair costs.

The loud crashing of glass rang through the house as every Extraspecies – with an exception to the incredibly heavy sleeper Kroc – woke with a start and became very attentive and aware of the sounds of something amiss in the house. The clinking of broken glass drew their attentions to downstairs, listening to a body stumble inside. Slowly they all crept from their rooms, silently lurking in the shadows as they listened to someone forcing their way inside of the house.

"What a fool who dares wake me from my deep sleep." Dumisa, clearly moody as he let out a low, threatening hiss while slithering above the floor within the rafters. "I don't know if I should bite the fool and end it fast or crush them to death slowly."

"Not if we rip them to shreds first." Sabre spoke from above Dumisa on the rafters. She had made sure that Antain was safe in the attic, hidden away and pleasantly asleep while hugging a flashlight. Sabre was not going let any intruder leave alive while knowing it could be one of the remains of the company looking for her or Antain.

" … no matter what, no one tells the host what happened." Dumisa added as a small recordatory. There was no way anyone would allow an intruder in their territory, but of course they wouldn't leave clues if something bloody happened because it would be a hassle for them and for the host.

"Agreed. No leave evidence, da?" Jaska crept besides them with a frown. While working under Smith he would not be allowed to kill the human unless he posed a direct threat, but nevertheless he too was annoyed that someone had broken into their territory while under his watch. If it was a simple thief then scaring the human to death would be just fine.

"Ok. So we cut them in pieces and share?" Eztli asked as he hopped onto the rafters besides Sabre, drawn out by the others, the leopardess bumped noses with him as a greeting, not minding that he was naked. Eztli would have otherwise hidden himself but with the other three there he felt much more secure and confident in himself. He was a strong jaguar, he could do this without a problem.

"No I won't eat it; humans taste disgusting. They eat too much fatty foods." Dumisa scoffed, "I say we end it quickly. The annoying nuisance already woke us, no need for it to take up any more time than it has to."

"And what we do with the corpse?" Eztli tilted his head, quite comfortable with this somehow. This was what predators do, right?

"Leave that to me." Sabre chuckled, her fangs forming a scary smirk.

"No killing unless direct threat." Jaska reminded them, sensing their disappointed annoyance before he turned towards the door and grinned, waiting for the human to enter the main room, "but first we stalk for fun, da?" He chuckled too and licked his lips. He too did enjoy the fear of prey. It has been some time since he's stalked an unwitting human victim. Their fear always smelled the best, much more potent than other animals.

All of them excitedly took up positions around the house, evilly grinning in excitement before the door creaked open with their host stumbling inside with some heavy breathing and dropping to the floor, clearly exhausted and trembling from the cold.

"Feh. Just host." Jaska whispered with a bored huff, annoyed he got so worked up over nothing.

"Do we talk to her?" Eztli asked quietly from above, tilting his head curiously.

"Stupid host." Dumisa hissed, earning a few glances at his pink face. Before anyone could question the discoloration of his face, Dumisa slapped Jackie's side with his tail, making her nearly scream as she fumbled over and looked all around in a panic, unable to see anything. Jaska, Sabre and Eztli widely grinned, wanting to have some revenge for getting so worked up and excited over nothing.

Sabre's grin widened chesirely. "Yo primero. Después es tu turno, Eztli (Me first, then it's your turn, Eztli)." She winked and then easily jumped down behind the host and pushed her forward, then swiftly jumped away in complete silence hiding herself in the dark.

"Hey!" Jackie screamed and then got pushed sideways, staggering over and running into the couch. "Hey come on, this isn't funny!" Jackie snapped at them, looking around the room and trying to figure out where the kitchen was. There were some flashlights there she could use. Obviously none of her Extraspecies needed it; they were perfectly capable of hunting in the dark.

Eztli grinned and jumped back towards Sabre to bro first at their newfound entertainment. Dumisa shifted and lowered his tail, then he poked Jackie's forehead and left her slapping her arms in front of herself, which was admittedly a very funny sight.

Jaska lowered and then passed by, letting his tail pass behind her neck and give her crawls.

Jackie jumped forward, hurrying towards a wall to try and get a sense as to where she was. The moment she touched the wall she began walking alongside it, trying to get to the kitchen quickly before another attack occurred.

Everyone kept on poking and prodding Jackie, having fun in stalking their in particular was feeling like a real predator and was being supported by everyone, so he was very happy to keep on playing. He silently stalked closer, getting more and more excited and rash as he put a foot out and tripped the host, making her fall onto the carpet.

"Hey guys come on, seriously?! N-Not cool!" Jackie stammered, trying to remember where she had some other flashlights in the house. If she got some flashlights then their fun would be over.

Eztli, all too excited at the hunting, ran silently up to her before tackling her over, startling her before he leaned down and bit her rather hard, tasting her blood in his mouth. Jackie screeched at the top of her lungs, frightened as she shoved Eztli away and fell back against the table while gripping her arm.

In his own room Kroc's eyes burst open, startled by the host's frightened and pained scream. Her high pitched shriek made his heart ache, briefly recalling his own mother's similar screaming in the far past, when he was too young to understand anything. His pupils turned to narrowed slits, unable to stop the numbing emptiness pervading his mind.

"Foolish cat! Did you have to make her scream so loud? My ears hurt." Dumisa complained, rubbing his ears.

"Da. Bite too hard for puny human." Jaska agreed, his ears flickering from the horrible screech as they all began smelling the host's potent blood.

"Come on host, that wasn't so bad." Sabre scolded Jackie, lighting pawing at her while moving around so Jackie couldn't see her or catch her next move. Although Jackie could only feel it, the predators could see it; in her shoulder were indeed bleeding bite marks but nothing deep.

"Guys guys, come on that's enough. That actually hurt! I seriously can't see anything," Jackie started before the ground began shaking. All of them whipped around towards the hall, seeing Kroc charging towards them all. Without a moment's hesitation Dumisa shot up into the rafters as Jaska stared at the crocodile, puzzled at his sudden entrance before realizing the large reptile wasn't slowing down at all. Jaska shoved both girls out of the way as Eztli leapt back, narrowly evading the hit as Kroc tackled Jaska right into the wall.

Jaska roared and began wrestling with the Crocodile, trying to avoid the powerful crunches of his metal jaws and keeping him against the wall; if Kroc went into a death roll or used his tail then Jaska knew it was over for him and the girls in the proximity. Firmly and carefully Jaska tried to get a grip on his jaws to hold them shut, knowing the muscles opening the jaws were not that powerful. However, each time he attempted this he nearly lost a paw to Kroc's impressive chompers. Jaska roared, clawing at his throat but leaving only artificial scratches. "What up, Kroc!?"

Dumisa's tail coiled around Kroc's back leg, tripping the large beast before Dumisa's tail smacked against Jaska, forcing the tiger away from the enraged crocodile.

"Into the rafters if you don't want to be ripped to shreds. Kroc's feral." Dumisa warned before retreating higher up against the ceiling, narrowly avoiding having his tail snapped right off by the saltwater crocodile's metal jaws.

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Hey all! This chapter got so long it was almost 40 pages before we decided to split it! I hope you enjoy the cliffhanger; _**10 REVIEWS**_ to find out who Jackie's next Extraspecies is! (and yes we are building up the tension because we are super excited to show him … or her ;3)

Chaos-dark-lord - Hello readers! I'm the one to blame for cutting the chapter in this exact point MWAHAHAHA, but don't worry, we have a lot prepared for the next chap and have been reading all your reviews. I gotta say that many of you guessed pretty well one important detail for the next Extraspecies that's going to appear soon. I won't spoil anything, but this Extraspecies could be the weirdest case Jackie has had to deal with. If you have any questions about anything just put them in your review.

Oh!

And prepare for our favorite character, the mightiest, most splendid, invencible and unkillable, supreme and larger than life…! … sorry, no spoilers, but this one will be grand XD


	19. Chapter 19

"W-Wait, Kroc is feral?!" Jackie shouted as Kroc's head snapped in her direction, letting out a low and threatening hiss. Sabre, Jaska and Eztli immediately leapt up into the rafters as they anxiously watched Kroc approach the blind host. Jackie stumbled around against the wall, trying to see where he was but could only hear the large predator's hissing. If he caught her, she was dead. She stepped onto the kitchen tile, hurrying inside before finding herself trapped against the counter while Kroc's hissing sounded in front of her. The host trembled, her mind a blank as to what to do. She was caught and she was dead. Fighting back wouldn't do anything against his hard scales.

The others watched anxiously as Kroc's jaws cracked open, letting out a very, very low bearing hiss before she felt a slimy tongue drag up the side of her face. Her breath staggered as her knees grew weak, remaining standing as she was. If she screamed or ran then she would absolutely be considered prey.

"K-K-Kroc," Jackie barely choked out, shocked at the transformation a nice Extraspecies went through when they became feral. The hot breath from Kroc's mouth breathed over her injured shoulder before his jaws enclosed around her, pushing her downwards as she slid onto her butt. Jackie remained absolutely still, waiting for him to fling her through the air or bite down harder but he instead released her, startling her as the others saw Kroc stand over Jackie on all fours, looking up at them in the rafters and ominously hissing at them.

"Wha-What's he doing?" Jackie asked, unable to see anything while everyone else was able to see perfectly fine.

"No move, host." Jaska warned as Jackie tried to control her breathing, hearing and feeling Kroc over on top of her but having no idea what he was doing.

"K-Kroc?" Jackie said, nervously gulping as she was unable to see if he responded or not. His hiss remained a steady stream of warnings as the felines and snake watch his claws break the tiles beneath him.

"Why is he feral?" Eztli asked from the rafters on a corner, pretty much invisible thanks to his black fur and the fact that he slept naked. He was obviously not very worried about the host at all and instead was deeply concerned for Kroc's wellbeing.

"Whatever woke him made him feral." Jaska said, sensing the rafters bend slightly under his heavy weight.

"But what the heck woke him up like this?! That reptile is a boulder when he sleeps." Dumisa coiled his tail above as the rafters creaked from his weight, making the serpent nervous as he tried his best to hold completely still. The rafters were made for light felines, not big snakes.

" … this was triggered by Jackie's screaming." Sabre hypothesized, putting two and two together as she uncomfortably sat above the both of them, staring down into Kroc's glowing eyes.

"How?" Jaska asked, giving her a glance but mainly focused his attention on Kroc.

"He … his mother … ," Sabre hesitated on what could be saying too much about Kroc's personal matters. "Jackie's scream probably reminded him of bad stuff that happened to his mother when he was little and couldn't do anything about it."

"So … in a way, Kroc thinks of Jackie as his mother?" Eztli asked, baffled as his heart raced in both excitement and fear. He then tilted his head. "I can't imagine him 'little'."

"Kroc … ," Jackie trailed off, hesitating before reaching up and touching his chest. Kroc's hissing never stopped as he hunched his shoulders up, pulling his chest away from her as Jackie very gently began trying to massage him. "Kroc, it's alright. I'm just fine." Jackie uselessly reassured him as Kroc glared at the four predators lurking in the rafters.

Jackie sucked in a shaky breath as she tried to crawl away, reaching for a cabinet with a flashlight so she could at least see what was going on. As she rummaged around for a flashlight, Kroc's jaw tapped against the side of her head, making her freeze as she very carefully tried to slow her breathing. Jackie carefully turned towards him, withdrawing her hand as Kroc snapped his jaws over her shirt, making her emit a small scream as her shirt ripped from the gripping force alone as he dragged her back into the corner of the kitchen before remaining over her, his chest vibrating with his deep and threatening hissing towards the predators above.

"So scream trigger feral? That rare." Jaska said, sounding a little doubtful, "what else?"

"I would wake up feral if Antain screamed like Jackie did." Sabre lightly growled to the tiger.

"I just say, it rare for normal Extraspecies to have simple trigger like scream. Normally it combination." Jaska said, crawling above the rafters as Kroc's slitted gaze locked onto him.

"So Kroc is not normal?" Sabre growled, angry because she knew Kroc's story and what had happened to his mom; then she hissed a bit louder at the tiger. "It's more than normal to go feral for something like that."

In a startlingly fast move Kroc leapt forward, grabbing the couch in the living room before effortlessly throwing it at Jaska. The tiger barely leapt out of the way, mistakenly knocking Sabre off her ledge. The feline whipped around to land on her feet, but before she could jump back up, she found that Kroc was already in front of her on all fours, hissing at her.

All of the guys held their breath and Sabre's eyes widened as Kroc bit the back of her neck, hissing still and making her painfully yowl. As he dragged her back over to Jackie, Sabre twisted and tried crawling away and clawing at Kroc but her movement only hurt her more than cause any effect on the crocodile due to the grip his metal jaw had on her loose skin.

"K-Kroc, what are you doing to Sabre?" Jackie asked, trying to stand up before Kroc let Sabre go, propping her up in the corner before gently nipping at Jackie's arm. The sharp protrusions of his teeth made her crouch down again, touching and feeling up Sabre as she let out a huff and rubbed the back of her neck, which was bleeding from being pierced while she had twisted around. Kroc crouched over the both of them quite protectively and hissing at the other three predators in the rafters. Sabre looked up at him, a little surprised before smiling at his protective means, understanding the gesture and actually appreciating it. Even feral Kroc was gentle in his way.

"I get it," Sabre lightly laughed, gently wrapping her arms around Kroc's arm as she purred, rubbing her head against his scales as Kroc continued to glare at the three males.

"What's going on?" Eztli asked, puzzled.

"Kroc's pretty protective over girls and kids. That's why he thinks you're all threats and is acting like this." Sabre purred as Kroc leaned away from her. The moment she let go he leapt onto the counter of the kitchen before jumping up, digging his claws into the lowest rafter. Everyone held their breath as the rafter gave out from the reptile's weight, sending him to the ground as he irritably hissed, slamming his tail into the wall and leaving a massive dent in his frustration.

"So you like crocodile protection? You can't protect self then, after all." Jaska, annoyed by this pretension of Kroc of being the female's protector growled. He really didn't like the ease Sabre had around the feral crocodile, trusting him not to harm her, and he couldn't help but direct the comment at Sabre, who was supposed to be under _his_ protection.

Sabre groaned, gripping the back of her neck as Kroc stood to his legs, hissing harsher at the tiger before Kroc grabbed the granite counter of the kitchen, ripping it off of the boards. With a hard throw he launched the top at the men, making them scatter and reposition themselves to try and get a safer distance away from Kroc.

"S-Seriously, what is going on?!" Jackie shouted, startled as she listened to the groaning wood of the rafters. Her eyes widened, realizing the rafters won't hold up for long with everyone's weight on them and Kroc throwing things trying to knock them down, "S-Sabre, we need to lock him in the safe room." Jackie said, patting Sabre down as she let out another groan, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Any ideas for that?" Sabre sat in a more relaxed position, so annoyed at Jaska that she might be willing to let Kroc go on this rampage.

"I-I don't know, um," Jackie started, tapping her cold finger against her lower lip in thought. She really didn't want to go with plan A but she had no other ideas. "You need to lock me in with him in the safe room. He won't go into it any other way."

"Sure. It will cost you 5 belly rubs, 3 hours of non stop petting and-,"

"WHAT?!" Jackie shouted, watching as Kroc picked up the larger couch and chucked it at Dumisa before he dodged it, forcing him onto the lower rafters. "Sabre you've got to be kidding me he's going to kill them!" Jackie shouted in her absolutely dumbfoundary at Sabre's selfishness.

"Maybe Jaska can protect himself," Sabre let a small huff. "It's not as if I'm asking for much, am I? Oh, and I also want 5 hrs of grooming divided however I want. And in a spa."

"Alright, alright fine! L-Lead me to the safe room I can't see a thing." Jackie said, grabbing hold of Sabre's hand.

"Ok. Oh, and if anything happens to you I'm not responsible. This was your idea." Sabre grabbed Jackie's hand and pull her towards the safe room, which she opened before tossing Jackie inside.

"W-Wait, wait Sabre, do you seriously have no reservations about this?" Jackie asked, somewhat concerned Sabre was not even taking her safety into account. The host was still going to do this of course but it just startled her that Sabre didn't say no at all.

"No. I trust your plan, host, but I trust Kroc more. Just get in there and start screaming." Sabre huffed, kicking Jackie inside before she leapt up and hid. Jackie took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself before she let out a loud scream.

Kroc immediately perked up, hissing aggressively as he shot down the hall quickly on all fours. He whipped into the safe room, skidding to a stop before whipping his head around as the door slammed shut. A croaking hiss forced past his jaws as he ran back towards the door, ramming into it at full force but it did not budge. Jackie watched, horrified as he dragged his claws against the door, leaving scratch marks against the metal as he tried to rip the door off its hinges.

"Kroc, Kroc please stop!" Jackie shouted, cautious not to get too close as he continued to try and wedge his claws between the cracks of the steel door but to no avail. After a failed attempt he leapt back, glaring at the wall beside it before whipping his tail around and crushing the wooden frame underneath. His claws dug through the debris, cutting through until he hit the steel layer underneath.

Jackie stared at the enraged reptile, her heart pounding as she tried to figure out what to do. She had never seen Kroc like this and frankly, it terrified her. "K-Kroc, please-," she stared before a strong snap sounded. A shard of wood shot her way as she sucked in a fast breath, feeling a hot streak cut across her shoulder. She looked down, sucking in a pained hiss as she watched the blood ooze out of her wound before realizing Kroc's rampaging came to a dead stop. Her head snapped up, seeing Kroc's eyes crouched in front of her and staring at her with slitted pupils.

Jackie slowly backed away but Kroc followed, his nostrils flaring from the smell of blood. Finally Jackie was cornered in the back of the room and Kroc suddenly lunged to grab her and hugged her, dragging both of them towards the floor with care not to crush her despite his feral state. His back faced the door while keeping Jackie 'safely' between himself and the wall, sliding his snout along her body.

Jackie stared up at him, slowly breathing as Kroc's head twitched and turned, studying the area around him while keeping Jackie in his arms. The room was deathly silent, soundproof thanks to the reinforcements made to the safe room.

"K-Kroc." Jackie said, sliding her hand over his arm in a soothing manner. He did not respond, remaining as tense and alert as ever as Jackie contemplated on what to do. He may be 'protecting' her but he could still turn on her if she did anything wrong. Hesitantly she began rubbing his neck, listening to him deeply breathing at a slower rate. Although the tension did not leave his body he appeared to calm down under her touching. "Oh Kroc," Jackie breathed, sitting up and hugging him tightly around the shoulders. Kroc's chest thrummed, vibrating deeply as is large eyes continued to observe the door, almost as though he could sense what was going to happen soon.

Jackie continued the petting trying to ease him completely but he was so alert and attentive that he was not fully relenting.

After nearly an hour of this, the door cracked open ever so slightly. Kroc immediately moved, setting Jackie under him and against the wall while he loomed over her protectively, hissing at the entrance but not making any movements towards it. From the entrance of the hall someone threw in some orbs which brightly glowed, allowing Jackie to see clearly for the first time through this entire ordeal.

"Everyone stand back. If he makes any moves towards the door, fire the tranqs and do not stop until he drops." Smith's voice sternly ordered as she peeked into the room, pausing when she saw Jackie. "You are still alive, Jackie?" She asked, sounding surprised.

" … I'm actually more upset by how surprised you sound." Jackie admitted with a frown as Kroc let out a loud hiss in their direction.

"Listen to me, Jackie," she started in a serious tone that made Jackie pay attention, "I can't tranquilize him or he's gonna drop straight over you and crush you, so try to move away."

"Wait, what?! Don't shoot him if _that's_ what's going to happen!" Jackie shouted, alarmed that _this_ was Ms. Smith's plan to help her. "What if I actually die from that?!"

"Then move aside." Smith said, positioning herself to see and get a better shot. Her entire team composed of Extraspecies stood carefully behind the door, ready to lend an assist to her.

Jackie nervously shivered as she tried to quietly crawl away but Kroc crouched over her, pressing her body against the ground with his own weight over her. Although it wasn't enough to crush her, it was certainly enough to stop her.

"I-I really can't." Jackie admitted, shivering with fright. This was really scary. Out of all of her Extraspecies, Kroc was the last one she'd ever expect to go feral.

"Move aside, Smith. I've got this." Sabre said as she slipped past her and into the room. Kroc's eyes immediately locked onto her, letting out a deep, low bearing hiss.

"Sabre, pull back now!" Smith ordered.

"I've got this. It's Kroc and he in 'protection of females and kids' mode'," Sabre said rather flippantly as she headed towards the hissing crocodile slowly.

"That's not the point! A feral Extraspecies is _nothing_ to tamper with!" Smith angrily snapped, hushing up as Kroc hissed threateningly towards the door, his eyes glowing threateningly. "Sabre, fall back! Jackie, try to crawl away even if he tries to bite you!" Smith ordered with a low but harsh whisper.

"Like she can do anything." Sabre said and entered the room, she then slowly approached Kroc, crawling towards him in all fours her ears low and purring softly.

"Get back, Sabre!" Smith ordered but Sabre ignored her. When she was in front of the wild crocodile, she sat, and looking him in the eyes she meowed cutely before slowly closing her eyes for a kitty kiss. Kroc did not make a sound as he extended his neck towards her and she touched her nose over his, licking his snout and purring. In a fast move Kroc gingerly bit the back of Sabre's neck, biting down harder than before and drawing blood from the feline as he lifted her into the air.

Sabre roared in pain and twisted in his jaws as he tried to drag her down him. A mini panic attack possessed her. Her pupils narrowed as her breath quickened, complete and utter fear overtaking her. With a new roar she whipped around to hit him in the jaw as hard as she could, dislodging his metal jaw.

The large tank of an Extraspecies let out a scream, dropping the feline as he staggered to the side, gripping his jaw with a painful series of hisses. Jackie immediately took the chance to jump to her feet, grabbing Sabre and trying to help her up as she held the back of her neck and whined.

"S-Sabre, get up!" Jackie shouted as Kroc turned his gaze to them and hissed, his pupils narrowing tighter than before.

"FIRE!" Smith ordered as a large oni kicked the door, making it fly open before the entire team unloaded their tranqs into Kroc. Jackie let out a startled shout and dropped over Sabre, hugging her tightly and protectively as Kroc staggered forward a few steps, letting out a strangled hiss as he wobbled back against the wall. His exhale held a softening hiss as he slid onto the ground, his eyes sliding shut as the host looked over to Kroc, seeing dozens of tranqs stuck in his chest before he lightly began snoring. "Phew … talk about a fun saturday night!" Ms. Smith loudly laughed, seeming a little nervous still as she stepped inside, walking over and began yanking the tranqs out of Kroc's chest while the others saw the snoring crocodile with care.

Sabre was on the border of going feral in fear herself, and was holding on to her consciousness by hugging Jackie really tightly and keeping her eyes shut tightly. She had seen Extraspecies and experiments go feral and she had killed them all, but Kroc hurting her even when that was not his intention had really shaken her. She trusted Kroc and cared for him, but she hadn't been able to control the little panic attack at being held captive.

"S-Sabre, are you alright?" Jackie nervously asked, startled by the tight grip she held on her. Sabre's trembling spoke for itself as Jackie hugged her back, petting her back in a calming manner. "Shh, it's alright, Sabre." Jackie gently whispered into her ear while the oni walked over to them.

"You two alright?" He asked, looking them over and seeing Sabre's bleeding neck, "Cyan, come take care of this." He said as Sabre's ear perked up. She peeked out behind Jackie, watching as the masked Extraspecies trotted over to her with a wagged cow tail before the lean man crouched beside her and tenderly began tending to her wounds.

"You both should consider yourself lucky." Ms. Smith said, she too joining them before looking hard at Sabre, "never disobey the tea captain again. I have my reasons for my orders." She stated in a surprisingly stiff and hard voice filled with concern.

Sabre growled and then hissed showing her large fangs, her ears flat against her skull and the scent of her own blood filling her nostrils. On the verge of going feral, Smith was another threat.

"Sabre," Jaska called, leaping over the oni and next to the girls as Cyan wrapped up her neck gently.

Sabre's ears moved forward as she saw Jaska's frame on the entrance of the room, then she looked around at all the other strangers and threats present and hissed again, lowering down on all fours with her fur puffy and her back arched.

"Move! Leave space." Jaska snarled towards everyone in general, his tail twisting in apprehension upon recognizing that Sabre might attack if she didn't get out. He took a step back so he was in the corridor but clearly visible and emitted soft calming purring sounds.

"Do as he says, leave her an escape route." Smith ordered and everyone moved aside.

Jackie loosened her grip, giving Sabre the choice to run if she wanted. As soon as the path cleared, Sabre shot straight to Jaska and hugged him tightly, burying herself in his fur while trembling. The tiger firmly hugged her back, gently licking her cheek as she trembled against his chest, clearly frightened before he picked her up.

"I take Sabre." Jaska called to Ms. Smith, seeing her nod before he carried the leopardess away without a problem.

"M-Ms. Smith, will Kroc be alright?" Jackie asked, sounding very nervous as she looked over to the sleeping reptile.

"He is just sleeping." She reassured with a professional smile. "Once he wakes up he will be good as new. However, I do have to ask, what made him go feral?" Ms. Smith questioned.

"I-I really have no idea. The power went out so I went outside to try and fix it, got locked outside in the rain before breaking in, and that woke the others but not Kroc." Jackie explained with a frown, "they started messing around with me but then Kroc came charging in and, well, all this happened." Jackie frowned, now quite nervous.

"Keep an eye for whatever makes your Extraspecies go feral and find a way to prevent or counter it. Also later ask Kroc himself what happened. Sometimes Extraspecies can remember what made them go feral." Ms. Smith instructed with a short nod of her head. "Until then, keep this room sealed off until morning. Once he wakes up you'll hear it." Ms. Smith explained with a shrug.

"Y-Yeah, I'll do that." Jackie agreed, letting out a relieved smile before looking over at Kroc and the empty tranqs by his side. Who ever knew such a nice Extraspecies could turn so scary in a second.

A black mass of fur came running down the corridor when Jaska was turning away.

"¡S-Sabre! ¡Estaba preocupado! ¿Estas bien? ¿Que paso? ¿Donde esta Kroc? (I was so worried-! Are you okay? What happened?! W-Where's Kroc?!)" Eztli's voice demanded in a near panic, clearly sounding frightened. Sabre didn't answer, she was clutching to Jaska and the tiger took her away bridal style. Eztli leapt into the room quickly, gasping in horror at the sight of the limp crocodile before he ran over to him, mewing and walking around in him worry. "K-Kroc, Kroc!" He mewed, his ears down as he trembled.

"Eztli, it's alright." Ms. Smith said with a sighing smile, staying where she was. "Kroc will awake in the morning, I assure you. Those were only tranquilizers we used." Smith assured him, watching as he continued to frantically walk around Kroc's body, rubbing against him in a hurried frenzy.

"K-Kroc, ¿porque perdiste el control? (why did you get so scary?)" He asked as he trembled in fright.

"That's what happens when a predator goes feral, kitty cat." Dumisa sighed, slithering on through and casting Jackie a glance. Once seeing she was unharmed, he went ahead and approached Eztli with a smirk, "what, did that frighten you?" He mockingly grinned.

Eztli sniffed and then he hugged dumisa with a lot of force. "¡Dumisa! ¡Sabre y Kroc están heridos por culpa de la humana! ¡¿Porqué ataco Kroc?! (Dumisa! Sabre and Kroc are hurt because of the hooman! Why did Kroc attack)?!"

"Get off! Aren't you a predator?!" Dumisa hissed, trying to peel the black feline off but his grip was amazingly strong. "Fool. Prey run, but when predators go feral we attack."

"Alright, _Alright!_ Everyone out." Ms. Smith ordered, making everyone file out into the hallway before she locked the safe room door with Kroc still sleeping inside. She let out a huff before turning to the special Extraspecies team. "Move out to the cars; I will be down shortly." She ordered as they all left, their mission completed. Once they were gone Ms. Smith turned to Jackie. "Will you be alright?" She asked, moving her glasses down a bit to get a better look at her.

"Y-Y-Yeah." Jackie shakily answered as Dumisa struggled still to remove Eztli from his person.

"Are you sure?" She asked, seeming a little surprised.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little shaken, but I'll be fine." Jackie said with a heavy sigh, gathering her senses back together. Well, that was a terrifying experience but at least everyone turned out alright; mostly, anyway.

"You don't need to see the mental health specialist, do you?" The coordinator was honestly surprised Jackie didn't shit herself, "my, I really _did_ make the right choice by giving you all the troublesome predators." She cheerfully smiled, surprising Jackie with a tight hug. "You're next Extraspecies will be here tomorrow night. I'm sure that case of an Extraspecies will make a wonderful addition here." She smiled, making sure to not give away any more hints whatsoever but happy that she had found someone who could handle someone like that.

"R-Right … hey … that reminds me." Jackie said, seeing Ms. Smith perk up before Jackie suddenly got a death grip on her sleeps. "Those two felines, Jaska and Sabre, completely tore my room to shreds and everything in it. I demand payment for the Extraspecies related damages left in there. It's so torn up I can't even sleep in my own bed; these clothes I have on are literally the only ones I've got." She said with a low bearing growl that made the older woman nervously chuckle.

"We can discuss that later, in any case, the cost can be taken from your pay," Ms. Smith began, clearly trying to get out of paying for her lost things but Jackie's grip only tightened.

"Oh, oh no, Ms. Smith, you're not getting out of it. I'll be writing up a report and taking pictures of everything tomorrow before sending it in." Jackie stated in a rather hard voice before letting the woman go.

"And how were those damages made?" Smith tried getting information to see how she could get away out of this. She crossed her arms and looked at the host through her glasses.

"It's the stupid cat heat Sabre is going through! She and Jaska kicked me out of my own room to … to… to go at it and ripped all to shreds! The curtains, the bed, the carpet, my clothes, everything! They even drowned my appliances in the bathtub for who the hell knows why!" Jackie shouted, her mind falling to the dread of the costly repairs of her room alone.

Smith uncrossed her arms apparently in interest. "to go at it?" She had an idea of what was going on but she needed confirmation.

"Mating, Smith, mating, _in my own freaking room_!" Jackie shouted, her fingers clenching into fists, "why couldn't they have just gone to their own room to do that sort of thing?! I'm going to have to deep clean _everything_!"

"So they've been mating?" Smith looked at her over her glasses. This explained why Sabre had seek comfort that way in Jaska's much as Jaska's calls. And this was very good news for the program.

"Please don't make me repeat myself I'm angry enough as it is." Jackie stated in a stiff growl.

"Alright, I'll have someone check it." The coordinator sighed, shrugging with a smile on her lips, "anyway, I bid you goodnight." This was more than good news. The Extraspecies council had been getting more and more anxious about supporting the programs and had begun to vote to cancel new programs and withdraw their support, especially in this country, the one with the most hostility. That old tiger had been gaining even more supporters and was even voting for cutting negotiations. Not that she blamed that old cat but if there were kittens on the way, and of his particular lineage, then things could improve a lot very fast. Ms Smith smiled as she left, closing the door behind her.

Jackie let out a long, tired sigh. Ugh … there was no way she'd be able to sleep tonight at all.

"I SAID OFF!" Dumisa loudly shouted, slipping his tail in between him and the clingy jaguar. Eztli went flying as Dumisa shoved him off, retreating back to his room and slamming the door shut as Eztli was left standing in the hall, mewing and scratching at his door.

"Come on, Eztli. You should get some sleep." Jackie suggested, rubbing her temples as she took some deep breathes to try and calm herself. Truth be told, she was still shaking but she needed to stay strong. Some sleep would probably help.

"It's all your fault, hooman!" Eztli shouted, angry as he pointed an accusing claw her way. "You are the reason why Kroc went feral and the reason Sabre got hurt! It's your fault I burned my paws and that Dumisa is angry! It's all your fault, hooman!" He shouted as Jackie stared at his accusing paw, feeling her chest tighten. All of her inadequacies came crashing down onto her, nearly suffocating her as she shook.

" … yeah." She quietly agreed, clearly dejected as her fingers trembled, staring at the ground before she bit her lip, trying to keep from crying.

"What, you're still trying to fake? You are going to try punishing us, aren't you?" Eztli's accusing paw shook. He was startled to see that she was so scared and sad when she was the scariest one here. Slowly he lowered his claw and took a step back when he saw a couple tears budding in the human's eyes, the tears of which were caused by being frightened. He hesitated, glancing away and looking uncomfortable as his tail twitched back and forth, " … are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." Jackie shakily inhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose and keeping back the tears of fright before smiling over at Eztli. "Just go to sleep, Eztli. I'm going to go sleep too on the couch." She sighed, seeming to hesitate before she turned and walked towards the living room, her head in her hands.

"Mmhh … okay." Eztli was unsure but he jumped to the safety of the rafters, thinking he should go join the other kitties. He was still scared and this hooman confused him.

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWM**

Jaska's heavy breathing ran alongside Sabre's as he moved over her, leaving grooming and loving licks through her fur while Sabre moaned, coming back to her senses while she looked up at him with a blush. She was still clearly frightened, with her heat less potent due to her distress, but Jaska continued to comfort the feline. At least the scent of the host's room was helping; he would have taken her to his own room but he felt using a third party scent would help take the edge off to the situation. Still, the scent and taste of her blood was distressing him too.

"Calm, Sabre." He enticed, running his paw down her side as he thoroughly pet her, continuing to leave lots of kisses on her neck and jaws. The tiger was careful not to touch her injuries, annoyed at Kroc for hurting her but more pissed off at how stupid Sabre was in thinking Kroc wouldn't hurt her while he was feral. "You no scared of Kroc, da?" He asked, now a little nervous. As much as he disliked how close those two were at times, he recognized Kroc as an important pillar to Sabre's sanity. If she grew scared of him, it would lead to many troubles later on. "Kroc just feral; he no hurt otherwise." He comforted, kissing down her belly while licking her fur.

"I know." Sabre pressed herself on the torn up and shredded mattress and looked away before closing her eyes, "but … ," she opened her eyes but didn't look at him, too embarrassed, "let's just … distract ourselves. Please." She deeply blushed, her tail nervously twitching back and forth.

"Da." He breathed, moving down between her legs. Very slowly and gently he kissed her knees, moving along her inner thigh as Jaska deeply blushed, finding this side of Sabre, submissive, meek, frightened, and in need of him was rather cute. The way her body stretched and pressed against the ground was invoking his instinctual desires rather rapidly in his excitement. His tail lashed around excitedly as he sucked on her fur, gently pulling on her tail and making her moan. "You sexy, kitty. I distract, you calm and enjoy."

"Thank you, you are sexy too." Eztli's voice cut the air as Jaska felt someone grabbing his butt tightly.

"THE F***?!" Jaska roared, leaping right off the bed in his startlement of another male getting behind him so easily. His heart pounded hard, getting over his initial startlement before Eztli purred and hugged Sabre happily and tightly.

"¡Estoy than feliz de que estes bien!(I am so happy you are alright)!" He cheerfully cried, nuzzling against her with a purr. Sabre, half feral with need, nibbled on Eztli's ear and began nuzzling him back, her head going below his chin and her shoulder rubbing against him. "Ah, hola, Sabre, me encanta verte(hi, Sabre. I love to see you)." Ezlti smiled, nuzzling back against her with a bright and cheerful smile as he tightly hugged her.

"Me encanta verte tambien (I love to see you too)." She purred and hugged him back, rubbing her body agaisnt him and letting out a moan before nibbling on his ear again and pulling on his ear's piercing lightly. Eztli lightly laughed, purring away happily while kissing her on the forehead happily, simply enjoying her presence.

Jaska stared at the duo, feeling his fuse light as he grabbed Eztli by the scruff of the neck and separated them, glaring at him in annoyance as Eztli curled up into a ball slightly with his paws up, smiling happily. Jaska was ready to go and give Sabre all the comforted she could possible want before Eztli interrupted; now Sabre's aroma of her heat was too low to properly satisfy thanks to the idiot jaguar.

"Oh? Hey! Jaska! What kitty things were you teaching Sabre? You need to teach me too!" Eztli excitedly purred, turning his head slightly and kissing the tiger's inner wrist while Sabre sat up on the best with a happy smile. With the moment passed, Jaska's ears lowered in aggravated anger.

" … da, I teach advanced affections." Jaska hissed between his teeth with a pissed off glare, plotting now how to get back at Eztli for ruining the mood, along with Sabre too who latched onto Eztli a little too quickly for his liking.

"We are?" Sabre asked with a deep frown, confused and blushing at what they had been doing before Eztli interrupted.

"Da, we are." Jaska growled as he leaned back, thinking of what to do to the two kitties.

"What kind of affections?" Eztli excitedly asked, bouncing around in place like a kitten. Jaska stared at him, trying to think of a punishing way before he devilishly smiled. Of course he had to use the one thing Eztli hated the most; and that was the host.

"Show affection toward humans." He said, immediately seeing Eztli's face empty of excitement and his ears fall low.

"I don't care for humans, much less showing affection to them." Eztli pouted and looked at Sabre. "How do you show affection to other bastet? Like you were doing with Sabre?" He asked, leaning over and nuzzling against her before Jaska separated them again.

"Niet," Jaska immediately stated, "affection to human important towards program. I teach how show affection best to human." He said, thinking of how he would smoothly pull this off. His ear flickered, hearing the television flick on in the living room as he paused, seeing his ticket to revenge as he grinned, "today, I teach proper way to show host affection as human example." Jaska said with a nod, seeing zero enthusiasm with both the felines.

"I don't want to." Eztli huffed and dropped on the bed

"Me neither." Sabre dropped besides the jaguar, both of them lazily looking away before she hugged Eztli and rolled on top on top of the jaguar.

"You say you want teach, so I teach," Jaska said while pulling her way, and then stepping between both of them, "you no want learn?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, "both promised to listen and do as say for lessons." He pointed out.

"Then teach something worth my attention." Sabre pointed out with a pout.

"If you no learn how show affection to human, you no fit in anywhere. That not good." Jaska said with a shake of his head.

"I know how to show affection to humans." Sabre defended in annoyance.

"Not as feline. You show affection as-," he started before pausing, almost saying 'human', "you show affection not as feline should." He said with a stiff nod, running his fingers through his hair to try and calm himself down a bit.

"I already know what kind of 'affections' humans like." Eztli growled. "I rather show affection to friends I care about." He then hugged Sabre by the waist and began nuzzling and touching her again, resuming what they were doing prior. Sabre all too quickly rolled on her back on the bed to let the jaguar get on top. Eztli, thinking it a game, leaned down against her chest and nuzzled against her with a happy purr.

"Niet," Jaska snarled, separating them again and this time holding them both up by the scruff of the necks to keep them apart although both of them began nuzzling on his arms. "that bad human. I show how give affection to _good_ human as feline Extraspecies normally do before knowing how humans show affection." Jaska corrected him, making Eztli glanced at him uneasily. "You both want to learn how to be real kitties, da?" He asked, setting them both on their feet on the ground.

"We _are_ real kitties." Eztli growled and Sabre looked away calming down.

"Then prove with lesson." He said, motioning them both to follow, "I show host affection as feline; you watch, then repeat." He said as he headed into the hallway, slowly stalking Jackie as she stared intently at the glowing screen of the television in the dark room. She was curled into a ball, resting her chin on her arms as she stared at the screen rather emptily with some stray tears tracks running down her eyes. Being so engrossed in her thoughts, she did not notice Jaska walking up behind her. Both Sabre and Eztli took the catwalks above them, getting an aerial view as Jaska crawled onto the couch beside her on all fours. Jackie barely cast him a glance, only noticing him because of the sinking of the couch.

Jackie quickly looked away and hoarsely coughed, pinching the bridge of her nose to quickly calm herself before giving up at trying to look entirely presentable. "Hey, Jaska. Need something?" Jackie croaked out, refusing to look his way. She was such a baby crying at something like Kroc going feral but she couldn't help it; she was genuinely frightened and still was.

Jaska tilted his head just barely and paused, seeing her red and puffy eyes. "You crying?" He noticed and smelled the tears on her. His tail flickered back and forth, a little surprised; this concerned him. He didn't think the host would be crying. He stared at her, finding her face almost as cute as Sabre's was only a few minutes ago.

"I-I'm fine, just tired." Jackie sighed, rubbing her eyes again before giving him her full attention, "is everything alright? How's Sabre?"

"Sexy," he said absentmindedly as he stared at her tears and smelled Sabre's heat on her before he then corrected himself, "better now, more calm."

"Uh … well, th-that's good." Jackie said, looking away as she wiped off her tears and tried to quite poorly hide the fact she was crying. "What are you doing out here?" She asked, looking back at the tiger.

"Why you crying, host?" Jaska sniffed the air but he didn't smell any blood; the only thing he smelled on the host was Sabre's heat, which made him lick his lips. It seemed that Jackie hugging Sabre earlier put her more potent scent of heat over the host's body, mixing it with her own scent.

" … t-th-that … was really, really scary," Jackie admitted with a shaky exhale, curling into a tight call and hugging her knees to her chest. "Kroc is the last one of you all I would expect to go feral. His hissing, his breath … I-I can still feel it." She shivered, running her hands through her hair. All around her in the darkness she could almost feel Kroc's scales crawling over the floor, drawing nearer, his hissing exhales, his hot breath and sharp teeth … she would absolutely be lying if she said she wasn't frightened. She honestly didn't think she'd be able to sleep at all that night. And how was she supposed to face him tomorrow morning? He was still the same Kroc she knew and loved but she couldn't stop shaking and crying. The scary things lurking in the darkness, the tapping rain … it coincided too much with her past, and that's what frightened her the most. In the moment she was alright but now … sitting here, in the darkness, with only the faint glow of the television and being lost in her thoughts, she felt extremely vulnerable and frightened. Jackie's head spun as she ran her fingers through her hair, hiding her face and struggling to hold back her tears. "I'm so scared, Jaska." She admitted with a trembling, small voice she could barely control.

Jaska flickered his ears and nodded. The host was far more frightened than he thought. Being busy with Sabre, he didn't think about how the host would take to Kroc going feral. It was rational for them to be frightened, he supposed. For the host, this was her first time seeing a nice Extraspecies turn feral, completely at the mercy of his instincts. Jaska frowned, leaning forward slightly and decided to simply go on with the lesson. Both other felines needed it and the host was in clear need of affection herself. He lightly head butted the side of her head, making her tilt slightly as she tightened her grasp and curled into a tighter ball.

"H-Hey, Jaska, what are you doing?" Jackie asked with a trembling voice, uncomfortable at being so close to the tiger that wrecked her entire room doing … _that_. "Are you hungry or something?" She asked, gently reaching up and combing her fingers through his thick and fluffy fur. Although she didn't exactly like being seen like this, she did not have the strength to push him away. Rather, she held him closer and buried her face into his fur, trembling still.

"I being a tiger," Jaska directed her hand towards his mouth and nibbled on it a bit before he pushed the host's hands away and then flipped her on the sofa so she was seated and so he could lay over her lap and flipped to show his belly. Of course, the large Siberian tiger, which the animal counterpart weighed up to 700 pounds, paled in comparison to his cousins and was far heavier, threatening to crush her legs.

"J-Jaska, come on." Jackie complained as she weakly pushed against his head. The crushing weight of the tiger nearly stopped the blood flow to her feet right then and there as she heaved, grabbing onto his stomach as her lips parted into a silent scream. She looked down at him to reprimand him but his eyes were closed and he was purring away rather happily. Jackie stared at him, hesitating before hugging his back and burying her face into the fluff. Despite the circulation to her legs being cut off, she appreciated his attempts to help get her mind off of things. Jackie rubbed his belly, scratching at him through the thick fur as she focused all of her attention onto the big cat, trying to distract herself.

After a minute of this, Jaska unexplainably got off and moved aside while seriously looking at her, his tail twitching at the tip expectantly. "Calm host. All fine now." Jaska looked at the confused host, and although his expression was as aloof as expected of a Siberian man, he was actually quite sympathetic towards her and was happy that she wasn't crying anymore. The host still smelled heavily like Sabre, and he could not help but want to get close and lick those tears off but he was here for a reason after all.

"What was that about?" Jackie asked, staring at him in confusion before the tiger leaned towards her face, making her lean back. His tongue gently licked at her face, making her jump as he crawled over her and straddled her lap, holding her head upwards as he continued to lick at her tears and using the back of his tongue to lick her puffy red eyes, forcing her to close her eyes. Jackie stayed quiet, feeling disgusted at the licking but didn't have the heart to tell him to stop. He was just comforting her; this was how cats did that, right? So rather than fight it she remained still, trying to just simply lay back and let him do as he pleased. Her hands reached around him, petting and scratching at his fluffy thighs, then her fingers brushed against something. Jackie paused, puzzled before she pulled at it and held it up to reveal a little pink ribbon that had been previously tied and hidden inside his fluffy fur. "Jaska, what is this?" Jackie asked, sniffling just a little bit as she held up the little pink bow.

Jaska looked at her with confusion for a second before he grabbed the little ribbon he had never seen before and tossed it away, "no idea." He then deeply groaned as he towered over her, curling his toes as he began to lick her face more deeply, finding himself becoming too eager. The host's crying face combined with the scent of Sabre's heat was starting to arouse him. His ears lowered as he pulled back, studying her with narrowed eyes. It's not like he could do much else with the company in the rafters. The tiger let out a huff before he got off, trotting towards Jackie's room; once he relieved himself then he'd come back and teach the felines more about affection.

Jackie stared after him, baffled by his strange behavior before blowing it off. Oh well. She let out a heavy sigh and turned back to her show, trying to further distract herself. While she admittedly would have liked to bet him longer, it's not like she could ask him to stay; that'd be too awkward.

Sabre's face scrunched up, not in the mood to give Jackie affection but the host's tears moved her. She needed to be comforted too.

Eztli grumbled unintelligibly what sounded like complains in spanish while walking around and around in circles, making it look like he was going to go down before second guessing himself, continuing to walk around in circles. Fed up with how he was acting, Sabre rolled her eyes and kicked his butt right off the rafters. With a small mew he fell right on top of Jackie, startling her as she looked up at him. Ezlti froze, his entire body stiff as he waited to be yelled at or hit from the unexpected drop. He wanted to immediately run away but he was frozen in place, too frightened to move.

"U-Um … Eztli, you uh, are you alright?" Jackie asked, reaching up to cup his cheek. Ezlti's ears lowered at the oncoming hand before his lips parted to bite her, but Sabre leapt down as well and quickly headbutted the side of Eztli's head and purred loudly before nibbling on his ear. When Eztli opened his eyes at the friendly gesture he looked between Sabre and Jackie, noticing the host looked very confused as her puffy red eyes darted between the two of them. Still, he didn't do anything towards the host and Sabre took the initiative by dropping onto Jackie's lap and twisting to present her belly while grabbing a pillow and setting it over her face to hide her blush. This was ridiculous how she was acting! It made her feel embarrassed but she continued to roll against Jackie with a purr in her chest.

Jackie stared at the both of them, seeing both felines purring away happily as they cuddled her. Why were they cuddling with her like this? Normally they didn't like to be cuddled with unless they're being fed or groomed at the same time. Maybe … did they both come to comfort her? Touched by their gentleness, Jackie wrapped her around around Eztli and brought him into a hug. Eztli stiffened at the touch and pushed the host's hand away, letting out a very faint growl before Sabre grabbed the back of his head and shoved him forward, headbutting the host rather hard in the forehead.

"Ow!" Jackie shouted, holding her aching head as Sabe rubbed her back over Jackie's lap, revealing her belly for her and annoyed the host was not returning the affection. "S-Seriously, what's gotten into you two?!" Jackie groaned, looking down at Sabre's soft white belly. "Sabre, I'll groom you so just be more gentle. Eztli, you too." Jackie said, holding Sabre's head where she was as she struggled under the heavy cats to reach towards the drawer to get a brush. But when she was stretching for that, she was somehow flipped on so she was laying on her belly and Eztli set himself over her, his paws hitting her back in a not so gently massage.

"Ow! Wait, stop!" Jackie shouted, squirming under his rough claws as she felt the tips of the finely sharpened weapons dragging over her back, pushing deeply and hard against her. "OUCH!" Jackie shouted, bucking her back as she tried to get back up before she looked over her shoulder at Eztli, "get off, that's hurting me." Jackie said in a hard voice, feeling the hot lines not deep enough to make her bleed on her back and bruises already sinking in.

Sabre crawled in front of Jackie and slowly blinked. She then presented her belly once more in front of Jackie but rolled so Jackie's face was buried in her belly.

" … you're both acting weird what's going on? Is it pick on the host night or something?" Jackie asked after she lifted her head enough to be free of the fluff. Her fingers combed through Sabre's fur nonetheless, enjoying the silky soft feeling as she shivered, feeling Eztli sit more heavily on her back and make her lay on top of Sabre, pinning both of them underneath him.

After taking care of his boner, Jaska came back above in the rafter to see the disaster occurring between the host and the other two cats. He promptly smacked his palm against his face, letting out a heavy sigh in response. They were hopeless.

Jackie, desperately stretched her hand and finally managed to get a hold of the brush and immediately began petting Sabre so much the leopard rolled enough for Jackie to get half free. The host then somehow managed to move and roll out from under Eztli and quickly assaulted him with the brush in hand frenzy of petting while her other hand kept on rubbing Sabre.

"N-No … ," Eztli yowled while his body submitted to the petting as he rolled over and down to lay beside Sabre with his own belly up.

Jackie straddled their hips, letting out a stiff huff as she expertly pet their cheeks, necks and chests quickly and effectively, switching off her hands quickly and efficiently. Both Eztli and Sabre began to sensually moan and pant under the host's expert hands dragging through their fur. Eztli held onto Sabre, scared of how nice the petting felt, and Sabre held onto him while getting aroused because of how good this felt and because there was a male bastet right in front of her.

Both cats were already moaning loudly turning to each other and deeply purring, licking each other's faces lovingly while enjoying the host's lavish petting. Jaska's jaw dropped, admittedly shocked at how quickly Jackie turned that around on the cats. Perhaps the hose was a bit too fearsome of an opponent for these felines in training for now.

"Jaska, help me out!" Jackie tried slipping away as Sabre and Eztli continued to rub against each other like happy kittens. She was sore and achy from the random assault of her felines and wanted to slip away but she knew the moment she would try to flee, the cats would grab her.

Jaska let out an annoyed growl and leapt down from the rafters, marking right up to all of them. "You failed!" He growled at the purring cats, ready to force them apart but both Eztli and Sabre merely took a glimpse towards the tiger before both of them blinked slowly to give him a kitty kiss. With surprising synchronization they pulled Jaska down between them and over the host and began giving them both lots of loves mingled with purrs and petting. While Eztli nibbled on the tiger's ears, Sabre kneaded on his fluffy chest, and whenever Jackie tried slipping away she was pulled back in for more rubbing, nuzzling and purring.

Jackie silently accepted her fate, too tired to run away now.

 _Note to self … beware of showing weakness to the felines. They will drown you in purrs, kisses and lots of petting._

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

The black mamba widely yawned as he slithered slowly into the kitchen, lazily tossing the fridge open as he reached in and took out a small carton of eggs. He knew the host recently went out to get some eggs so she won't mind him helping himself to some now. His scaly ear slightly flickered, perking up as he heard light groaning. He turned around, staring at the couch and seeing the jaguar's tail, Sabre's furry arm and the host's leg resting on the back of the couch, puzzling him before he slipped over to them and saw a naked jaguar cuddling up to the host's chest along with Sabre hugging Jackie's other leg and purring deeply in her sleep. Jaska too was there; laying on the ground and appearing to have fallen asleep there at one point.

Dumisa's eyes narrowed, annoyed at the furry cuddling scene that involved the furballs. The host was hardly paying attention to him so what made these cats so deserving of her attention?

"Nngh … not so hard … too heavy," Jackie mumbled, hugging the black jaguar against her chest while they both sleepily cuddle each other, not realizing who they were cuddling.

"Harder … rougher," Eztli snuggled up and unconsciously answered the host, a deep groan coming from his throat. "Rub me again."

Dumisa's teeth clicked together in annoyance as he leaned down, gripping under the couch before with a powerful upheaval he threw the couch spinning into the air, dumping the contents onto the startled tiger who suddenly had three bodies crash down onto him. The black mamba crossed his arms, smirking rather evilly. "You deserved that, human."

Jaska roared out and almost instinctively set himself over Sabre and the host in a protective stance. Sabre roared too, ready to leap away or attack, but smelling no danger she looked around her eyes focused on Jaska over her. That made her gulp and she didn't knew what the sensation in her chest was. However she ignored it and got up to stretch. "So morning already?"

Eztli jumped aside from the host and then, upon seeing Dumisa, jumped to hug the snake. "¡Buenos días! (Good Morning!)."

Jackie achingly groaned, wobbling onto her feet while she rubbed her head. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch with Sabre and Eztli cuddling and purring away so adorable that she didn't want to move at all. Not that she would have been able to do so anyways.

Sabre looked around and then stretched, showing off her fearsome pearly whites. Jaska stretched too and the pulled Sabre on a hug against him, her scent strong from proximity as he began licking her and getting excited.

Eztli shook his head and purred, stretching and rubbing on the snake who pushed the black feline away only to receive more hugs from Eztli.

The host stared at Eztli struggling to hug Dumisa who hardly seemed to care at all about what they were saying before Jackie's keen eyes locked onto his hand, seeing the carton of newly bought eggs in his hand.

"Hey! Are those the eggs for the cat's breakfast?!" Jackie pointed out with a startled shout as Dumisa paused, watching the felines perk up, Sabre and Jaska stopping their actions to look up at Jackie.

"Eggs for us?" Sabre asked, puzzled as she stood up and eyed the carton in Dumisa's hand.

"Well yeah. There was a recipe I wanted to try for you guys-," Jackie started before Dumisa immediately whipped around and took off down the hallway, seeing where this was leading into.

"Give those back!" Sabre shouted as she started after him, followed by Jaska and Eztli. Jaska preventing him from retreating to his room.

"Out of the way!" Dumisa loudly demanded in annoyance, raising himself up and protecting his precious eggs from the felines.

Sabre swiftly crawled, jumped, evaded and moved through Dumisa's coils while reaching for the bowl that Dumisa kept on moving around.

Eztli imitated Sabre but wasn't as agile so instead, the jaguar helped Jaska grab and pull Dumisa's tail to try and limit his movements while Dumisa twisted all around to protect his precious eggs.

"Get off me! You cats don't even like eggs!" Dumisa shouted at them in annoyance as his tail yanked both Jaska and Eztli forward before they grabbed him again and yanking back on him.

"We might if we try host's recipes!" Jaska growled pulling with more force. Given how good the seasoned food from the host tasted he was gonna give the benefit of the doubt and try those eggs.

Jackie let out a heavy sigh, pausing as she heard some strange tapping. She turned her head slightly, glancing at the steel door to the safe room before freezing.

"K-Kroc." Jackie called, making the felines freeze and whip their heads around back to her, hearing for themselves the constant tapping against the steel door. "I-I looks like he's awake now. Jaska, what should I do?" Jackie nervously asked.

Sabre gulped, her ears low as she looked a bit lost, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to run away towards her attic because at this point she didn't know if she could face Kroc.

Jaska noticed Sabre's apprehension. "You fine, detka?" He asked, but whatever she was thinking, distracter her from even hearing him.

Jackie hesitated before nervously gulping, walking over to the thick door before inputting the code. The moment she finished the door whirred in response, making the tapping stop before Jackie turned the heavy crank and opened it up just barely, finding it too heavy. Kroc's thick fingers grasped the door, making her jump as she backed away and saw the large saltwater crocodile step out of the safe room, his pupils their regular size. Jackie was frozen where she stood as Sabre hissed, leaping behind Dumisa while Eztli shot to the safety of the rafters and Jaska salvaged his male pride by remaining where he was.

" … something happen, sheela?" Kroc asked, turning his attention towards the host and appearing rather nervous as he approached them but Dumisa leaned down in front of him and hissed, showing off his blackened mouth. Only when he stop did Dumisa fold his arms and lean back slightly.

"You went feral, stupid reptile." Dumisa huffed, folding his arm in annoyance while everyone.

Kroc's eyes widened in shock, clearly speechless with his jaw hanging open before he close it, nervously gulping. His face turned a slight shade of red as he quickly looked everyone over, not seeing any mortal wounds. "I don't remember that. What happened?" He asked.

"We like to know. You sleeping. Something woke you and then you feral attacking." Jaska explained, his tail lashing a bit.

"That can't be right. I usually remember right before I go feral." Kroc said, seeming very uncomfortable and awkward now as he slightly shuffled his feet, looking abashed as he looked over everyone again and saw the bandages around Sabre's neck. He sucked in a fast breath, drawing closer to Sabre, "sheela, did I-"

Sabre's eyes widened and her fur sponged. In a fast move she hid behind Dumisa.

Kroc did not flinch at her reaction, staring her fully in the eyes before a very deep, rumbling hum vibrated within his neck and chest. His tail very slowly slid back and forth, keeping eye contact with her as he repeated the same strange sound towards her.

Sabre lowered down a bit and let out a small meowing hiss, her tail lashed fast from side to side. This was practically the feral kind of state induced by fear.

"Look what you've caused, you brute," Dumisa growled at Kroc, however, the crocodile ignored him and approached more. Sabre hissed, but when he smelled some of the lingering scent of her blood near the bandage his eyes widened and he drew even closer to check on her, which caused her to hiss again and she clawed at his snout in apparent defense.

Kroc pulled back with a new wound. She had almost clawed out his eye and he now had a new wound of claw scratches crossing his eyebrow, small and physically insignificant but the action was full of meaning and he knew why. He had hurt her and now she was scared and wanted nothing to do with him. Kroc's pupils narrowed slightly as he clenched his fingers into fists, tucking his head down slightly. Going feral never yielded good results.

Everyone remained silent. Not even Jaska reacted to the scratch, his face unreadable. In the rafters Eztli gulped, and Dumisa eyed Sabre carefully. Kroc was perhaps the one person Sabre had bonded the more.

"H-Hey, come on, Kroc. I want to patch up your fingers," Jackie said, hesitating before gulping down her fears and gently grabbing hold of his arm. His fingernails were crusted over with blood, most likely from him trying to rip the door off its hinges. Kroc continued to stare at Sabre, repeating the thrumming in his neck before Sabre snarled at him, making him stop as she pressed herself on Dumisa, fear feral reactions evident. And he had caused this.

" … alright, sheela." He stiffly agreed with the host, walking with Jackie down the hall with his tail gliding over the wooden floor. Jaska stared after them, hesitating before glancing back at Sabre, surprised to see Dumisa kissing the side of her head and petting her before his tail whipped around and knocked Jaska aside a bit, just enough to make him unbalanced for a moment.

"Go on, tiger. Someone needs to watch the host and I have no interest in trying to distract that stupid crocodile with myself." Dumisa miffed, picking up Sabre with ease as she hugged him before slithering away towards the attic, opening it up and heading inside.

Jaska considered it for a second, his eyes set on the sniffing clouded leopardess. She was not going to indulge in her instincts for a little while and in any case the snake wouldn't do anything weird, if anything he was surprised that Dumisa was helping at all. Besides, the situation of the host and the crocodile needed his observation as the agent in charge.

Eztli hesitated if he should follow Dumisa or Jaska and decided for Jaska. Dumisa would take Sabre away to safety, but Kroc and Jaska were alone with the hooman and that wasn't good. He specially felt really bad for Sabre. He knew what was an almost feral fear and Sabre had just suffered one. Worse of all, it was the hooman's fault.

"Here, sit." Jackie said, making Kroc sit on the couch as she went to get the med pack. Kroc looked up, seeing terribly cracked rafters and some that were blown to pieces, not to mention some messy furniture. His frown deepening; he must have done all this.

Jackie returned a few minutes later, taking out a small scraper and resting his hand on her thigh as she scraped away at the dried blood, dapping it with medicine before wrapping each and individual finger with some gauze.

"Are you alright, Sheela?" Kroc asked, leaning towards her and sniffing at her. His jaws cracked open slightly making her flinch and Jaska tense but Jackie quickly realized he was only tasting the air to see if she was bleeding at all.

" … w-well, I'd be lying if I wasn't." Jackie admitted, starting to wrap his other hand, "you were pretty terrifying." She said with a light laugh, her cheeks twitching.

Kroc's tail twitched slightly as he reached forward, making Jackie tense up as he cupped her cheek and looked her over rather slowly and thoroughly, moving around her a bit and checking every bit of her.

"Only one hurt is Sabre, but wound not too bad. You scared both host and Sabre."

"Going feral is never gentle for those around." Kroc let out a heavy sigh, a heavy weight clearly on his chest, "I am sorry, sheela. It won't happen again." He said, very lightly hugging Jackie with one arm with a deep thrumming in his neck before he deeply laughed, "I may not be a cuddler, host, but I said I would protect you, right?"

"It's the hooman's fault!" Eztl growled from up in the rafters as he looked down while pacing from left to right and back. "You made Kroc go feral and then forced Sabre to help you get him in the caged room, then you made Sabre come in to help you escape and it's your fault she got hurt and now she's scared, hooman!" the black jaguar growled from above as he paced back and forth.

"Who was one who made host scream?" Jaska shot back at Eztli with an annoyed snarl. "Shut up, cat! Host not at fault for traumas. She trying to help everyone, even you, you stubborn black cat!" He hissed.

Eztli was taken aback by the tiger's crunched in his spot and pawed towards him slightly, sad that he upset the tiger, "but … i-it is the hooman's fault. It always is."

"Placing blame on others to cover up own mistakes and fears is disgusting." Jaska hissed rather deeply, his tail twitching back and forth, "now, kitty cat, you stay there, come help, or leave. Those your choices." Jaska hissed up at him with his ears pulled back in annoyance.

Eztli closed his mouth at the scolding and after a couple steps to the left he turned back and crouched again, his ears still low as he settled for merely continued looking down at what was happening in silence. Jaska was right about one thing; the jaguar hadn't seen this host directly hurt anyone so far. And so, deciding to just bunker down for a bit, he laid on the beam and simply observed from above.

"Here, Kroc. It's some pain medicine specifically for reptiles." Jackie said, taking out a few rather large pills. Kroc opened his mouth, startling her as she hesitated. "S-So uh, here." Jackie said, trying to put them in his hand but he shook his head.

"Those are F.H. pills, sheela. They need to be placed in the back of my throat and I can't reach," he explained as the host's face almost immediately paled in horror.

" … you're going to bite reflexively." Jackie said taking the three pills back as Jaska frowned, rummaging through the med pack.

"He's right; ah, here it is." Jaska said, pulling out a strange short metal poll with long rubber covered poles running perpendicular to the handle, "this for moments like these." He said as he extended it, seeing Kroc let out an annoyed grimace.

"Hate those things." He said with a frown.

"Host would hate losing arm even more," Jaska said sternly; the host was already scared enough as it was.

Kroc let out a heavy sigh as he opened up his jaws wide, letting out a faint hiss as Jaska propped his jaws open with the metal rod, holding it in place before glancing down at the host. "Go host, place pills."

"I do not feel safe." Jackie bluntly stated as she nervously gulped, hesitating before reaching her hand into Kroc's large mouth. She was very careful not to touch his tongue in fear of triggering a nerve reaction. The moment she released the pills and they touched the back of his tongue, Kroc's jaws snapped together quickly and hard, making the pole shorten. Jackie let out a mortified scream, yanking her arm out quicky and cradling the almost lost hand, seeing hardly half a foot clearance now due to Kroc bending the metal with his jaw strength alone.

Jaska facepalmed, "we need new rod and maybe long spoons," He then mentally counted to 10 to calm himself and then looked at Kroc, who looked as if he wanted to bang his head against a wall in his embarrassment for almost taking off the host's arm. Jackie on the other hand was still holding her arm tightly, her face a ghostly pale color as she remained completely still. "Host, you eat some candy. You pale."

" … I'm going to lie here." Jackie said as she flopped over, remaining still as she blankly stared at the couch itself, shaking ever so slightly. "I'm going to lie here and not move for a bit." She said as an awkward silence enveloped the room. The doorbell rang, catching the attentions of both Kroc and Jaska but the host did not move.

"Great, host broken." Jaska heavily sighed as he went to answer the door. Kroc stared at Jackie, frowning rather deeply before he grabbed her, surprising her as he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her. She froze, startled.

"I am not cuddly or fluffy like the felines are, but I can make you feel safe." He promised, very gently rubbing her back through her shirt while he firmly and strongly hugged her.

Jackie gulped down, and although she didn't respond at all, she didnt pushed him back either.

 **MWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Up in the attic Sabre was hugging Dumisa tightly and sniffling a lot while the black mamba patted her back. The feral fear had ended and she was now just trying to contain her cries.

The tip of his tail coiled around her tail to pull on it lightly but it wasn't working to call her attention. "Now admire me, Sabre. Look at how splendid I am and get your mind overwhelmed by my grandeur for ideas."

She rubbed her face on his chest and continued crying.

"Stop crying. It's irritating." Dumisa said, lightly flicking his tongue over her cheek to catch a tear, "don't you get good ideas for your clothing line when you look at me?" He suggested, flicking his tongue out and tickling her ear. "You had better get better ideas. That new line has too many frills and ribbons."

She took a deep breath and did an effort to contain her cries and sobs, barely nodding at what he was saying. Maybe she should just drop Wyld, her little beloved fashion project, too.

Dumisa sighed and then saw Antain uncurl over his blanket and wake tasted the air; there was also something that surely would call her attention. "I saw something interesting on the little trip to the beach." Dumisa started, glancing off to the side as he continued to pet her back, finding the silence to be stifling and irritating.

"Something interesting? I thought you hated the trip and that other lamia" Sabre sniffed, her sobs renewing upon remembering the horrible trip.

"Of course. She was an irritating slut bothering me for attention," he hissed before letting out a sigh, rubbing her back, "But there was one thing that did caught my attention. I saw Antain chance from a fox Extraspecies to a human child," he slowly said as she immediately tensed, "was he experimented on by the humans?" He curiously asked, finding this to be as good a time as any to get some answers.

Sabre let go of the hug and curled into a tight ball, holding herself strongly as she cried even more.

Dumisa grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, making her hug him as his petting quickened.

"Remember when I told you his real parents were experimented on and killed? Antain was experimented on too. And they might be looking for us." She suddenly looked up at Dumisa, "did anyone else saw it!?"

"I hid him. I figured what was happening was none of anyone else's business." He answered with a frown, almost insulted that she thought he would allow others to pry into their little 'family affairs'.

"Thank you, Dumisa." Sabre let out a sigh of relief, her hand over her chest. She bit her lip and took some seconds for calming down. Now that she knew Dumisa knew of this little secret and had been keeping it that way, she determined that he deserved to know a bit more. "Yes. Antain was used on experiments. Before I got to him he was being kept in a cage unless they exercised him to exhaustion or was experimented on." She gulped and looked down at Antain, who yawned and upon seeing his mama he immediately jumped onto her and nibbled on her ears. Sabre's gaze softened as she pulled him in a hug before setting him over his blanket from where he started his little run around in happiness all happy that his mama was there. "I'm afraid he will never get a normal life. I know he should at least speak a bit by now but the trauma of all he saw and all they did to him is too deep"

"I figured as much. He acts differently than a fox should. And I don't mean that he acts just like a kitten." He admitted with a sigh, "but what does that matter? Experiment or not, he functions just fine. And he is pretty smart in other ways, he is so young and he already knows how to stalk and catch prey. Is he being an experiment supposed to mean something other?" He questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow and sly smile.

Sabre lowered her ears "He can't control those changes and there are many who would like to get a grip on him. Do you how many human companies have been kidnapping human and extraspecies to try and assemble the DNA to create bio organic weapons, enhance their soldier or even mix genes for retroviral treatments?"

"Then you should quickly teach him how to be a real predator. So far you're doing fine. I still laugh at the bunny he caught during the examinations" Dumisa said with a smile, waving his hand off slightly before his cheek twitched down slightly. "And of course I am aware. There are many humans that delight in tampering with things they should not touch. I'm waiting for the day their little experiments go wrong and ends up killing all of them." He cheerfully grinned before pausing, glancing away, "except for the host. I deem her acceptable."

"The problem is that humans will most likely drag the whole world down with them." Sabre closed her eyes and hugged her arms.

"Perhaps. Humans truly are the most diverse species possible. It makes them amusing." He shrugged rather light heartedly, "I would not put too much deep thoughts into it. Just enjoy the ride." He toothily grinned.

Sabre nodded but didn't smile, her breath intensifying as she began crouching over herself again. "I'm scared, Dumisa."

"And why is that?" He asked, sounding almost bored as he glanced over at her curling against a nitch in his coiled body.

Sabre fitted perfectly in the nitch his body had adopted. "I … I wasn't raised as an Extraspecies and there are many things I don't know. Especially regarding my own instincts." She moved her thick and fuzzy tail to hide her face under it and coiled up even more, "I'm scared of a lot of stuff. Not only of what happened with Kroc. I'm scared of the company finding me and Antain, I'm scared I won't be able to do well for Antain," The leopardess began crying again, " ... I'm scared of what happened with Jaska … I don't understand it." She sobbed, "this stupid heat! I don't want cubs or anything, I just want it to end … I … I want my life back!"

"Whining won't change anything." Dumisa sighed, gently kissing her on the forehead. "No one cares who you once were. All they care about is who you've become, how far you've gone and who you aim to be," he slyly smiled, "you are doing extraordinarily well at being a bastet even if you have a bad tendency to go feral often and be aggressive paranoid, but considering the circumstances it's not that bad. So stop complaining." He said, gently pinching her nose as he smiled, "and do not worry so much."

Sabre managed a quivering ghost of a smile for a second before dropping it. "I'm not sure I can be a good mother, Dumisa, not when I don't even know who I am anymore. I doubt I'll be able to handle it if I get pregnant after this stupid heat. Antain… well, I-I'm taking care of him, but I didn't rear him and he is quite smart and independent. Maybe he doesn't even need me." She swallowed, "and I don't know what would happen if I ... after Jaska ... well, you know. I don't even know what I feel for him and I can't completely let go of the thought that the is a threat."

"Don't be such a frightened young feline. For snakes it is different, but mammals have very powerful maternal instincts. You have nothing to fear." He assured her, petting her back. It was so strange, really, to see an Extraspecies fighting with their instincts. It rarely happened. But then again, he did so quite often as well back in his village.

Antain giggled and then came to jump over his mama's back and buried himself under her tail to give her a hug. Sabre responded and gave the cub a weak smile before the little ball of energy jumped away, grabbing his blanket and heading to the entrance of the attic, where he stopped, turning back to his mom and gave a lil excited mew asking for her permission. Sabre considered for a second and then, while nodding, emitted a growl of approval. The pup then mew again before grabbing his blanket and running downstairs.

He gave a little pull to one of her soft fuzzy ears. "See? You aren't doing bad, and now that you've revealed to me some of your past, perhaps I should do the same." He heavily sighed, stretching himself out and cracking his spine all the way to the tip of his tail, "but first, Sabre, tell me what you know about lamia society." He enticed with a lazy smile.

Sabre flickered her ears and looked at him, thinking in how to answer without sounding like she had been taught on a combat basis on enemy intel and capacities, which she was "Lamia societies are matriarchal with males being quite small in numbers and of great importance. Until recently, males were thought to be myths because the secret was so well guarded. Social order and position are often determined by displays of power and size or other abilities that may be rare or cultivated. Position and power is determined by the territorial size the female has amassed, and although individuals don't care much about interaction, they can coexist in cities."

"But that is only for the females." Dumisa sadly smiled, "males are not allowed to own territories, go outside of the alpha female's land or defined space. Hunting is limited to small game, they don't learn those 'rare or cultivated abilities" because they aren't considered worthy of learning, holding any post or position of power is impossible either, they are banned from politics and decisions… the list goes on. Males are considered merely breeding stock according to the female's pleasure." He smiled at Sabre and went on "We are nothing to them. Why else would we be in such low numbers? " He said, his smile turning only into a frown and his eyes becoming distanced. "I was born in a large family, as most others. However, I was separated at quite a young age and absorbed into a large territory with a stronger alpha female. I was kept in a public quarters were all were allowed to enter, having nothing that I owned myself because I was public property of the allied females of the clan. I hated it." He hissed angrily, "they treated me without any regard until they desired intercourse to bear children. Given no other option to climb up in the social chain, I was forced to utilize the activities I was able to do to get what I desired. I had to, in a sense, f*** my way into getting anything, such as food, money, and other necessities. That was my job. One of my favorites were the teachers; they would agree to teach me mathematics, histories, art or any other subjects in exchange for private time with them. Once you play naive and flatter their knowledge they are far more than willing to play teacher."

"Dumisa … ," Sabre's eyes concentrated on his narrowed gaze and haunted look. No wonder he had asked her to promise him to _never_ ask for sexual favors. Without even thinking about it she uncoiled and hugged him.

"It disgusts me how we are treated. Because we are so few, nothing will change. Worse of all, most males don't care or want it to change because all our necessities are provided for and you get to drown in sex and compliance with an easy lifestyle." he deeply frowned, "which is why I decided to join the program. It took nearly a year privately serving the alpha female before I convinced her to allow me to join the Extraspecies program. I signed the original contract there to be away for a year before secretly meeting with Smith once we left to sign me up for 20 years instead. That foolish b**** of a c**dumpster has no idea so far what I've done." He mused with a faint smile, "I wish I could see the looks on all their faces when they've learned that … but I know they won't care. They'll simply sucker in some human males to replace me. After all, one pole is not much different from the other and they are beginning getting to like human males that are quite weak but not so tame." He hissed. "Maybe some females will learn to like the reciprocity of human's way, but they would need to enter the programs too to see and understand." He let out a heavy sigh, turning to her with a faint smile, "and that is why I am here now. I plan on gaining favor with one of these humans hosts so I won't have to return at all even after the program ends.

Sabre tightened her hug for a second before leaning on him and pulling on his ear playfully, "you little fool, you were able to get everything for free and get your sexy boot to hit hard any snakey girl who gazed upon you and you ran away?" She pulled on his ear again, "ain't I lucky you did?" she flickered his forehead "How else could I have meet my friend with good fashion skills here, then?"

Dumisa stared at her rather incredulously, pausing before he broke out into a loud laughter at her scolding. "Perhaps so! But that is not what I want. Sex became boring and tedious … it wasn't worth my time which could be spent doing other things." He sighed, back to his lighthearted manner as before. "Regardless, now I am free to do as I please while in this program. Much of the time is spent reading and studying." He smiled, laying down against the carpet with a pleased hum.

Sabre lay over him with complete ease. "That's a lie. You spend most of your time, napping, complaining, stealing food from the host, or helping improve my designs." She looked him through the corner of her eyes and winked.

"That's simply in my free time," he smiled with a wry smirk and winked back.

Sabre stretched with and began purring, which she knew he liked due to the vibration of the fur pillow/blanket she was. "So you have 20 years at least to find some human girl who tolerates you. Do you know what human females expect of their mates?"

"Does it matter? I have the confidence and skills to seduce any woman of my choosing. I merely need to figure out which one is deserving of it." He widely grinned.

"I assume is far more than getting laid," Sabre said calmly as she began grooming herself, "thinking only about seduction will not get you a good female that wants you for something else than getting laid."

"Hmm~ then what do you suggest, then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't think about sex." Sabre shrugged and out of fun began grooming him, "you are pretty capable in that regard, but girls don't seek a mate that only serves for that. What else can you offer? They like compromise and exclusivity, but also companionship. It's not about give and take, it's about sharing."

"They are free to admire me whenever they desire as my mate." He simply shrugged, "which reminds me, Sabre. Kroc, Jaska, the new cat or me?" He asked with a toothy grin.

"Huh?" Sabre looked at him and tilted her head "What?"

"Do not think I am blind. You hold a strong sense of affections for all of us." He cheekily smiled, "no need to be coy; I am used to women falling head over tails for me." The black mamba teased.

Sabre opened and closed her mouth a couple times while her face got engulfed in a deep blush. "I-I…"

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter, my chickadees! _**10 REVIEWS**_ to find out what happens next~ and will our next Extraspecies finally make an appearance?! (originally we had a much longer chapter but bc of length and reviews, we had to split it. This is the second part ;p)

 **Oh! And don't forget to check our other collaborations: Featuring our take off of the anime/manga Hellsing called 'An odd gathering, a new change" which is found under chaos-dark-lord's penname! :D And under my penname is the spin off that one, 'Duty of the Red Hood'. We had a blast writing them and hope you enjoy them too!**

 **We are so excited for all these stories! Enjoy them! ENJOY THEM! :D**

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 **Chaos- dark-lord: Hello everyone. Don't worry, the new member of the household is about to arrive. Let's check, big saltwater tanks (but not big enough for Kroc to pass through)? Check. Yeah, this one is aquatic… which will be fun considering that basically all predator residents like eating fish , specially Kroc.**

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 **Random trivia question. Who do you think Sabre likes more? ;D**


	20. Chapter 20

**HERE IS A TEST, OUR LOVELY READERS! Can you tell what the new Extraspecies is with the description alone before we reveal what he, or she, is? Not really a contest, I am just really curious as to if anyone saw this coming!**

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Antain excitedly ran around in the hallway, free and wild as he continued to tackle and spin around his blankie, munching on the corners and flipping it around in the air while running with it. He ran around his shadow, leaping into it and patting the floor to try and find it before quickly returning to his favorite blankie. The scent of Sabre on it deeply comforted him as he pulled it into a hug, deeply purring in happiness as his tail curled around him, providing him with more warmth.

Up in the rafters, Eztli was still sulking, confused and unable to forget what Jaska had told him. How could everything that's happened not be the hooman's fault? She was supposed to be taking care of them but because of her neglectfulness, all these bad things happened to everyone. Eztli's ears lowered. He couldn't understand it and was taking the scolding rather hard since he couldn't understand what the tiger meant. His ears raised up as he heard a loud yipped mew, seeing the pup come into the room with a blanket and playing around happily while hugging the piece of fabric.

The jaguar tilted his head and smiled; the cub surely looked like he was enjoying himself. Then suddenly, the cub began chasing his own shadow around and ended up running down the hall and leaving the blanked behind in the floor.

Curious, Eztli jumped down and grabbed the small blanket to put it away. He immediately noticed that the warm and fluffy blanket smelled a lot like Sabre and, comforted by the smell, he purred and nuzzled against it before taking the blanket to his own room for now. Since Antain lost interest with it, the blanket was up for grabs. Eztli cheerfully smiled and curled up inside the den at the base of his tree, unable to climb up higher since his hands still ached from the burn he received earlier.

Ezlti's ears soon flickered, hearing the skittering of paws outside of his room. He perked up a bit, seeing Antain hop into his room and alertly look around, seeming puzzled. The jaguar sunk into the den's shadow, concealing himself as he watched Antain sniff at the ground and very slowly, and with many detours, closed in towards his den. The little fox mewed and yipped a little bit, his chest getting huffy and distressed before he paused, locking his sights onto the little blanket.

With an excited gasp he charged headlong into Ezlti's den, excitedly yipping and hopping around before rolling onto his side on the blanket. His chest let out little purrs in his excitement, happily nibbling on the blanket before pulling at it and trying to take it with him but it was stuck beneath Eztli's weight

"Hola?" Ezli softly asked the pup, still not moving his dead weight from the comfortable blanket.

Antain tensed up, startled as he jumped to his feet and finally saw Eztli there, a presence he did not notice until now due to his attention being solely focused on his precious safety blanket. Upon seeing the big black cat laying on his blankie, the little fox let out a very cute hiss, the hair on the back of his neck raising so he'd appear bigger as he grabbed the corner of the blanket and tried to back away pulling on it.

Eztli remained unmoving, now understanding that this blanket was the precious possession of the little fox and he understood why. It was comfortable, velvety soft and smelled protective and nice like Sabre. His ears lowered, lightly tugging on the blanket back a bit. He needed it too at the moment; he was still scared and unnerved from everything that recently happened. Lowering himself on the blanket, he looked at the pup. "Can we share? please?"

Antain huffed, nipping at the corner of the blanket with lowered ears as he tried to tug it away, growling all the while but was unable to budge it from under the large jaguar. His ears lowered as Antain huffed, looking over at him with his chest huffing and puffing as his eyes began to well up with tears. A small whimpering cry bubbled at his lips as she curled up into a little trembling ball, protectively hugging himself with his soft tail.

Eztli's eyes burst opened, alarmed at the pup's tears. He didn't want to upset the pup which in turn would upset Sabre, which would upset Jaska, which would make his new friends angry with him, and would leave him alone and sad and close to the _hooman-_! His mind began spiraling with the worst possible scenarios as Antain let out a loud whine, batting at Eztli's arm rather bravely as the fox tried to pull his blanket free. Eztli quickly stood up and grabbed the blanket in his mouth, waving it at the pup in a playful way.

Antain's growls softened before disappearing, his ears perking up and pupils growing wide as his gaze followed the blanket around in the air. He stood up on his toes, hesitating before hopping up, swiping at it. He gasped in excitement, crouching down and jumping up again, batting at the flimsy blanket and trying to catch it as he cheerfully laughed.

Eztli moved around waving the blankie so the cub could try a grab at it. Since Antain was quite agile and strong for his young age, Eztli began moving faster too and soon both Extraspecies were moving rolling, biting and pulling on the blanket. The rough play quickly gathered dust and bits of random debris from the ground, making it very dirty from the play session.

The black jaguar grinned, holding the corner in his mouth and running out of the room and down the hall. Antain came yipping roars down the hall after him, spastically moving around spritely but clearly faltering in his sleepiness as he began slowing down. The fox slowed to a stop, widely yawning before rubbing his eyes. The black jaguar turned, watching Antain looping after him before flopping over, whining and stretching in his tired state.

"You tired?" The jaguar softly asked, approaching to wave the blanket a little over the cub. Antain stretched, lazily reaching up and trying to nip at the blankie, keeping a firm grip before laying on the ground a bit, curling into a little fuzz ball. The fox wasn't letting go of the blankie and, hugging it closely and trying to take a nap in the middle of the hallway. Eztli's tail twitched back and forth, clearly jealous before sniffing at him a bit. Whenever Sabre was around when Antain laid down to nap like this, she'd pick him up and take him to her den to nap. When they were in the tubes or in small spaces, Sabre would hold him by the neck.

Eztli nervously looked around the fox's neck, trying to figure out the best way to carry the little kit before he opened his jaws, going in for a bite before thinking better of it, circling him a bit. His black tail swept back and forth as he sat down and intently stared at Antain, trying to remember exactly how Sabre picked him up and carried him around like a real cat would. He could easily do so with his paws but it wouldn't be the same and he might dropped him because of the burns in his hands. He leaned forward again, very gently biting at his shoulders and dragging him a foot down the hall before Antain let out a whine and batted at his face, clearly annoyed.

"Mmhhh … No lo estoy haciendo bien, ¿verdad? (I'm not doing it right, right?)," Eztli circled Antian again and then tried biting on the tip of the cub's tail to pull him by it, but the cub curled and pawed at his nose with a frown. A new bite attempt at the back of the cub's neck and Antain whinned again, wriggling until the jaguar was forced to let go. Eztli huffed "How can it be so difficult!" Finally defeated, Eztli merely laid down besides Antian on the blanked to take a nap himself and enjoy the warness and soothing scent on the blankie.

After watched subtly for almost ten minutes, Jackie finally approached them with an awkward smile. She could see Antain was sleepy but Eztli couldn't pick him up properly with his burned hands. So while Jaska questioned Kroc about why he went feral, Jackie could go ahead and help Eztli out. She wanted to stay quiet and watch longer but she knew that if she did, they'd both end up dead asleep in the hallway and that's not good. Besides, the workers were already in the house preparing the tank for her next charge since the early morning to fix all damages from last night.

"What do you want, hooman? Were taking a nap," Eztli lightly hissed with his eyes her, his fur on edge but he did not growl this time. He did, however, move so Antain was at his back and he was in front of the little kit protecting him.

"Hey, instead of being in the hallway, why not take Antain to your den and take a nap there? The workers might step on you if you're not careful." Jackie suggested.

"I'll bite if they get close. This is our space right now," he huffed, turning back to Antain and taking the corner of the blanket in his mouth, both Extraspecies purring and nibbling on it. Jackie let out a sighing smile, finding them absolutely adorable before noticing the color differences between the parts they were chewing and the rest of the blanket. She stepped closer, making Eztli lightly growl before her eyes burst open in realization of how disgusting the blanket was.

"Yikes, that blanket it _filthy_!" Jackie exclaimed, startled. "H-Hey, get that out of your mouth and let me wash it for you." Jackie said, trying to figure out a good angle to grab the blanket from them both.

Eztli looked at the human and hissed while Antain mewled and bit his blanket again, but he quickly coughed and struck out his tongue at the dust and dirt he had licked. The little fox let out a sneeze, shaking his head and pawing at the blanket, making small puffs of dust rise into the air. Antain giggled, happily swiping at it while Eztli's ears lowered, seeing for himself just how dirty they had gotten it in their short time playing with it.

"See? Look, I'll just toss it in the wash with the other stuff and then you can go right back to playing, alright?" Jackie tried to reason. "You can watch it while it's being washed."

Eztli glanced the very dirty blanket and frowned. Biting and ingesting the dust and stuff on it wouldn't be good for Antain at all; the jaguar Extraspecies felt a little guilty because he had not noticed it. His frown deepened as he turned towards the hooman, staring at her with indecisive eyes. He was not going to trust the human completely but he could watch to make sure she didn't try anything that would harm Antain in anyway. Without a word, Eztli hugged the pup and moved back, leaving the blanket in the floor while his eyes never left Jackie's hands.

"Thanks." Jackie said said, walking over and pinching the corner and making a face, "yuck. Can't you guys play with some of the toys you got? I'll get you some more if you want to," Jackie asked with a smile as she headed towards the separate room containing the washer and dryer by her room.

Antain mewed and struggling in Eztli's grip, seeing his precious blankie being taken away from him. Eztli followed after her, settling outside of the door and watching her. The host quickly opened up the washing machine, tossing in the blanket and some other towels before shutting it tight and turning it on.

"There, see? And after it dries in about an hour you can play with it all you want again; how does that sound?" Jackie grinned as Antain wormed out of Eztli's grip. He ran into the laundry room and in front of the washing machine, meowing and pawing at the glass between him and his precious blankie. His eyes glowed as his head bobbed around and around, following his blankie. Each time its bright color disappeared into the background Antain frantically began mewing, pawing at the glass until it resurfaced again, resuming his silence and wonder as he watched it spin in circles. "It will be done soon, Antain." Jackie promised, leaning down and gently rubbing the kit's head before leaving and letting the two 'cats' remain inside the laundry room for now.

Eztli jumped away from the entrance to let the hooman pass. Jackie slowed down a bit, glancing at him as he hissed at her. With a heavy sigh, the host walked away and rubbed her head, wondering when Eztli was going to start trusting her. She knew it wouldn't be easy but if there was no trust at all it would make her job a lot harder and the whole experience more stressful for him.

Jackie awkwardly stared at him, bashfully looking away. "Eztli, even if you don't like it, I _am_ your host. So uh, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask me." Jackie awkwardly offered with a slightly flushed face in her awkward embarrassment of extending that offer yet again, knowing he was going to reject it.

Eztli didn't answer initially, continuing to stare at the host before his stomach growled, making his ears lower. The host immediately perked up, her eyes flashing at the opportunity to earn more trust points with the jaguar.

"Would you like some food? I can prepare a couple bottles," Jackie offered quite quickly.

Eztli began to nod shyly when he remember he was supposed be a big predator. So, doing his best to imitate Dumisa, he puffed up his chest a bit and looked sharply at her, "yes, hooman, give me food and then you're going to brush my sca...fur." He quickly corrected himself, trying to look firm.

"Yeah, sure." Jackie grinned before walking off rather happily, silently performing a fist pump before stopping short, popping her head back and pointing to a basket of clothes, "Oh, right, I have some extra laundry done that I will be folding soon so be careful about that while you watch the blanket get done, okay?" She smiled before she turned around and went away to the kitchen to prepare Eztli's food.

Eztli watched the host get away and then turned his attention to the clothes in the basket, just taken out of the dryer. They were different because they were smaller and were of surprisingly good quality. He grabbed some small shorts and examined them. These clothes looked made for an Extraspecies, not adapted human clothes. After a sniff he buried his face on the fabric that was impregnated with Sabre's cute scent before he caught sight of a stringy piece with a small triangle. He picked it up, it was a thong, but unlike Olivia's ugly and cheap leopard printed ones, this one had lace and was quite well done, it also had a triangular space at the back for a tail.

Eztli deeply purred and smiled, burying his face in the piece of fabric before pausing, hearing the slithering of scales over the tiled ground in the enlarged laundry room and assuming it was Dumisa, Ezlti placed the thong on his head and called. "Hey! Look what I found! Thia are made for Extraspecies!"

"Hey mate." Kroc said entering the room, staring as Eztli whipped around and saw him. Over the Jaguar's head Kroc spotted female very small underwear, realizing the jaguar had been sniffing them fervently as was present by his half mast. Kroc was left speechless, trying to think of what to say about the present situation while Antain ran around in small circles, chasing his shadow with his blanket all but forgotten for now.

"You better, Kroc?" Eztli asked with a gulp, he wasn't sure Kroc was fine at all.

Kroc looked away, at a loss for words as he stepped passed Eztli and Antain, trying to find some of his workout towels he used to keep himself cool with. Unable to find them, he was about to leave before he paused, cracking his jaws open and sensing a pleasurable heat.

"Nya!" Eztli saw Kroc opening his jaws fast and he grabbed Antain in a hug, jumping back, looking up and ready to jump up the rafters.

The large saltwater crocodile stepped by the large basket, poking his snout into the heated bunch of clothes as the scent of the detergent lulled him in closer, almost burying his whole head into the clothes before realizing what he was doing. Kroc whipped his head back, startled at himself as the hot clothes dumped onto the floor. "Sorry about that, mate." He said, crouching down to pick up the clothes before pausing, gripping the hot cloth in his hand. Without realizing it, his neck and chest were thrumming with a pleased hum, deeper and more potent than a purr. Leaning forward, he pressed both paws against the warmth before flomping over heavily, his eyes closed and entire body relaxed while he more than happily absorbed the heat of the clothes.

Eztli relaxed and set Antain in the floor, looking at the crocodile and deciding to come closer. The clothes were irradiating warm and held a nice scent, thus he decided to take off his clothes and join Kroc in the nice napping place.

Antain, seeing the two adults cuddling with the clothes, gasping in excitement leapt over them, finding a space between them before he pushed his way through and curled into a furry little red ball of fur, happily purring away and nestling closer to the warmth. All three of them were incapacitated, absorbing the warmth of the clothes for some time falling asleep on them.

Some time later when the washing time for the blanket was over Jackie came back. "Hey, Eztli, I made some extra bottles and I'm sticking them in the fridge-," Jackie startled before making a sudden stop, frozen as she saw the three of them, Kroc, Eztli and Antain, tightly curled up over the clothes sprawled over the ground. Confused, she knelt down and felt the warmth of the clothes before realizing what was going on and heavily sighed.

 _Note to self … never let the Extraspecies, especially Kroc, into the laundry room when hot clothes are in a basket._

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Jackie went back to the kitchen, placing the bottles inside the fridge while Jaska lazily lounged on the couch in the living room. The host smiled as she saw his feet and arms stretching behind the couch before vanishing, meaning he was curled up on the couch and probably sleeping with his tail hanging over the side. Jaska seemed pretty tired last night; she was hoping he would be able to take a nap for a bit. After putting the bottles for Eztli away, the head of the repair team called her attention.

"That'd be all, Miss Penske. It's all ready to go for your new charge, fish and inserts all in place." The contractor passed her a paper to sign on a clipboard, "we're lucky nothing was damaged from what we heard about it from Smith."

"Yeah? Awesome," Jackie said, glancing over the paperwork before sneaking a glance up at the guy and wryly smiling, "want to tell me what I'm getting?" Jackie playfully asked as she signed away at the designated lines.

"That'd be a surprise for you, miss. Ms. Smith said we were not allowed to tell you," the contractor then placed two fingers in his mouth to whistle loudly. "All's ready folks, let's go."

Immediately after sounding the call, everyone was front and center with their things and already trailing out the door to leave.

"I can't tell you what the new one is, but…" He winked "I've heard this one is a handful noble of a rich royal guardsman bloodline."

"N-Noble?" Jackie asked, startled as she immediately imagined some kind of snobby and aquatic Extraspecies. Ugh … as if Dumisa wasn't enough.

"Yep, his family owns submarine oil rigs and mines, that's why there were no thoughts about expenses," he heartedly laughed, " seems like this one is quite a troublesome Extraspecies. But, with all your other ones and their reputations, I'm sure he, or she, will fit right in," he brilliantly grinned.

"W-Wait, you mean to tell me his family paid for all this to be put in?" Jackie asked, her jaw hanging by a thread as she shakily pointed at a tank. These things alone costed more money than she's ever made in her life!

"You can ask Smith herself when she comes by tonight with him. You have a good one now, Ms. Penske." He said, leaving and shutting the door behind him as Jackie was left speechless. A noble Extraspecies was going to live here? That's crazy. The hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, sensing immediate danger with her host instincts before she whipped around, seeing everyone eagerly staring and grinning, having heard everything.

"Good blood means more tasty meat," Jaska nodded in approval.

"Now I'm even more excited to see the newcomer." Kroc very eagerly grinned, "Extraspecies nobles know how to fight very well. And I've never faced a veil."

"But wouldn't 'noble' mean incest and inbreed? That wouldn't be healthy for a snack" Sabre jumped on the rafter when she noticed Kroc's proximity, it had been practically an automatic reaction.

"Not for Extraspecies, sheela." Kroc answered, glancing away as he did so, "blood goes on a fairly even if it mates outside of it and it's related to the post, so they get strong over time."

"Hmph. Royalty now? I don't think it's royal, those are too rare, so maybe just some noble. Curious thing anyways." Dumisa miffed, slithering past everyone and being the first to settle in the living room, "now this is something I certainly need to see with my own two eyes; after all, he or she won't last long among us." Dumisa viciously grinned, quite eager now himself. "And no matter the blood or the veil, it will easily succumb to my poison."

"Forget it, snake. If you bite this fish, the meat will go bad," Kroc deeply laughed.

"Fish is tasty, I can eat some," Eztli joined with a happy and eager grin.

"Been long since I ate fish, host's meals need variety," Jaska yawned and accommodated himself over the couch.

"But not many aquatic Extraspecies are big enough, so we'll end up with a small slice," Sabre puffed and crouched in her post.

"But we all get to share," Eztli happily purred and found a spot to lay down.

Kroc looked up at Sabre perched above and at how all cats were already accommodating for the wait. If he went away he might lose the chance to get this prey first. So he leaned against the wall. "First one to get it decides how to part the pieces"

"Very well, although if I do, I'll engulf it completely," Dumisa chuckled.

"You're all just going to uh, wait for the new charge?" Jackie asked, shocked that all of them showed a deep interest in the new comer. It was both nice and unsettling; nice that they're eager to meet a new charge and unsettling that they're eager to meet a new charge and wanted to eat it. This was a side she had not seen in her predators. "Y-You guys aren't serious about eating the new charge, r-r-right?" Jackie asked, her face paling.

Jaska, Dumisa and Kroc looked at each other, then at the host, judging her sincerity in asking such a thing before they all laughed aloud. The response only made Jackie worry more.

"Why wouldn't we? We are predators," Dumisa slithered around towards the sofa.

"Extraspecies prey are still prey, sheela," Kroc shrugged.

"Before program come along, it normal to hunt Extraspecies prey like other," Jaska shrugged with a dark smirk. "Although less common, it still happen often outside program."

Jackie's jaw fell, shocked and deeply disturbed at how nonchalantly they thought about this. Those other prey Extraspecies were still sentient a-and people too-! But then again, their definitions of that are different from humans. Her head spun with the inner dilemma of what was an animal and what was not while the Extraspecies laughed at Jackie trying to grasp at their logic through her human mind.

Sabre jumped down to the rafters to get Antain and put a bib on him before she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Don't think too hard on it host. Human logic or morals don't apply." She purred, flicking on the channel and changing it to a channel specifically for cooking and preparing fish meals.

"B-Bu-But," Jackie stammered out, feeling her vision becoming blurry as she thought very, very deeply around her own existence and the concept of how a chicken Extraspecies probably tasted like any other chicken, but were simply more sentient, had their own culture and how it all fit into the Extraspecies societies, which didn't made them less of a chicken regardless. She never thought of this strange paradox of animals having sentient thought and order, and yet these Extraspecies were just so wild it might be like that.

Dumisa extended his tail and coiled it around Jackie's wrist, "Just come here to watch TV host; numb that overthink brain of yours." He guided her to the couch to sit down.

"B-But … the chicken … the chicken would taste like a chicken?" She asked, holding her own head as she heavily sat down, trying to pull her thoughts out of the dilemma she now faced but it was now all she could think about.

"Humans also prey on humans, which is worse, no?" Eztli vaguely mentioned with a raised eyebrow and slight smirk, finding the host in such a state to be amusing and fun.

"Yes, but most humans exploit other humans instead of merely ending the suffering of their prey," Sabre vaguely answered."Most humans don't even want to acknowledge the mercy of death even though the option is a life of horrible constant suffering"

"No matter. Important thing now is we dine fish tonight" Jaska quickly intervened.

" … my head hurts." Jackie said, leaning forward and rubbing her temples as she desperately tried to figure out her actual, true 'placement' in the world. She was _not_ prepared to be bombarded with such deep thoughts like this that were unraveling the very core of what she believed in personally.

"Because you are not used to thinking," Sabre stretched herself on the sofa and arched her back, heat getting strong again.

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Later that afternoon after everyone had enjoyed the view of the tubes full of colorful corals and tropical fishes, all of Jackie's charges were pleasantly sitting in the living room. Eztli and Antian traveled between the fish cooking show and the live fish in the tanks, watching them with a deep fascination. The others, however, were concentrating quite a bit on how to properly prepare a fish, pointing out particularly tasty selections and daydreaming about what kind of fish it would be. Nonetheless, they were all eager to indulge themselves in the new charge.

Jackie sat uncomfortably between Dumisa and Jaska, who currently was cuddling with Sabre. Both cats were giving the host a few kicks here and there during their cuddling and weren't paying attention anymore to the TV or the famous 'fish only' cooking show program. Kroc in the meantime leaned against the wall away from everyone, stealing glances every so often at Sabre.

The doorbell rang and everyone in the living room fell silent, stopping what they were doing and looking to the door in their full attentiveness. Each and every one of their pupil's narrowed, visibly resisting the urge of running over and ripping the door right open themselves to see who their new roommate would be.

" … go get the door, sheela." Kroc said as everyone looked at the door and back to her, expecting her to go get it.

" … none of you are making a meal of whoever the new charge is, got it?" Jackie ordered, worried for the new charge's safety as she got up and headed over to the door anyway. She couldn't help but be worried for the new charge. He or she had to be aquatic with all these expensive tank systems in place and with all the predators in the house being mainly those that _eat_ fish, with Dumisa as the only exception, this new charge really was going to have a hard time.

"It'll be interesting seeing the felines serve themselves with this one." Dumisa darkly laughed, flicking his tail back and forth as he too looked at the door with a rather eager grin.

"Entertainment and seafood. Not necessarily in that order." Kroc nodded, also very eager. It had been a while since he fought a shark or any other big fish. And seeing how strong the other charges was, he was eager to fight in the water with the newcomer. Plus he needed a distraction at the moment from the consequences of him going feral. "I hope it's some kind of shark. Maybe great white, or bull. Or tigershark. All very aggressive," Kroc said, his eyes glowing with excitement.

"I want octopus, maybe squid. They tasty." Jaska said with his tail flickering, his pupils enlarging. He may be the best behaved feline out of them all but he was certainly still a feline and just as excited as the rest.

"Yeah, I figured. You all really like eating fish, after all." Jackie said, now starting to get really worried. What if Ms. Smith brought her a goldfish? She'd have to beat the cats back with more than just a broom and squirt bottle. Who was she kidding, they would toss her aside like she was nothing and have at it with the new charge.

Jackie unlocked the deadbolts and opened the door, seeing a huffy Ms. Smith pushing a wheelchair with a fairly lean looking young man covered in wet towels. In his lap was some sort of cat carrier where a portable fish tank held some fat and weird golden, red and yellow fish that looked dead. A wet, thick blanket covered his lower half that was tucked under the wheelchair but from the bright red, white and orange scales on his sleek jaws, neck and cheeks, plus black and brown stripes, the host could tell he was clearly some kind of fish. However, with the dripping wet towel draped over his head and body it was impossible to decipher what he was. The only clue was how the towels seemed to hide protubering spines of some kind.

"Here you are, Ms. Jackie." Ms. Smith said with a long huffing sigh, carting the long wheelchair inside before handing Jackie the paperwork with a smile, "I'm sure he will make a perfect edition to your home here. Are you enjoying your personal aquarium?" She asked, seeming genuine about her question; either that or genuinely apprehensive.

"Yeah. The cats seems to really like it." Jackie admitted, "but why did you bring a fish when I have a lot of cats and a crocodile?" She said as though trying to warn the new guy about it; as if he couldn't tell from them all looking over her shoulder and looking at him.

"This is Reza; his specific species will be known very soon through the household, I'm sure." Ms. Smith smiled before waving her off, "now go on; I've got many other things to do tonight. Enjoy." Ms. Smith smiled before leaving and closing the door. Jackie stared at the door before audibly gulping, looking back into the living room and seeing everyone's eyes gleaming with apparent hunger and extreme excitement at the sight of an Extraspecies of prey type. Jackie carefully stepped between them, trying to think of how to handle all of them. The silent standoff continued until Eztli burst into the air happily.

"Bienvenido!" Eztli happily exclaimed and activated a party popper to happily' welcome the new guy; which would have been a nice gesture if his fangs weren't showing off alongside his hungry expression, his tongue lolling out and his posture looking ready to pounce.

"Would you like to be roasted, boiled, or eaten raw? I've never eaten an Extraspecies, but a fish would do." Sabre happily chirped and Antain, sporting a cute little kitty fox bib, nodded behind her legs while looking at the new guy. His ears were down, however, gripping his mama's legs rather nervously.

"Sabre!" Jackie snapped in annoyance. She understood the Extraspecies wanting to exert dominance but that was just purposefully rude! That and they were really starting to freak her out.

"So long since ate wild fish and this one big enough for all of us," Jaska chuckled with a deep growl of anticipation.

"You said so, bro. I don't mind sharing this prey." Eztli was eagerly swinging his tail. He looked far more eager than the other; in fact, he seemed awfully serious to do it. The jaguar was eager to show everyone he was certainly a mighty predator like they were, especially to Dumisa.

"Or perhaps you would prefer to be swallowed in one gulp, or rather, be suffocated?" Dumisa purred, raising an eyebrow and evilly grinning.

"Hmph … was hoping for something tougher." Kroc sighed, not wanting to be left out of the group before they gave him an odd look at his comment. "I could use his bones as toothpicks, though."

"Only if we skin and shred him first," Eztli suggested. It seemed as if for some reason he had experience on that.

Everyone started approaching and circling Jackie and the newcomer while the host glared at them, trying to make them keep their distance. Reza's smile remained as his fishy gaze traveled slowly around the room, holding the same at ease grin before letting out the faintest, haughty laugh through his nose. He tipped his head back, capturing Jackie's gaze.

"I'm going to be a bother now, Ms. Host. Cart me to my room; my scales are beginning to dry." He said, smiling at her rather gently without the slightest bit of fear in his eyes.

"Yeah, good idea. Hey, guys, stop crowding him." Jackie said, pushing Reza through the happy shuffling crowd as they closely followed behind, looking ready to pounce on him at any second. Jackie picked up her pace a little bit, pushing Reza into his room with the others close behind.

"Push me a small ways into the water, my newest host." He said as his fin-like ear flickered in the air, testing the humidity in the room as the damp towel slid off his head a bit to reveal rich white hair with many black and reddish, orangish and yellowish strands, and some of the strands ribbed down into different colors. His hair style was shorter on one side and longer on the other, framing his face at one side quite well. He also looked to be about the same age as everyone else in the room.

Eztli and Kroc crawled into the shallow water, staring at him from either side as if getting ready for a race. The fish Extraspecies glanced back at them with a cool glance before a vicious smirk pulled up his lips, eyes widening with excitement as well.

"Hey, hey get-!" Jackie started before Reza literally jumped out of the wheelchair, flying a small ways forward and diving into the water. The moment he slapped against the surface, Kroc and Eztli lunged for him right past Jackie. Reza's toothy grin grew wider as he shot into the deep, crystal clear water and freely explored his new enclosure while Eztli stumbled back, clutching his head after ramming into Kroc's thick skull. The saltwater crocodile shot into the water with his powerful tail pumping, heading right for Reza.

Jackie gasped in shock, startled at Kroc's sudden burst of aggression before the others began taking bets on how long the new charge would last.

"I think Kroc is for real," Sabre referred, crouching a bit and nervously frowning. Her hand brushed the back of her neck, remembering quite clearly Kroc going feral. "Anyone wants to bet?"

"Kroc for sure." Jaska nodded with a toothy grin.

"Hm~ the fish is surprisingly fast … I place my bets on the fish." Dumisa said, surprising the others.

"He may be fast, but Kroc can be relentless and too strong," Sabre laughed, glancing into the waters. She couldn't help but have a sneaking suspicion that the fish was hiding something, but whatever it was, she was sure Kroc could handle it.

"I bet on _me_!" Eztli roared and jumped into the water, splashing around the shallow outskirts of the pool and trying to follow them around in the water.

"You would be surprised at how often speed beats brute strength." Dumisa smirked."Plus, a noble has a veil that can be felt. It would be interesting to see what it does."

Jackie deeply frowned, disappointed by their stupid bets as she paced the edge of the tank, watching Reza swimming circles around Kroc. He was indeed quite fast to be able to outmaneuver Kroc in the water.

Everyone leaned over the ledge, watching as Reza shot by Kroc. His head whipped around, biting the container Reza was holding and cracked it open with a loud crunch that everyone heard. While the crocodile continued chasing the new charge, the large bellied and big fish floated belly up towards the surface, floating lifelessly along the subtle ripples of movement beneath the surface.

Everyone's eyes glanced at the fish, distracted as they watched the fight but found the bulbous large stomached fish oddly attention grabbing.

"What is that thing? Looks like a balloon ready to explode. Is it even alive or was it a snack for the fish guy?" Sabre smirked as Eztli waded out towards the fish, curiously poking it with his claw. Without warning the fish began to wiggle, startling Eztli as he leapt back, his fur raised up high. The suddenly resuscitated fish wiggled it's too tiny fins, moving in exaggerated pumps of it's tail as it swam upside down towards the shallow pool beside them all. While bumping its head a lot against the shallow ridges, it swim into the little section before coming to a stop, it's mouth gasping for water as it's bulbous belly raised slightly up and own with its breathing, which in itself appeared labored. The strange fatness of the fish took the attention off of the fight as the felines, Dumisa, and the host tried to figure out what kind of fish it was.

" … how is that fat, ugly, bulbous thing alive? Kroc crushed the container." Dumisa said, raising himself over the water and poking at the fish's belly. Its fins slowly sprang to life, swimming around and around in panicked circles. He sneered, staring at its gelatinous rounded body that was clearly brought on by extreme gluttony. "Disgusting … it must have slipped out when Kroc bit it."

"I've never seen a fish like this … is it normal for it to swim this way?" Eztli poked it and it once more swam in circles but in the opposite direction before Eztli approached it with his jaws open to take a bite out of it and test it.

"Not eat. Strange fish looks fat and unhealthy. It floats like dead, maybe it sick?" Jaska noted, not really willing to eat the sick, fat and weird looking fish.

"Is it a carp, maybe?" Jackie asked, glancing between the fish and the fight, honestly very perplexed as well.

"That's salt water, so it can't be a carp." Sabre shook her head.

Unnoticed by the crowd, the cat and mouse game was growing more dangerous. No matter how fast Kroc tried to maneuver through the water the fish was 3 pumps of his tail ahead of him, anticipating his movements quite easily. In his annoyance, Kroc's hand shot out and grabbed the towel still tied around Reza's waist before Reza's brilliant array of red, orange, yellow and white colors and stripes flashed under the water and showed the fan-like fins and spines and tall, banded spines on his dorsal fin just before Kroc bit down.

Moment's later Kroc barged out of the water, nearly barreling Jaska over before he just barely dodged the oncoming crocodile. Kroc collapsed onto his knees, gripping his mouth and hissing in agony while coughing and sputtering from his lightly bleeding mouth. Everyone watched, dumbfounded and frozen as Kroc grasped his mouth, the weird fish all but forgotten.

"F*** me dead, that blimey f***er! STREWTH!" Kroc screamed a string of nonsensical profanity closer to his Australian tongue as he writhed in agony, shouting and cursing as he rolled around, clearly in severe pain that no one could make sense of. "That bloody f***wit, that blind mullet-! That f***ing bugger, bugger me, with that sips***-!" Kroc screamed, shocking everyone into silence at hearing such profanities being spout off by the saltwater crocodile.

"Kroc?" Jackie asked, stepping towards him but he violently hissed, sweeping his tail back and forth dangerously in warning. Jackie retreated as did everyone else, especially Sabre whom grabbed Antian and retreated as far away as she could in the room, keeping their distance from the distressed crocodile as he shakily stood up.

Kroc breathed hard and fast, tears streaming from his eyes because of either the bleeding or something else, no one knew. Without a word Kroc staggered for the doors, deeply hissing and angrily as he assumingly headed to his room to work off his sudden aggression. They all stared at him in confusion, dumbfounded that the fish brought Kroc to howl in such pain before looking back into the water and seeing him watching them all from the safety of the water, his eyes just barely over the water's surface to see who dared to stupidly enter his domain next. When no one moved still, Reza raised himself up a little bit and deeply smiled rather threateningly.

"Would anyone else fancy a try?" He challenged with a raised eyebrow and smirk. "I dont need to show my heritage. My poison is enough, isn't it?"

"What did you do to Kroc?!" Sabre demanded rather angrily; however scared she was at Kroc at the moment, she was also concerned for the big guy.

"Only something a predator would to another who's after it." Reza answered as he leaned back, showing off his brilliantly beautiful scales and long pectoral fins that fanned out. "Don't you know that some fish have developed quite effective defenses against predators larger than themselves?"

Although the others glared at Reza they were now hesitant to go headlong into the water. Jackie stared at his colorful array, noticing that the stripes on Reza's scales looked strangely familiar to the host. She looked back out into the hallway, hearing Kroc's agonized hissing before she went to go double check something in the Extraspecies' papers.

Jackie quickly slipped into the kitchen, shuffling through the paperwork before seeing in large printed letters ' _Pterois volitans'_ and above that, 'Red Lionfish'. Jackie's heart nearly stopped, suddenly feeling very apprehensive. A lionfish?! Those things are very venomous! _That's_ why Kroc was screaming so much! A small note fell, catching Jackie's attention as she glanced over the heading from Ms. Smith;

' _The antivenom for Reza is inside of the regular medical pack in the kitchen and clearly labeled. When Kroc is stung, inject him through his mouth with his tongue so the anti venom spreads more quickly. There are plenty for everyone. Good luck!'_

Jackie dropped the note and papers, immediately ripping out the large med pack and shifting through it before finding a new, bright red cloth case labeled 'Lionfish Pack' where she found a long steel rod with a dart in the end. The host frowned, glaring at the long rod already loaded up with antivenom. Ms. Smith must have known Kroc would have gone right for Reza since they're both mostly aquatic and because he loved to fight newcomers, if possible. As an afterthought, Jackie stopped for a mild moment at the realization of just how much Ms. Smith liked cats. "And she _did_ give me another cat in a way. A _lion_ fish."

Jackie paused, hearing a scuffle in the hallway and looked up to see Sabre, Jaska and Antain looking up at the gracefully swimming Reza through the tubes. Their slitted eyes never left him for an instant as they shuffled along with him, moving back and forth while Reza watched them with amusement at their dedicated following before swimming off in the tube. Jackie stared at the cats, darting her eyes around for the black jaguar.

… where is Eztli?

"Hey guys, where-," she started before just about having a heart attack. In swam Eztli using a combination of swimming and crawling to go after the large fish, using the air pockets every five feet, or rather 1.5 meters, away to keep his breath before continuing the chase.

"EZTLI?!" Jackie shouted, shocked as he vanished around the corner. Jackie watched the cats enter the dead end large closet room where the tube led to. Immediately knowing where they would come out of, Jackie hurried to Reza's room just in time to see Reza falling from the small waterfall where the tube led into the water, only for Eztli to come sliding out himself right after him.

"Eztli, get out of the water! He's venomous!" Jackie shouted, seeing Eztli pop out of the water and start swimming around, looking down into the water and following Reza as he swam freely along the bottom of the rather large pool.

"Heh, so he's venomous, hm? I've never heard of a venomous fish before," Dumisa said with a raised eyebrow, now taking an interest in the fish himself.

"That why crocodile screamed," Jaska confirmed what was already established.

"Yes! None of you get into the water, at all! _And Reza_!" Jackie shouted, looking back into the water and glaring at his swimming figure and making eye contact him. As if knowing he was being called up, he swam up to the side of the pool and with a powerful pump of his tail and slid onto the ground on his belly right up in front of the host. Before the cats could seize their chance, his fins flared brilliantly, trapping the host and preventing the felines and lazy snake from getting any closer. He leaned upwards, tilting his head with a playful smile on his face.

"You called, new host?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, drifting the spines of his deadly venomous tips towards her but Jackie stood her ground, glaring at him.

"Do not purposefully poison someone, Reza. It's rude." She growled, seeing his eyes glimmer with amusement.

"Rude or not, I was only defending myself." He said sliding his gaze over to the felines and snake, "shouldn't you be giving the crocodile the antidote? An Extraspecies' venom works faster and is stronger than our fish counterparts." He smirked, sliding back into the water rather dangerously and underneath of Eztli.

Jackie watched, shivering in fright for the jaguar as the tip of Reza's spine nearly skimmed over Eztli's belly but the lionfish Extraspecies dipped down, deciding to prolong the game a little longer as Eztli stupidly twisted to dive after him. Jackie groaned and rubbed her face, trying to calm herself, "would someone _please_ get Eztli out of there?!"

Jackie clicked her teeth together, deciding to deal with him after she's taken care of Kroc. She turned away, quickly slipping into Kroc's room and finding him angrily hissing at glaring at the wall with his mouth wide open, his tongue swelling up rather large.

"Kroc." Jackie called, seeing his slit eyes turn and glare at her rather viciously. The sight of the almost murderous gaze sent shivers down her spine as she circled around him, keeping the rod in side. "Kroc, relax. I've got the antidote and I need to inject it through your tongue, alright?" She said, walking right up to him.

He tried to speak, clearly pissed off but his words came out garbled and she couldn't make sense of them. Without resisting, however, he opened his jaws and showed just how red and horribly swollen his tongue was already, making Jackie shudder in sympathy. Jackie positioned the stick, pausing.

"Try not to bite off the top," Jackie said, poking the stick into his mouth before the vial automatically injected him with the antivenom. On instinct, as she expected, his jaws snapped shut and nearly ripped the pole from her hands. She held the pole tightly, glaring right back at Kroc's fierce glare before he exhaled a deep, menacing hiss with his slitted eyes tightening.

After a moment of glaring at her he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in before he released the now bent metal pole with teeth marks in it.

Jackie huffed and knelt by his side, gently rubbing his throat to try and ease him. "Just relax-," she started to say but Kroc snapped at the air by her, making her lightly scream in startlement before he gently but firmly pushed her away. The host lost her balance, staggering a bit before turning back to him and watched him curl up underneath the heat lamp with his eyes tightly shut, clearly feeling the effects of the venom with his head most likely spinning quite hard. Jackie let out a concerned sigh, glancing at the mangled rod, "fine, fine I get it. Rest up and feel better, alright? Come out when you're ready." Jackie said, brushing herself off before quickly heading back into Reza's room.

Jackie let out a huffing sigh as she approached the room quickly, hoping no one else got stung at all. She entered the room just as Reza smacked Eztli with his powerful tail, sending the yowling big cat out of the water and crashing into Dumisa. The fast snake dodged the indirect hit, turning and barring his fangs with a terrifying hiss towards the water. Reza swam along the surface, cool as can be and not having the slightest problem showing off his strengths to these other predators. After some staring between the two of them, Reza suddenly dove down as Dumisa struck forward, smacking into the water before rearing back and hissing angrily still at the smug fish swimming along the bottom.

"E-Eztli, are you alright?!" Jackie shouted, startled as she rushed over to him and helped the feline up.

Eztli shook himself and then rocked his body to splash water all around, getting the host wet. This time he didn't flinch at her proximity although he still looked a bit apprehensive, "the fish is fast."

Reza suddenly turned upwards, leaping out of the water and throwing something as Dumisa saw his chance and shot forward. Dumisa loudly shouted in shock, dropping a cuttlefish and shooting back with a hand over his mouth. Jackie and Eztli watched as Dumisa gagged in disgust, spitting out black ink from the undersea life he had bitten instead of Reza.

"I'm going to enjoy watching your flesh melt under my venom and rip out those clownish colorful scales!" Dumisa barely spat out amongst his cursing and coughing, retreating from the room to wash out his ink filled mouth and scales before they stained. Eztli roared with a grin but before he could do anything, Reza dipped under the water and shot into a tube leading towards the living room. Eztli lunged forward, about to go after him before Jackie grabbed onto him.

"Eztli, what the hell?! Stop!" Jackie shouted as he dragged her into the shallow water too. In a sudden impulse of desperation, Jackie grabbed two fistfuls of loose skin at the back of the jaguar's neck and began petting as fast as she could, watching him stiffen up and hunch over a bit before leaning on her and purring rather mindlessly. "Stop chasing him! You're never going to catch Reza in the water like that!" She huffed, dragging him the best she could out of the water.

Eztli shook his head to clear his mind, quite surprised at the effect of her harsh grabbing of that spot behind his neck. He let out a groan, struggling between how good the petting felt and the fact that it was the hooman host grabbing him. Jackie watched, puzzled as Eztli leaned against her and very deeply purred, becoming dead weight against her as she tried to hold him up.

Eztli's pupils were dilated and his tongue lolled out, groaning sensually, "that felt good … pull harder, host," Eztli pleaded, flipping his tail around eagerly.

"It's that comforting?" Jackie asked, knowing cats stiffen up when grabbed there because there's nerves there in the loose skin; something like that, at least. But she didn't realize it felt good to them. She would have thought they'd dislike it.

Jaska came back into the room and chuckled, having seen the jaguar's reaction to having his neck grabbed onto. "She found new sweet spot, da? Now she have to use it while petting." He cheekily grinned.

"But don't _all_ cats have that?" Jackie asked curiously, staring Jaska in the eyes before looking up at his neck curiously, mildly wondering if he'd have a similar reaction.

"Da, and you will use it on me, kitty Sabre and cub during session of groom," Jaska smirked, "you now monopolized until you learn to pet spot to perfection."

"You? Why you too?" Jackie asked, trying to hold Eztli up but was quickly failing. She tried to imagine what would happen to Jaska if she did grabbed him too.

"I like petting," he merely answered with a shrug.

"Was it that good?" Sabre turned her attention off of Antain and towards Eztli. The Jaguar seemed almost ready to orgasm from pleasure by how he was puffing and rolling on his back.

Reza swam around the pool, certainly enjoying himself and the presence of the predators as he kept his eyes on them quite intently. His gaze traveled from the distracted felines over to the little fox batting at the weird fish he had been carrying in the portable fish tank with him, near the shallow little pond made specifically for it and some other tasty smaller fish.

The little fox pawed at the water, trying to grasp at the bloated large fish lethargically swimming sideways by the edge when Reza silently swam up to him, humming at him. Antain hissed and lightly pawed at his face, trying to smack him like his uncle Eztli was trying to do. Reza smirked before dipping his mouth under the water and squirting water into Antain's face, making him let out a loud whining cry before falling back, wiping off his face, startled by the sudden acute blast of water.

Sabre was there in a heartbeat, checking if Antain was hurt and ready to throw arsenic in the water if the colorful fish frightened Antain or if anything had hurt her precious pup. The little fox sniffled, clearly scared as he began to cry. He turned to her and grasped his paws towards her, sniffling and motioning for a hug which she immediately gave to her adopted kit. Her fur stood on edge and she roared toward Reza, reassuringly squishing Antain in her grasp before snarling again in Reza's direction. Her heart was pounding fast, nervous as her maternal instincts demanded she attack the one who dared make Antain cry but her logic kept her in place. There wasn't enough known about Reza for her to make an accurate assessment and plan for attack; for now, at least.

"Isn't that cub strange looking? Does he look like the father instead?" Reza curiously asked, noticing how different the cub looked from it's mother and then ducked under the water before Sabre could tear his face off, swimming just out of her reach as she tried to claw at him.

"I suggest tactical retreat, da?" Jaska said calmly and rationally, glaring thoughtfully at the lionfish smugly swimming back and forth. "We form attack plan once we gather intel."

Eztli worriedly leapt next to Antain, trying to help check him over with a few calming licks before Sabre hissed at him, pushing him away a little while protectively holding the whimpering Antain.

"¿Que hice (What did I do)?" Eztli lowered his ears, sad that he hadn't helped and that he somehow had angered Sabre or scared the cub.

Sabre hissed at him again while holding Antain tighter before trotting past the both of the males and into the hallway towards her room while Jaska, Eztli and Jackie were left in the room.

"Look what you did, fish!" Eztli turned with a hiss towards Reza "If you hurt Antain, we'll cut rip you apart!" He quickly left the room to retrieve the blanket for Antain, hoping to quickly make amends.

"Weak and coward, attacking cub," Jaska sneered with disgust at Reza.

The lionfish Extraspecies's fin ears flickered, appearing puzzled. "Attacking? I merely shot some water at him to be playful." Reza musingly smiled, seeming honest enough in his response.

"Forget it. " Jaska growled with narrowed eyes, planning to come up with a way to get around his venomous spines.

"Feel free to try again whenever you please." Reza ominously grinned, slowly submerging himself and exploring his new room more.

Jackie let out a very heavy sigh, rubbing her temples as she tried to figure out what to do now. Reza's proven he is capable of handling himself but she's pretty sure that won't deter anyone for long. Soon they would be coming back to try and eat him. But the worse part is that Reza's provoked them and she didn't think some fancy flavored meat will cut it this time around.

"You are afraid I will get eaten, host?" Reza spoke up, smirking as he swam along the shallow end, pacing back and forth while looking up at her.

"Yeah, I am." She admitted, staring at the sharp points at the ends of his fins wearily. "And you shouldn't antagonize them like that. You're just encouraging them to attack you." Jackie nagged, genuinely worried about him.

"Let them attack, I can handle any predator. Did I not already take down the biggest alpha here?" Reza leaned on the edge of the pool, "are you afraid of me now, host? Other hosts became frightened rather easily." He eagerly smirked, laughing to himself.

"Not really, more so concerned for how the others are going to take this loss." Jackie heavily sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to think of a way to get out of this.

"Hmmm~ yes, well, predators simply _hate_ to lose, you know." He playfully smiled, sliding a small ways into the shallow end. He laid down, the picture of ease as his fingers slid together, forming a small place for his chin to rest while he looked up at her, seeming rather amused. "Tell me about yourself, my new host." He requested, throwing her off guard. He had been the first person to ask that.

"Me?" She asked, startled.

"Hmm~ dull witted like the others, I see," he wryly smiled, "tell me, host, what makes you different from the other humans?" He playfully questioned, lightly flipping his tail back and forth as he patiently waited.

"Oh … well, I'm a car mechanic by trade up until taking Extraspecies in with the program."

"Why? Why did you choose to become a host?" He asked.

"Well, I thought it would be fun having one or two Extraspecies around and get to know them better." Jackie shrugged before looking towards the hallway, "I had no idea I would get this many, to be honest." She heavily sighed, clearly haggard.

"So you desired exotic pets? That was your drive?" He curiously smiled. "Quite too many humans think of extraspecies as such"

"Well, I didn't drive to this myself. Smith came and made the offer herself so I thought it would be fine." Jackie explained. She supposed that she did accept everything that came her way a little too easily but Jackie had to admit that it's been a blast taking care of them all and teaching them about humans.

"Oh? Smith did? Finally something different than my past host," Reza noted, "and why was I sent to you?" Reza smirked. He assumed it was because no one else who had even heard of his reputation would want him, especially after he had terrorized every single other Extraspecies he had been with in the program, including the sharks. Maybe that was why he was sent to a place with non-aquatic folk.

"I have no idea. I walked in from vacation with the others and saw the tanks everywhere. I had no idea I would be getting a fish Extraspecies." She sighed, "I'm just worried you'll get eaten." She readily admitted, walking over to him and sitting by the edge while casually putting her feel into the water.

"Worry not, their jaws can't get past my spines and fins, but they are welcome to try" Reza smiled

"Now you just sound like you want to start trouble." The host sighed, "is there any predator Extraspecies that don't like to fight the newcomer right off the bat?" Jackie asked, her annoyance peeking through as she stared at his exotic body. She had to admit he was a very beautiful male Extraspecies. Even more so than Dumisa; that, however, will never reach his ears.

"I don't start trouble but I end it," he looked at her, "it's the predator's way, in land, sky or water." He then tilted his head, "however, the situation with that cub is something new. I have never with in a place where there was such a young thing."

"Yeah, and everyone is protective of him. Antain is the name of the little fox," Jackie clarified.

"Fox? Isn't he a cat like his mother?" Reza considered it, he actually couldn't distinguish well between predatory mammal Extraspecies. They all looked furry and with claws in his opinion while aquatic Extraspecies had a whole slew of different species that were easily identifiable.

"No, he was adopted by Sabre. It's complicated," Jackie shrugged.

"Adopted? A cub of another species? That's weird." He crossed his arms at the strange thought. "And why would the other be protective of that cub that is not of their species or their child?"

"Antain is adorable and very cute." Jackie simply answered, "he's part of the family here in the household." Jackie grinned.

"Family? So these land predators and crocodile have agreed to share the territory? Mmhhh … you said 'household'. How do you fit here, then? I wonder why would they merely accept you," Reza asked with confusion.

"I'm the human host overseeing them and making sure they're comfortable." Jackie shrugged rather nonchalantly.

"And how do you achieve that?" Reza smirked

"Well, mostly through feeding them, cleaning up and grooming them all when they want or need it." Jackie said, "Oh, and petting, they love that. So is there anything that you need here?"

"I would like a new set of knives. My current one is quite beaten" Reza vaguely mentioned already suspecting her negative denial.

"Yeah, sure. I'll look up some places around here that would sell that and we can go together; it would be good for you, and everyone else, to go too," Jackie mused, tapping her chin, "actually, if I asked Ms. Smith I'm sure she'd know a good mall that allows Extraspecies somewhere around here." Jackie noted, thinking to herself now how she was going to get everyone there without anything short of a large refurbished bus.

Reza nodded, slightly surprised at her response

"But … what do you want knives for?" Jackie asked "And maybe you should try to get along with the others in exchange, how about that?" Jackie grinned, thinking a reward system might work.

"Maybe … you'll see tomorrow, host," Reza then sunk into his pool to go explore the tubes.

Jackie grinned, drying off her feet before trotting into the hallway with plans to call Ms. Smith and arrange the little field trip quickly. Jackie paused by Sabre's downed ladder, looking up into her room with a frown. Reza really freaked her out by making Antain cry. It was probably best that she went up there and checked on her; but mostly to make sure she wasn't scheming to murder Reza at some point.

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Back up in her room Sabre was busy licking off Antain's face and head from the salty water that had gotten on his fur. His happy purring made her relieved, happy he wasn't crying anymore. At this point the cub was already sleeping at her side so she stopped to look around at her room, which she hadn't really gotten much of a chance to explore since the remodeling was made. She sighed, exhausted, and curled into the hammock ready to take a nap. She was tired from all that had happened but at least her heat, although strong, was not as desperate; possibly due to all the excitement and fear in the last few days.

"Hey, Sabre?" Jackie called as she peeked up through the ceiling door, seeing her Sabre laying in her low hammock that hung right in the middle of the room from the tree branches, her tail lazily dropping at the edge of it. Jackie frowned, seeing her curled into a tight ball, "Sabre, are you alright?" Jackie asked as she crawled inside and walked over to Sabre, walking slowly and loudly so the clouded leopard knew exactly where she was. With everything that's happened so far the host hadn't had the time to check in on Sabre.

"I guess I'm alive, aren't I?" Sabre didn't bother looking towards Jackie but she couldn't just relax completely either at the moment.

"How's your neck?" Jackie asked, approaching her and very carefully and gently pet her side, looking at the back of her bandaged neck, "does it still hurt? Do you want some pain medicine?"

"Still hurts a bit but I can take it" Sabre didn't reject the petting, in fact she turned slightly sideways to allow more of it. "Hey … is Kroc better from the poisoning?" Sabre then forced a strained chuckle, "Smith had fun sending a poisonous fish, didn't she?"

"He's stopped cursing and shouting, so I would assume so." Jackie said with a frown, "I don't want to bother him since he's not feeling well." She admitted with a worried frown.

"He'll be fine. He's a strong guy and you gave him the antidote, so he'll be fine"- Sabre looked away. "Why Are you here? To give me one of those 5 belly rubs you own me?"

"If that's what you want." Jackie said, walking around to the other side and pressing her hands against her belly and side, "You want to?" Jackie asked, petting away at her very soft and somehow fluffier fur anyway.

"Sure, it would be a good time, just let me put Antain on the den," Sabre got up with a little pained groan and then carefully grabbed the sleeping cub before setting him in the den at the base of the big tree in the room before going back to her hammock and resuming her position, "wouldn't like to wake him now that he calmed down," Sabre pressed her cheek against Jackie and rubbed once before laying down and preparing herself for the petting. For a second her ears perked. "By the way host, Dumisa knows about Antain's secret."

"Secret?" Jackie questioned, pausing before her eyes popped open, "wh-what?! How?" She asked, startled.

"It happened accidentally at the beach when I was away for a few moments and Antain ran to him." Sabre looked up to the trees fake foliage that formed rafters and catwalks "Dumisa hid him in his coils, so no one else saw it."

Jackie let out a relieved breath, "well that's good, at least. And I doubt he'd tell anyone anyway." The host optimistically smiled as her fingers brushed through Sabre's fur, pausing as she rubbed a little more and made the feline groan. The fur, for some reason, felt thicker and fuller than usual, perhaps it even looked a bit lighter in tone. Or maybe it was just Jackie's imagination. Regardless, she continued to pet away at the young woman.

Sabre let out a new groan. "That feels nice." She stretched a bit and pulled herself on Jackie's lap, letting out a little growl when she tried resting the back on her neck over the host's lap, instead turning around. "At least I'm getting a little break from the heat, no? It will get bad again later though."

"Jeez … are heats really that strong?" Jackie asked, dragging her fingers down Sabre's spine and making her let out a groaning purr as she curled with it, raising her rump as Jackie scratched at the base of her spine.

"Yes. It clouds practically everything else, but mine is even stronger than it should because I lost my mate and because I'm a house full of alpha males," Sabre stretched her claws on the fabric of the hammock and knitted, "not sure if that's all or if there are more reasons." She rolled and sat sprawled on Jackie's lap as she began purring.

"Well, whatever it is, it's weird." Jackie said, pulling on her ear and pinching it as her hand trembled, remembering everything in her room that she had to clean; and her room was _still_ not exactly hospitable enough to live in. "Next time go to Jaska's or your room. No more my room." Jackie growled in annoyance, pulling on her ear. -

"Tell me about it," Sabre began rubbing herself on Jackie and leaving a lot of cat hair all over the host. "No promises. I'm not sure we'll be able to hold on enough to go to his room," then her ears fell and she looked away, "don't worry host, once the heat is over we'll both will probably go back to being aloof towards the other," she then perked for a second "but ... if I do get, you know ... have cubs … I think I'll Leave them with him if he wants them."

Jackie nearly hacked up a lung in coughing, shocked as her eyes grew very wide. "C-Cubs?!" She said, "have you not been wearing protection!?"

Sabre's ears were flat against her head as she decided to lay limp over the host like a rag "You think we did that first time when he" She gulped "D*** heat is so strong we can't even think about protection. It happened with Aleksei too, the pull is so strong that you can't think of anything else" She then pawed at the air "Besides, it's not as if you can go to a drugstore to get condoms made for specific Extraspecies"- She then gave low growl. -" I don't want , I'm not sure if its a good idea. Im full with Antain, but I know there are few bastet and Jaska might want to keep them if it comes to that."

"You don't want them?" Jackie asked, surprised.

Sabre hugged the host. -"I don't think I can handle that. I'm scared host. I have no idea what's going on anymore."

Jackie's gaze softened as she softly pet her head. "You would make a great mother, Sabre. And you wouldn't be alone. I would be happy to help when I can." Jackie cheerfully grinned, leaning down and kissing her forehead, "so don't freak out about it."

"How can I not freak out? I can't even control instincts on many circumstances" she hugged Jackie "See what happened with Kroc. I know it wasn't his intention, but I can't control my reactions to him after what happened"

"Well, cats are known to have one of the strongest maternal instincts in the animal kingdom. " Jackie helpfully noted, "I'm sure you'd do great."

"Cats are also known to abandon their cubs" Sabre swallowed. She had indeed tried that with huffed and pulled away from the hug to lay down back again."And if I do have them I certainly not going to have them in this country"

Sabre suddenly snapped to attention, her ears alert and attentive towards the entrance to the attic. Jackie paused, listening as well and hearing wood creaking before the door lifted, revealing Kroc. He paused, seeing both Sheela's in Sabre's room cuddled together. Kroc stared at them rather openly, seeming hesitant before ducking back down and closing the door.

Sabre jumped away from Jackie and in two strides made it to the entrance. She pulled back the lid to close it and then set the lock on it's side. Then she retreated back to the hammock with her tail tense up high and her fur quite sponged and looking even fluffier than normally.

"Sabre, why did you lock the door?" Jackie asked, confused.

"Because I don't want anyone interrupting when you're giving me my belly rubs", however her posture and her edgy fur denoted that she was distressed.

The lock budged a bit before the wood splintered, making Jackie jump and Sabre rolled to get in a defensive hissing position as Kroc lifted up the door without the slightest problem. Not noticing that the trap door was locked in the first place, Kroc entered the room, the floorboards creaking under his weight as he held a metal dented bowl with badly chopped up meat which were horribly over seasoned and drowning in the spices. Kroc stayed silent, rubbing the back of his neck a bit and looked away, clearly embarrassed.

Sabre sniffed the air, smelling the suffocated meat in seasoning, her ears perking but then she lowered her ears and hissed but Kroc did not move at all. Sabre took a step back and then one forward to remain in site. "Go away, Kroc. I can't control my instincts at the moment." She growled and move from left to right, her pupil mere slits.

" … sorry, Sheela." He said, his face turning a reddish purple with his deep flushing face, his pupils wide and clearly apologetic.

"What for?" Sabre keep on moving left to right, her tail sawying as as she eyed what her instincts detected as intruder but her mind wanted to think at the very least as a friend if not more.

"For frightening you." He said, turning his gaze towards her, "but why did you come towards me while I was feral, Sheela? It could have been a lot worse." He said, clearly pained in his eyes for hurting Sabre.

"It wasn't your fault." She struck her claws on the wooden floor to try and control her pacing, "I can't control this… so please go" - She tried dropping herself on the floor, her back was arched and her claws extended. "I'm serious Kroc, the one about to go feral is me now"

"Never approach a feral Extraspecies, Sheela, no matter how well you know them." Kroc said somewhat gruffly, clearly stiff as he turned his gaze towards the ground. His grip on the metal bowl slightly shook, pressing in more dents into the bowl but neither girl dared to point it out.

"I merely trusted you completely Kroc, I know it wasn't your intention, you were actually trying to protect the host and me." She growled and scratched the floor, her claws leaving deep marks. "You reacted to the host's screaming. But really, go away, please." Sabre asked, seeing Kroc standing there still and unmoving. Sabre hissed angry at him not heeding her warning. She needed to get him away before anything happened. "What if I scream and you go feral here? You'll kill us easily." Sabre jumped sideways to stand in front of her tree where Antain was sleeping and she roared a new and last warning.

"H-Hey, Sabre, calm down, he would never do that," Jackie defended with a frown, "you're being unreasonable, he's just trying to apologize for biting you."

"It's fine, Sheela. She's right; I'm dangerous when I am feral." Kroc stated in a rather empty voice, "can't tell a friend from foe when I'm like that." He said, turning his gaze to the ground but staying where he was, clearly not wanting to leave until the matters were settled. He liked Sabre, as he did everyone else. He knew he gave them all a scare and wanted to make up for it, especially Sabre who was actually hurt. He felt really bad about it, more so about damaging this friendship.

"Then why are you still standing here?" Sabre hissed again, all her fur raised and the swiped at the air in his direction. She knew he was not afraid at all but she needed to get him away or the one going feral would be her. Kroc was cornering her here with her cub and even the host, that wasn't good.

"Hey, Kroc, give her some room." Jackie said, seeing just how dangerous distressed Sabre was. The host gently grabbed his arm, tugging him back a little bit but he did not budge. He instead turned his gaze to the host, leaning down and looking her over. "W-What is it?"

"I hurt you too, didn't I? After you gave me the antivenom." He said, his eyes softening to a degree she had never seen before.

"W-Well yeah, no, actually, I wasn't hurt." Jackie said, hesitating before reaching up and firmly rubbing his neck.

Kroc remained silent for some time, his claws trembling as he appeared genuinely frightened. Jackie could only stare, perplexed as to what could possibly be frightening the large saltwater crocodile. Without warning Kroc whipped his large arms around her, pulling her into a very gentle yet firm hug as he shook, almost as if he was on the verge of losing it again.

"Get away from her Kroc!" Sabre almost jumped forward. "You almost killed her and if you don't go away now i'm gonna attack and you'll most likely kill us both"

"I'm sorry … ," he breathed, pressing his metal jaw against her back to hug her closer, "I'm sorry, mum." He breathed out a very slight hiss, hugging her firmly. Jackie remained silent, glancing up at him in concern.

"Kroc … Kroc, are you alright?" She asked, reaching up and rubbing his neck but he seems to be in a different world, one that was frightening him to the point his breath began to pick up in pace.

Sabre roared, but with Jackie in such proximity she couldn't risk attacking and all her instincts told her that.

Kroc sucked in a very deeply breath and closed his eyes, leaning back before heavily sitting onto the ground and cradling Jackie in his arms. He firmly squeezed her, nearly making the host squeak as Kroc's eyes cracked open. "Please … just a little longer. I want to hold you a little longer, Sheela." He pleaded, hugging her a little more tightly.

Sabre tilted her head and flickered her ears noticing there was something's wrong with his trembling voice. Something fragile and full of sad emotion instead not anger. "...Kroc? Why are you hugging the host?" Sabre gulped and took one small and low step forward in all fours. "Are you alright?"

"Because Jackie reminds me of my mother before she passed away in my arms." He said with a slightly haggard hiss, sounding quite emotional.

"Kroc … ," Jackie gently said, startled by the strange confession before she hugged him back, rubbing the sides of his neck to try and soothe him. "It's alright, Kroc. You can, uh, hold me for as long as you'd like, alright?" Jackie said, trying to settle in and get more comfortable despite his hard scales poking her.

"That's is not true, Kroc. You told me Ale killed her," Sabre stopped her step and either move forwards not backwards.

"I wanted to believe that so desperately, Sheela." He said as his thick tail curled around his legs, almost like Antain does when he needs comfort or was scared, "Ale was away when she died. The last thing I remember when I awoke from being feral was her bloody body before me." He admitted, trembling even more as he hooked his jaw against Jackie's back, holding her close as his thick neck and chest vibrated deeply, appearing to be trying to comfort himself more.

Sabre gulped down "So you killed her when going feral and blamed Ale" She suddenly felt very hurt, her anxiety beginning to get replaced by hurt, "and then you lied to me."

"I thought the more I said it, the more I would believe it myself, Sheela. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I didn't mean to; I only wanted her to leave that b****** Ale." Kroc hissed, choking off slightly into a croaking sound deep in his throat, repeating the sound while holding Jackie closer.

"I believed you. I helped you… I wanted to help you" Sabre sniffed and crouched, her will to fight suddenly depleted. She had trusted Kroc completely, had believed his words about his past and his intentions. She had rescued him from Ale and endangered herself for it. How could she trust anyone anymore after this? "How could I trust you … ," she looked away, but her ears remained perked listening to the sound crocodiles and alligators used to call for their mothers, that was something that teared into her for how real it was.

"I didn't want it to be true, Sheela. I tried to convince myself for years … _years_ that it was Ale who killed her, who pushed her to the edge but it was really me who did it. He abused her for years, hardly tolerating my existence, and hurt her … I tried to make her run away with me but she refused, pushing me away," he continued, forcing himself as he craned his head back a bit as his throat undulated with each inner croak he made, clearly trying to repress it but failing, "but then I 'woke up' … and Ale found me-,"

"Enough!" Sabre roared and represent all hesitation. She strode forward and came where he was sitting. She slapped his tail and then she hugged him tightly, licking off those crocodile tears and nuzzling against him. Purring softly and doing her best to calm him down.

Kroc turned towards her a bit, otherwise holding still as he continued to repeatedly make the low pitched croaking calls that would never be answered. Jackie continued to rub his neck, trying to shower him in affection at the heart wrenching story. She had absolutely no idea something like that happened to Kroc.

Kroc grabbed Sabre into a hug too alongside Jackie while the girls continued cuddling with him for a while until he finally calmed down and stopped the croakings when a little ball of red fur latched to his face and closed over his jaw. Antain had attacked and caught a big prey.

Jackie continued to pet him as Kroc simply stayed where he was, basking in the warmth of the three warm blooded creatures surrounding him. He happily hugged them back, being very cautious as to not hurt them.

Sabre pulled Antain down and then she gave Kroc a kiss on the cheek before immediately afterwards she bit down on Kroc's nose. "If you ever want some comfort just tell me or the host, but don't you ever lie to me again. I won't forgive you if you do understood?"

"Aye, Sheela. I won't." He heavily sighed, relaxing his grip some more and allowing the girls some much needed breathing room.

Sabre rolled to be on his chest in a slightly compromising position"I'll arrange that fight once the heat goes away." She huffed. "You better not die there. I expect you didn't lie about you wanting to live."

" … wait, die? Fight?" Jackie asked, looking up at them incredulously before darting her eyes between them, "what are you talking about?" She asked, incredibly uneasy.

"Don't worry host, some stuff just needs to be settled," Sabre rested her head over Kroc and closed her eyes ready to take a nap. "And Kroc… that was a mercy kill. Don't blame yourself too hard."

"Does not change the fact I hurt her, Sheela." Kroc said with a stiff frown, his croaking leveling out a bit and becoming more quiet. He paused, making the mistake of inhaling her scent deeply and noticing the acute change; her scent was rapidly becoming thicker, muskier and very appealing to even him. His face turned a light shade of red, trying to think how to counter this but her enticing scent continued to disperse his thoughts rather easily.

Sabre began purring and rubbing herself over Kroc's body, suddenly meowing softly and invitingly. Her tail moving up as she trailed her hands over Kroc's torso. She sniffed at him and then began licking his neck in a very slow and sensual way.

"Sabre?" Jackie questioned, confused as she stared at the feline before freezing. The enlarged pupils, the high pitched yowls, her hand sliding down to Kroc's-, "NO! SABRE! NOT HERE!" Jackie shouted, tackling Sabre right out of Kroc's arms and onto the ground as Kroc remained frozen, staring at his empty arms. With his mind a little more lucid, he glanced over to Sabre and blushed more deeply. That scent was startlingly inviting.

"You too are nice, host," she purred. Sabre wrestled playfully over the host and rubbed herself on the possible partner while her mewling became louder and needier. The clouded leopard buried her face in the host's chest, biting at Jackie's t-shirt and pulling on it to take it off while trying to remove her own clothing, both of which Jackie was equally trying to prevent.

"I heard call and smell you ready for next round, detka…" Jaska's head appeared on the entrance and then he stared at the females on the floor before noticing the blushing reptile. By his side was a big mangled bowl of meat on the floor, making him freeze as he put two and two together. The tiger let out a vicious growl and stepped into Sabre's room, emitting a roar announcing he was willing to fight Kroc for Sabre. but instead Sabre yowled in response to him and left the host there on the floor to jump at the males.

Jaska smirked smugly but his smile dropped when Sabre jumped over kroc.

Kroc perked up, equally if not more shocked that Sabre leapt into his arms, needily meowing and rubbing against him. He remained fairly frozen, slowly pulling Sabre into a tight hug as she loudly purred and wiggled in his grasp while trying to unclothe.

"Host, OUT." Jaska hissed, grabbing Jackie before almost throwing her down the pull down ladder. She stumbled and staggered, falling into the hallway with a loud thud before Jaska turned back to the confused saltwater crocodile. "Drop cat; _now_."

Kroc stared at Sabre who had the happiest kitty grin at the moment, sliding his scaly tail over the ground in warning, glancing up towards the defensive tiger. Although Kroc did not want to let Sabre go, he knew she had needs at the moment that he could not, or rather would not, provide for her. He was too emotionally distraught to concentrate on her, not to mention his fear of harming her again without meaning to. Kroc stood up, walking over to Jaska " … you have better not be using Sabre for the sheer pleasure of mating." He said before gently transferring the yowling feline into the tiger's arms, which she didn't refuse.

"Nyet. And you?" Jaska questioned, smirking when Kroc did not answer. "I thought as much," he haughtily laughed, picking Sabre up and walking away with her towards the host's room.

"You didn't have to push me like that." Jackie huffed, rubbing her head as she saw him walk past his own room. Jackie stared at him, darting her eyes down the hall and back to him. "Don't you dare-!"

"Call of the wild" He grinned, running away with Sabre quickly to use the host's clean room while Sabre mewled in clear excitement and approval, half removing her top as they got to the room. Before the host could reach them, the door was closed and an audible click before they immediately began to loudly yowl.

"OH COME ON, YOU HAVE YOUR OWN ROOMS!" Jackie loudly shouted, dragging her nails down the door as she sank to the floor. Ugh …

Note to self … _always_ lock the stupid door so a pair of needy cats can't get in!

"Host?" Reza's voice came from the living room where a large latch was opened, revealing Reza in the corner as he looked to her in confusion. "Is your room the designated mating area?"

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Peekodeemeko12: So much fun drama~ you know the drill! **10 REVIEWS** for the next chapter! It's going to be filled with even more drama than this one ;3 look forward to it! =

Chaos-dark-lord = Apologies to all our aussies fans if Kroc's language is a bit off. We did our best to research the proper damnation and insults. I hope we used them them well and if we didn't just tell us what would have been more proper. In any case, whenever Kroc appears feel free to add mental _didgeridoo_ music in the background :3

And we finally introduced the most magnanimous of characters! And no, it's not Reza, it was his companion, that weird fish whose sheer magnificence distracted everyone (think of a magikarp). Next chap will make the formal presentations ;)


	21. Chapter 21

Jackie twisted and turned on the couch, her back beginning to ache from the bad lumbar support. If this kept up then she was going to go absolutely insane between the new guy coming and not being allowed to sleep in her own bed; of the which she would soon have to burn the sheets.

Well, the good news at least was that Smith agreed on the trip for everyone to go early the next morning. After getting a headcount, however, only Dumisa, Reza and Eztli were wanting to go at all; Kroc wouldn't wake up in time for such an early morning trip and Sabre and Jaska were busy doing their own thing; yes, exactly 'that' thing in Jackie's room.

She let out a heavy sigh; at least with only the 3 of them, she can spend some time alone with them which would be good. She'd be able to get to know Reza and Eztli some more and it's been awhile since she and Dumisa talked for a bit. Her cheeks touched with a flushed pink, remembering that rather 'passionate' kiss on the ferris wheel not too long ago; it had hardly been almost 1 week since then but nothing seems to have changed. It was almost as if he was waiting for something and that unsettled her.

The host let out a big stretch, sleepily opening her eyes and freezing as green piercing orbs glared down at her right in front of her face. She held absolutely still, staring up up into the furry darkness that melted into his environment very, very easily. Silence pervaded as she waited for him to say something, anything, and before she could break the silence, Eztli spoke.

"I still don't trust you, hooman." Eztli stated in a hesitant voice, his eyes appearing much less harsh. The two of them stared at one another for a bit before Jackie's eyes drifted to the side slightly, showing her 'submission' to him.

" … okay? And?" She asked, unsure where this was going. He didn't sound upset at all; he actually sounded more confused.

"And maybe you didn't have all the fault," he hesitated somewhat, "but I'm not going to apologize."

"O-Oh … um, okay?" Jackie said, puzzled at the confrontation. So far Eztli had been pretty stand offish from her so this was certainly new and unexpected. "Um, do you need something now?" She asked, wondering why he was creepily staring at her like he was.

"No. I just wanted to say that." He then was about to leap away but thought better of it. A big predator wouldn't just go away … right? Thinking of what would Jaska, Dumisa or even Sabre would do, he dropped himself heavily over the hooman to show he wasn't afraid of her anymore. She heaved from his weight, startled as she tensed up and tried to pathetically push him off but her sleepy strength was too weak. "Now I said it, so … eeehh … brush my fur!" He demanded, sitting up as Jackie felt the weight of his crushing might pressing through her body.

" … right now?" She rasped out, gripping his hips and trying to push him off so his weight wasn't crushing her.

"You heard me, hooman!" Eztli faked confidence.

"Okay, okay! Just get off, you're crushing my abdomen!" Jackie wheezed out before he got off, crouching by her legs as she sucked in some deep breaths. "Okay … okay, but a short brushing, okay? I'm still tired," Jackie groaned, rubbing her eyes before reaching back, fumbling around in the drawer of the nightstand and taking out a soft brush.

Eztli eyed her warily, his fur getting on edge when she blindly reached with the brush towards him. For a moment his fears got more hold of him and he closed his eyes hard, waiting for a hit or some worse abuse. The mere thought of something like that and exposing himself to the human now made him lower his tail and keep it flat pressed over his rear to prevent any painful insertions; but no matter how long he waited, a hit from the host never came.

Unable to really see him, she had to rely on touch to see where he was. She shuffled closer, touching his chest gently before moving in front of him, "just relax," the host yawned, trying to brush off her sleepiness as she took the brush to his shoulder, firmly but gently running it through his fur before moving to his chest, moving with the direction of his thin fur. Her free hand moved down along his side feeling nothing but fur that was a bit coarser than it should be before she slid her hand up, expecting his chest but instead hit his knee. Puzzled, she reached back down and rubbed his side, figuring out it was his bare hip; he wasn't wearing anything at all again. "Eztli, I told you that you need to get used to having clothes on." She sighed, not angry or reprimanding but rather tired and aloof.

Eztli didn't respond. Instead he laid low, his hands covering his face. He was trying hard to calm down, but it was proving to be very hard. With his pasts so called humans, if he was to lay near them like this, it meant only bad things for him.

Jackie smoothly ran her hand over his shoulder and chest, lightly rubbing his belly as she intermingled her grooming with some petting. Since he did not trust her enough to just pet him normally, this was the best integration she could think of to make it easier on him to be closer to her.

"Relax, Eztli. If I do anything you don't like then just say something and I will stop," Jackie urged, trying to get a response out of him while she brushed down his spine and pet his side at the same time. She leaned in a little closer, knowing she was perfectly within biting distance but took the risk regardless; if grooming and petting made him more trustful then she'd do whatever it took to ease him into this whole host ordeal. "Here, lay back a bit." Jackie enticed, sliding her hand down to the base of his spine as she scratched just above his tail.

Eztli's eyes widened for a moment when she scratched that spot. The pleasure of it was nice and unlike any human's petting besides Smith's, he was not feeling any pain. It was nice and felt wonderful and inevitably he started to calm down and purr.

Jackie straddled his thighs, cupping his cheek in one hand and brushing his neck with the other as she moved down his front and pet his stomach. Once his eyes closed and purring revved up more, she set the brush aside and concentrated on petting his hips and sides, listening to his moaning as a good indication that he was loving it. "Hey, Eztli," Jackie gently called, seeing his eyes sleepily open, "I … I want to be a good host for you. I really, really do. I know whatever happened before you came here had to have been horrible but not all humans are like whatever you experienced." Jackie reassured him, gently sliding her hands up his neck and gently cradled his head, making her look up to her. "So please, Eztli, just know that I am at least a human who wants to take good care of you." Jackie brightly smiled, gently scratching just behind his shoulders.

Half dreamy in purr land, the jaguar considered this. "Maybe you aren't so bad … ," his tail relaxed and thought how much Smith had assured him this was actually a good host that she had personally chosen for him. A _real_ host that would not do anything bad to him. And so far, she hadn't. So maybe he could try to let it prove her words. "Never hurt me, hooman. _Nunca_ ( _NEVER_ ). I'll … I'll let you try proving that." He warned and conceded, his glowing green eyes glancing away.

"Really?" Jackie asked, surprised and excited that she had actually managed to make some sort of breakthrough with the jaguar after about a week or so of him staying there.

"You haven't done bad stuff so far … but besides Miss Smith, you are the only one," he slightly rolled his position to allow her hands to reach more of his body, softly yowling as she happily did so.

"There are lots of nice humans, Eztli. You just have to find them." Jackie grinned, ramping up her petting to more comfortably accommodate him on the small couch.

"Nya … ," he curled up and went to sleep, the scent of the host not bothering him that much. In fact it was soothing thanks to all the other Extraspecies scents mixed in with hers. So much so, in fact, that he decided right then and there that he would get her clothes for his mini dens up in the rafters. Of course he had ripped apart the old ones, but he'd just have to wait for her to get some new ones. He happily purred away while plotting, planning to grab them after she tossed the clothes in the laundry hamper. There he could just grab those used ones with her fresh scent. He happily smiled and purred, pulling the host down to lay next to him while nuzzling against her for a bit.

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After a while, Eztli slipped out of the host's grasp, yawning and stretching. While sleeping against her mixed scent was soothing, he wanted a more comfortable and roomy place to sleep. The jaguar silently trotted down the halls, deciding who would be a good sleep buddy for the night before noticing Dumisa's door was cracked open. With a grin, he slipped inside and crawled into the donut hole of Dumisa's long body, nestling up to sleep for the night.

Dumisa perked up, woken by movement as he groggily looked around, flickering his tongue into the air. The strong and recent scent of the jaguar puzzled him, more so since the host's scent was rather strongly mixed in with his. He hovered over his coils, looking down and seeing a purring Eztli nestled amongst his body. A silent hiss filled the air in his annoyance. Despite his attempts to try not to care, he felt jealous and annoyed that Eztli's scent was mixed so strongly with the host's. In his annoyance he shifted his body, slowly propping Eztli up a bit before tightly squeezing his body like a constrictor around his body. "It's bad taste to sneak into a predator's room while he sleeps." Dumisa aggravatedly hissed.

Eztli let out a loud sexual moan as he tried hugging Dumisa's coils after receiving the tight hug. He nuzzled his cheek against the snake's skin and moaned, "but I want to sleep with you, Dumisa," he purred and began licking Dumisa's scales.

"I have no interest sharing my bed with a male." Dumisa huffed. This little jaguar thinks he can uphold himself against him? Hardly. The snake snorted in laughter at the thought, loosening up his coils before whipping Eztli off of him and tumbling onto the carpet.

Eztli stretched along the ground and purred before suddenly flipping around and leaping at his coiled body and hugged Dumisa again. "Do you want us to go to my room, then?" He offered, flicking his tail back and forth.

"Your room or mine I would not allow you to sleep with me regardless," Dumisa scrunched up his nose, immensely bothered by the mixed scents, "why do you smell so strongly of the host? Don't tell me you've spent some intimate time with her when you hate humans?" Dumisa scoffed but was rather tense.

Eztli tilted his head "She wanted to prove that she could follow her contract and asked me to let her tend to me. So I let her touch me and it felt good," Eztli admitted, lightly blushing as he glanced away, "but I'm not letting any other human touch me not in that way." He then paused before tacking on, "well, Ms. Smith too."

Dumisa's eyes narrowed in anger. So the host was trying to complete her marriage contract with the other males of the house instead of him? The black mamba let out a very low and aggravated hissed, wanting to bite something in his anger but wisely kept his teeth clamped together. How dare the host go and entertain the other males when he was the first to declare his interest in her. He had been aloof in believing she would soon come to him when she realized he was the best candidate but it was clear he took too long; and now she was moving in on the others, which meant he needed to be more clear and aggressive in this.

"Can we sleep now?" Eztli asked with bright green hopeful eyes.

"Do what you want. I don't care but you'll have to do all the work." The black mamba hissed, laying down and trying to get some sleep now himself. Tomorrow he would have to take a more direct and aggressive approach, it seemed.

With a happy purr Eztli jumped again along Dumisa's coils and accommodated to go to sleep.

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The clacking of Reza's old blade against the cutting board resonated through the house as he continued creating a variety of recipes based on fish cuisine that resulted in many, many uneaten plates of raw fish scattered around his room. Being so engrossed with his work, Reza did not pay any attention to the glowing eyes outside of the room watching him serve up more and more dishes to no one.

"Did he notice us?" Eztli quietly asked, puzzled.

"Impossible. We're all well hidden." Sabre answered, she too confused.

"Then who is he serving the dishes to?" Dumisa questioned in annoyance.

Everyone, including Kroc who had stayed up the whole night with Sabre and looked tired and sleepy, had woken up early to get their revenge on their new fishy roommate. Without the host to nag them, they were free to do whatever they wanted with him. However, with all of the plates full of a variety of sushi scattered about the ground, it would be near impossible to get close enough to the new charge without being heard. And so, annoyed, they all stayed where they were and glared at the fish.

Dumisa, fed up with waiting, slithered inside as the felines and crocodile pulled back into hiding to watch.

"You took everyone by surprise yesterday, but will you survive today?" Dumisa threateningly hissed, slithering around the plates of raw fish as Reza glanced his way, seeming amused. "And why are you making all these silly little rolls?"

Reza ignored him, continuing to chop up more fish which only annoyed Dumisa further. The black mamba got up close, mouth open before Reza, with acute precision, popped some sushi into the snake's mouth, making the others hold their breath. Dumisa popped back, startled but did not spit out whatever was thrown into his mouth.

"How does this taste, snake? It is made mostly of mazago, or rather, fish eggs." Reza smiled, "tastes excellent, doesn't it?"

Dumisa remained quiet, chewing on the food before swallowing it, slightly blushing in surprise as his entire expression changed to surprise. "It tastes _very_ good." He noted, intrigued, "what is that?" He questioned, all murderous intentions gone as he leaned closer to look at what the fish was doing.

"Sushi. Not my finest but good enough for an experiment," Reza noted and smiled darkly now that he had a test subject. "Feel free to try all them all and tell me which ones you like the best."

In their hiding posts, everyone observed and sniffed often, the cats now very curious of the assortment of tasty looking raw fish treats.

Dumisa coiled himself up, leaning against the wall in a perfectly relaxed state as he continued to eat at the strange but tasty treats Reza had whipped up. "I did not realize you made such interesting treats, fish." Dumisa admitted, licking his lips as he popped more into his mouth.

"Creating fine fish cuisine is a hobby of mine. However, I am always at a loss because I become so engrossed in my work that I tend to forget how much I make. I always end up with leftovers." Reza sighed, looking mighty proud of himself regardless.

"A sushi chef!" Sabre whispered, her eyes big and her mouth almost salivating. She pulled on Jaska's and Eztli's tails. "Maybe we should keep him alive. Sushi is delicious." She purred but still remained in place.

"What is sushi? Are those rolls really edible? They look weird," Eztli eyed warily the supposed food.

"It has fish inside rice? Why not just have fish?" Jaska contemplated. Some of his experiences with human food were interesting, like with caviar. He had to admit, humans certainly came up with intricate and strange ways to prepare their food.

Kroc yawned silently."Too little fish in those small rolls, we better eat the big fish itself," Kroc pondered, slowly coming to be more awake but not much. "So what do we do?"

A pang of suspiciousness reached Sabre, "let's wait to see if Dumisa survives the food. What if the fish prepared a trap and poisoned them?"

"Shouldn't we go inside then?" Eztli eyed Dumisa with worry

"Only if snake falls dead," Jaska shrugged. Sabre did had a point; not a good one but a point still.

"I still vote for catching the big fish," Kroc said but didn't move. After holding Sabre all night he was tired from the cold of her attic, having only her as a warm fuzz pillow for heat lamp.

They were arguing about their course of action when a sudden flash of red fur burst past them, startling the predators as Antain leapt into the room and ran around the plates excitedly. Dumisa and Reza perked up as Antain made his way over to the small wading pool full of other fish soon to become sushi, stopping short and looking inside the pool excitedly.

"Antain!" Sabre whispered and almost pounced behind her cub but Jaska held her arm.

"Let us watch," Jaska softly growled as the tiger held her back.

"B-B-Ba ba ba," Antain barely stammered out, looking around the edge intently before gasping in excitement. Without an hesitation he leapt into the shallow pool of water, immediately scattering the fish into the larger pool Reza had herded earlier into the small pool. The only fish remaining was the bulbous, weird, gold and red fish, swimming upside down as always. Antain smiled and immediately leapt onto the fish, grabbing hold of it and pulling it towards the edge. The little fox crouched down, hugging the large fish tightly as he nibbled on its head. "B-Babaa. Ba ba ah Baba." Antain murmured in between his munches on the fish's head. The fish hardly responded at all, only flickering its tail slightly while it's mouth stayed agap for water and food.

"Antain spoke?" Sabre got stricken by the surprise of Antain forming syllables. "H-He said something?"

"Baba?" Dumisa said, puzzled, "that's a new word. Perhaps you meant 'mama'?" Dumisa asked, amused as he leaned towards the edge and hovered over the little fox in amusement. "Say 'mama', Antain." Dumisa enticed.

"M-Ma-Maba," Antain said, shyly looking up at the snake while hiding partly behind the very fat fish.

"No no, _mama_ ," Dumisa said, grinning in amusement as he glanced over towards the door, meeting Sabre's eyes before evilly smirking. He knew that she must be dying to run in and listen to Antain speak.

"Mama?" Antain hesitantly repeated, hugging the fish closely as he blinked, almost as though asking if he said it right.

"Yes, very good!" Dumisa praised happily, popping some more sushi into his mouth as Antain gasped in excitement.

"Mama! Mama!" He happily shouted, jumping up and down with the fish in his arms before hugging it tightly and purring against the slimy fish, lightly gnawing on its head some more.

Sabre squealed loudly and dash into the room to hug Antain. "YOU SPOKE! You finally spoke! I thought you were too broken for it!" She gave kisses to the pup before setting him down, grabbing at him and squeezing him in tight hugs while giving him even more kisses.

Antain dropped the fish, watching it furiously wave its fins around to escape but only went in small circles. "Baba!" He then turned towards the leopardess, tilting his head, "mama?"

Sabre once more squealed and hugged the cub in the air, filling him with praises, hugs, giggles and kisses.

"Well isn't that adorable." Dumisa lightly laughed, laying on his belly and propping his head up with his palm. Antain turned towards him, staring before wading through the water over to him. He stumbled a bit, wavering before falling onto his hands and looking up at the big snake.

"Mama!" He said, jumping in his giddy excitement before leaping out of the water and running around the foods trays. "Mama! Ma-Mama! Ma ma ma mama!" Antain shouted, running around in excited giggling circles.

Sabre joined the kit into jumping around and running between the dishes around Dumisa and Antain, happy beyond measure about the little fox.

"So he finally spoke?" Kroc asked as he sleepily came in. It was the most adorable sight, but Sabre was so excited she had forgotten about the poisonous fish around that kept looking at the scene with a puzzled expression. He however had not forgotten about the fish and he was d***ed if he let anything happen to them no matter how tired he still was.

Antain stopped and jumped towards Kroc, then pouncing on him and somehow climbing towards his shoulder while calling him 'mama', which made Kroc blush slightly. "Hey there, little ankle biter," Kroc greeted as Antain climbed on top of his head and sat there, looking around the room from the high vantage point.

Eztli trotted inside the room as well, and when Antian spotted him, the little fox screamed "Mama!" loudly before giggling. Eztli pointed his finger at himself, "who? Me?"

"Mama?" Antain tilted his head and looked back at Sabre, then he jumped down along Kroc's back and stopped a second to look at the pond where the fat fish was still around. "Baba!"

Everyone in the room looked between Antian and the super fat, ugly and weird fish. It was a terribly overweight golden and red, rare fish that continued to swim aimlessly upside down with its fat, bloated stomach upwards. Their attention now on it before Jaska finally entered the room, he too being curious.

"Baba!" Antain shouted again, lightly batting at the water near the floating fish.

Reza let out a yawn as he readily chopped away at some fresh fish, preparing even more sushi. "Help yourselves to the sushi, if you'd like. I prepared too much."

They all ignored Reza, instead more interested in the strange fat fish that was somehow still alive despite its extreme obesity. Antain, on the other hand, stalked a plate of sushi and captured a small roll which he teared apart. As he was gnawing on the meat, he noticed Baba staring at him and so, with an excited gasp, Antain grapped two handfuls of ride and dropped the food into the water. In an instant the fish suddenly came back to life and flipped in order to eat the food. But pretty soon after finishing it, he lazily flipped back over again, which prompted Antain to go get more food to revive the fish once more and the scene repeated.

Eztli watched as the behemoth of a golden and red colored fish almost lifelessly floated along the edge once again, making him tilt his head in confusement. "Wasn't it dead?"

Antian grabbed another handful of rice, tossing it in front of the fish which immediately flipped over quickly, its mouth gaping wide open and swallowing the food before flipping onto its back once again, floating along almost dead with his belly bulging with how much it's eaten.

"What is that fish … is it sick?" Kroc tilted his head curiously.

Eztli, puzzled but now curious, also grabbed a piece of sushi and tossed the rice to the fish after eating everything else. The fish flipped again to eat before resuming its half dead swimming with its too tiny fins helplessly trying to move its bulging body, hitting against the side of the pool before bouncing back and aimlessly floating around the water.

Antain mewed, pointing and pawing at the fish with a pouting frown. "Baba!"

"Hey lionfish, what is that thing?" Dumisa asked, pointed at the weird creature Antain and Eztli were overfeeding while laughing at the fish's antics and at how bloated it was getting from eating anything they tossed to it while everyone else continued to stare at it, searching for any sort of the slightest deviation in movement but it all remained rather predictable.

Reza darkly chuckled in amusement. "That one? I was fattening it up for some sushi, but now I'm more curious to see how it dies first; by a predator, overeating, or anything else." He said with a pissed off smile towards the fish, seeming pleasantly annoyed somehow, "it just won't die and now its become a game to see how much it can eat before its stomach bursts or if the other fish will get it before that happens." He said, tossing a rather large piece of food over to the fish, about half the size of the fish itself.

Everyone looked at how, after flipping over and waddling its little fins, the fish engulfed the food greedily before more slowly rolling over, belly up. They all watched, intent on the lifeless form before it's fins started moving, swimming around still despite having clearly eaten more than its body could hold.

"See? No matter how much it eats, it just keeps getting fatter," Reza sighed, sounding rather bored as he stared at the fat red and gold fish, "now I don't know if it's even safe to eat it after seeing what it can digest." He noted before toothily grinning, "why don't you keep feeding it and see for yourselves how much it can take before it explodes? I've kept it for years trying to kill it in passing but it's still alive somehow," he suggested, leaving his station and swimming over to the shallow end of the pool to block off the exit, keeping it and the other fish trapped inside; as if it even could or wanted to escape.

"Years?" Eztli tilted his head but grabbed more food chunks to give Antain so they both could toss them to the fish.

"Mama," Antian looked up at Sabre and then pointed happily at the fish and then went to the edge of the pool to paw at it while Sabre kept a careful watch. "Baba!"

"That one is quite old for a fish, particularly for one in my care. I got lazy with it and decided to see how long it can live," Reza said, tilting his head while staring at the fat fish, "it used to eat the little fish around it but now it's too d*** slow for them all. It's funny." He laughed, seeing tiny fish swimming around the huffing and wheezing fish, picking at the tiny flakes around it. Baba's lazy eyes moved around, seeing the little fish and trying to move towards them but could only manage to barely turn before another caught its eye and began its pursuit.

"That sounds interesting." Eztli grinned, taking up the challenge as Antain batted at it, watching it roll around before frantically righting itself belly up.

Sabre gave a small warning growl to make Antain be more careful but he was much too excited to pay attention.

"Mama!" Antian ran to her legs to hug her, then grab her hand and pull her towards the shallow part of Reza's pool, pointing again and calling. "B-Ba, baba ba Baba!"

"Sabre, Sabre look how fat this fish is!" Eztli laughed, shuffling aside for the feline to come in as well.

"Does it have a name?" Sabre asked.

Reza looked confused. "Why would it? I only keep it because I'm curious how long it will live."

"Then it's settled, it's called Baba." She declared and Antain began giggling, reaching into the water and batting at the fish's mouth.

Kroc walked over to them too, looking into the water. "Baba?"

"Then let's see if 'Baba' explodes," Eztli then tossed more food so Sabre could see the show. After Baba ate the piece, Antain tossed more food and Baba did its thing again, which did cause enough curiosity in Sabre that she also tossed it some food into the water and yielding the same results. By all accounts, it should have stopped eating already but it just kept eating more and more.

Kroc yawned, tired and hungry. He spied the many fish in the pond and, with a growling stomach, he ignored the sushi and half submerged himself in the water shallow water. Tired, he just floated there with his mouth open until a fish swam by and, on reflex, made his jaws snap up the tasty treats. His seeking eyes lazily rolled over the big fat red and yellow one as it was feeding on rice pieces. He swam closer, thinking it would be a nice and easy snack.

When Kroc cracked his jaws open, Sabre leaned over and pushed Kroc's tired jaws shut as he let out a thrumming groan, "not this one." She said. "I'm curious too." She admitted as Antain's butt wiggled before he sprang over the water, startling the Extraspecies before he landed on Kroc's snout. Everyone watched, surprised as Antain batted at Kroc's snout as well.

"Mama! Mama," Antain repeated, shuffling around in circles before looking over at the edge, hesitating with a few leans towards the edge before he whined and looked to his mama for help. His tail curled around his legs as he nervously hugged his tail, his ears shyly lowering.

"This one is definitely not for eating," Sabre lightly growled, "besides, it looks like you'll get sick if you ate it." She grabbed Antain and held him by the waist carefully over the water so he could bat at the fish, barely leaning forwards and keeping a firm grip.

"Hmmm … maybe." Kroc said before yawning rather loudly, clearly quite tired.

"Yeah! We want to see how much it can eat before it explodes!" Eztli excitedly grinned as Kroc sat back, basking in the warm waters while tilting to the side, appearing to almost be falling asleep again.

"Hrmmm … fat fish … why do you have such a fat fish, mate?" Kroc asked with a loud yawn again towards Reza.

"Its name is Baba now apparently." Reza smirked, "no matter what I do, it doesn't die and the other predators in the tank don't seem to want to eat it either. I want to see how fat it can get or what it dies from first." Reza shrugged, his smile still in place.

"Hm … okay." Kroc said, reaching up and sleepily rubbing his neck. "Other fish are free to eat?" Kroc asked Reza.

"Eat a few of the Mako sharks; there are too many of them now and while I was going to make a dish with them, you're free to hunt some … if you can. But leave space for the sushi." Reza lightly laughed as Kroc crawled out of the shallow end and floated around in the pool rather lazily while the others turned their attention to Baba.

"So pet fish interesting," Jaska looked at it, now curious too.

Reza tilted his head curiously. "it's not a pet. I'm just letting it live to see how it dies. It's more so out of curiosity now than anything."

"Weird," Sabre tossed it some more food and it kept on munching it. "You know? In spanish 'baba' means 'drool' or 'saliva'."

"Baba!" Antain giggled again, leaning over the edge and trying to reach the fat fish again.

"Ha!" Reza loudly laughed, "does it really?" He asked, honestly sounding pleasantly surprised.

"How did you get his thing anyways?" Dumisa had never seen such a horribly ugly fish in his life.

"My little sister found it and gave it to me years ago," he chuckled, amused by how such a dull fish could grab everyone's attention so easily.

"You have a sister?" Dumisa looked at the merman.

"Yes; she was a guppy when I left. I wonder how she's doing now?" He mildly mused as Sabre pulled back Antian and set him safely down for the little fox to toss more food into the water, watching Baba swim around and engulf all of them in a single inhale.

Dumisa saw the fish just turn around and eat again, "I agree with Sabre. I sure hope you aren't thinking on preparing something with that thing."

"Nope; we're feeding it until it explodes." Sabre passed Dumisa some rice so he could also fed the fish "Try it."

"Hmph. How trivial and childish." Dumisa miffed, tossing the rice at the fish. He watched as Baba did a small barrel roll after a few failed attempts, managing to swallow it before rolling from side to side to balance itself out. He blinked with a small twitching smile, finding it mildly amusing to see something so fat and pathetic struggle like this. " … perhaps some time spent here won't be wasted." He said, laying down around the pool behind the others while staring at the fish and alternating between eating sushi and feeding the fish.

Some time later, and about a large bowl of rice gone into the fish's stomach, Jaska yawned. "Why not rupture stomach now?" Jaska asked, scooping Baba out of the water and staring at it's almost ready to burst belly.

"Because that ruins the game." Reza cheerfully smiled, reaching over and gently sliding Baba back into the water as Jaska grabbed some of the rice, tossing a few pieces around Baba and watching it spin around in circles trying to get one despite the food floating out of its mouth, making Baba more desperate to eat them all.

Finally Antain managed to bite the end of Baba's tail gently, sliding it out of the water and onto the side of the pool. He stared at it, looking sad as he batted at the barely moving fish's stomach, mewing and, with a grin, jumped onto it's belly before Baba's large mouth gapped open, upheaving all of the rice it ate in one go. It's loud flopping caught everyone's attention as Antain laughed and started pawing at it.

"Well, here you have it Reza. Finally a predator got to it." Eztli laughed

"I guess that's it then." Dumisa shrugged, bored now that his entertainment was caught.

"Fish dead, so now what? " Jaska mentioned to Reza as Antain hugged the fish tightly, purring happily.

"I would not be so sure. It has survived much stranger things than this." Reza sighed, seeming amused that they thought it was over.

"What the-?!" Sabre exclaimed when Baba started flipping around and trying to eat the rice still as Antain hopped on top of it, gnawing on its head while happily wagging his tail, continuing to purr happily before hugging it tightly again.

After like 30 seconds of this, the fish stopped moving, and when it seemed it was dead for good and Antain would start crying because of it, the pup tossed the fish back into the water quite hard and causing a small splash as if he had thrown a rock.

Baba floated lifelessly as everyone held their breaths, staring at it with anticipation before Baba flipped onto its stomach, swimming around the small pool rather aimlessly again while sticking by the side of the pool where the food magically appeared.

Antain cheered and laughed before he started feeding Baba again, pushing more and more food into the water as Baba quickly continued to eat it all

"Baba doesn't die. Baba is indestructible," Reza darkly laughed as he crossed his arms, still smirking.

"That was weird." Sabre murmured, tilting her head curiously.

"Lets try again." Eztli grabbed Baba quite easily and set it by the edge of the pool out of the water, everyone watching until it stopped moving. After a few moments of staring and Antain hugging the fish and purring, Eztli tossed it in the water, where it once more continued swimming.

"That can't be right." Dumisa hissed with a grin, slapping the water and flinging Baba out of the pool and rolling onto the poolside where it flopped for a few minutes before falling still. After almost 2 entire minutes of silence, Dumisa roughly slapped his tail against its side, making it fall back into the water where, after a few moments, Baba's fins began moving again and just like that, it was back to life.

"No, not right." Jaska said, reaching in and pawing at the fish, making it spin around and around in the water for about five minutes before stopping, watching Baba lifelessly float there before its tail twitched, making it start swimming around in a dizzying circle.

"Maybe it has the swimming bladder inflamed, but even after Antain jumped on it to force the food out, it still swims that way." Sabre mentioned curiously.

"Baba has always swam that way ever since it got fat." Rez went back to prepare the breakfast for everyone.

After trying out various things and seeing the fish not die, they finally turned back their attention to the bigger fish that had kept on preparing sushi all along while they were distracted by Baba.

"Fish, why make so much food?" Jaska questioned, picking up a plate with a large assortment of sushi as he sniffed at it without meaning to.

"I was bored," Reza shrugged, "and I wanted to make nice with you all, just as the host desired. I've never been housed somewhere where there are so many land predators." Reza smiled, tilting his head and observing them more closely.

Eztli grabbed another roll and sniffed it before he shoved it in his mouth, carefully munching it. Since it was bland be hoped he would have little trouble digesting it … hopefully.

Sabre grabbed a piece that was roll in a cone form, "lets try this temaki." She swallowed it and her eyes were big before she grabbed a piece with rice on the outside and the algae on the inside, "Ebi Uramaki, mmhhh," she ate it, then went for another one, "nice Chumaki."

"I see you are familiar with sushi; I'm impressed." Reza smiled, seeming quite pleased, "I'm honored to feed someone who knows what they are eating and can appreciate the quality." He said, seeming quite eager.

"It's been years since I had any. I admit this one is good." She then gave Antain some, watching him eagerly munch on it but not eat it. "Congratulations. I haven't even seen a decent plate of sushi with such nice masago since … ," she stopped, trailing off with a brief frown, "since years ago."

"You flatter me." Reza cheerfully smiled, "have you ever tried Sashimi before?" He asked, wanting to test her taste buds and learn what particular tastes she liked.

"Just pass me the daikon and prepare me a Tataki," she grinned.

"Of course." Reza smiled, taking the plate of Daikon, an asian white radish shredded into long strands, and handing it to her. "I'm happy you appreciate them rather than guzzle them down so quickly," Reza smiled, glancing over to Jaska and Eztli who were stuffing their mouths full excitedly.

Sabre grabbed some of the strands and placed them over the sashimi she had assorted on her plate before she looked around, looking for some dipping sauce, but finding none so she simply ate it and enjoyed the flavor. "It would be even better with some ponzu sauce."

"Unfortunately I have no soy sauce around or any ingredient to prepare ponzu. But I can prepare something with a more delicate taste." He smiled, swimming back into his kitchen area before beginning to make up some fresh Tataki.

Sabre continued eating happily and also giving Antian some small pieces or their contents while everyone, including herself, stuffed themselves silly, all intention of murdering Reza forgotten.

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Once 6 a.m. rolled around, Jackie awoke from the couch and got ready for the day ahead of her. Once she realized her room was vacant, she quickly showered and got dressed before noticing it was too quiet in her home. After checking the rafters to make sure she wasn't being stalked, she checked their rooms, finding them all strangely empty before her heart dropped into her gut.

In an instant she sprinted for Reza's room, fearing the worst at what she would fine before she burst through the doors, finding all of her charges laying on the ground, bulging bellies up with exception to Kroc who was floating over the water, sleeping, and Reza who was poking at all the felines.

"R-Reza, what did you do?" Jackie asked, walking around and finding lots of chipped plates laying around the groaning predators. Even Antain had his belly bulging, laying against Sabre and purring away happily.

"I just fed them." Reza chuckled at the defeated predators lying around on the floor.

"R-Really?" Jackie asked, looking at Jaska and finding him more than happily purring away with his eyes clothes, his breathing slightly labored. She couldn't help but be both impressed and a little terrified that Reza somehow managed to take them all down. They were all clearly at his mercy, something none of them had done before to the others.

"Yes. They are quite gluttonous like any predator," Reza chuckled

"Yeah, they are," she answered, lightly petting Jackie's chest and neck as he groaned, amazingly turning away despite his purring at how much he liked the petting, but maybe not so much on such a full stomach. "Hey, Reza, I'm sorry about yesterday. They were all way too over eager to meet you and I should have tried more to distract them." Jackie apologized, feeling like she didn't do good enough as a host to prevent any of them from trying to take a bite out of him. Although at least now they all know not to mess with him.

"Nonsense. That was the most fun I've had in months." He smiled, examining Eztli's tail piercings as he lightly tugged on them, making the jaguar weakly groan and try to roll away but failed.

"Well, that's good at least." Jackie smiled as she looked around at all the empty plates and some leftover sushi as well. "Where did all this sushi come from?"

"I made it." He glanced over to her, flickering his gaze over her before wryly smiling. "I'll make you some in a bit too if you'd like."

"Sushi for breakfast? Sounds amazing." Jackie smiled as she walked over everyone, trying not to step on their bloated bodies. She sat on a small square cushion, trying to get comfortable, "you like making sushi?"

Reza pulled on Eztli's ears, watching as they bounced back as he pleasurably groaned some more, rolling onto his side. "I don't care much for the Japanese culture or mannerisms but they certainly know how to make fish very, very tasty. And for that I appreciate their existence." He said, leaving Eztli there and then checking the scales of Dumisa's belly.

"Where did you learn about Japanese culinary arts?" Jackie asked as she watched how he curiously checked everyone out while they were incapacitated by how much food they ate.

"When I ran from home a few years ago. I had to swim all the way to Japan to get far away enough where they wouldn't bother me." He then pulled Dumisa's ears and the snake barely waved his hand.

"You ran, or swam, away from home?" She asked, surprised. "Why?"

"My family are a bunch of nutjobs about tradition, especially keen on the money and traditions. They wanted me to become a royal guard as it was tradition before getting me to marry some chick daughter of a mining company. Since my family owns so many oil rigs, that would assure ways for them to keep exploiting the undergrounds." Reza shrugged and went to check his next victim.

Jackie's jaw had hit the floor halfway through his explanation. Oil rigs? That means his family really _was_ loaded and the worker was right. "W-Wh-What made you join the program then?"

"To get away from them obviously," Reza got a grip on Sabre's and Jaska's tails in each hand to compare them, finding Sabre's was thicker and heavier. "I met Smith while in Japan and then she made an agreement with my family. She placed me into the special program and now I can do anything I want as long as I'm in it. Either it works or it makes for a great tragedy." He added with a roll of his eyes.

"Tragedy?" Jackie asked.

Reza looked at the host with a faint blushing smile, "don't you know? Most merfolk are very fond of tragedies, they live for that kind of stuff." He explained as he waved his hand away in annoyance. "Especially noble blooded ones."

"What do you mean that they're fond of tragedies?" Jackie asked, estranged by his explanation.

"It's a sort of obsession. They are thrilled by it and would cause it whenever the chance arose. It's practically genetical for most but I find it foolish and a waste of time." Reza then checked Kroc's scaled, looking back and forth between the crocodile and the snake.

"I've never heard of that before." Jackie admitted. Then she looked at the knives Reza had left on the counter, the same ones he used for making the sushi. She noticed their wear and tear and dull edges. "These don't seem like very good knives." Jackie admitted, looking at the poor craftsmanship. "But we can get some later at the mall if you're ready." Jackie said with a smile.

"Buying ingredients is very expensive. There wasn't much left for a better set." He admitted with a frown, "not to mention my last host was rather wretched with money." He sighed, pulling apart Jaska's dense fur to see where it stopped being fluffy, pulling out a random small blue ribbon hidden in it. He stared at it, perplexed before tossing it aside. "There is a small plate behind the counter. You can eat that one while I finish here."

"Thanks." She said with a flashing grin, very excited for sushi and quickly found the plate. She took a bite, startled at how the salmon melted in her mouth like butter. "This is amazing-!"

"Hardly. This dish is so simple anyone could whip it up in a few minutes." He sighed, sounding disappointed as he grabbed Sabre's paws and poked her padding. Jackie stared at the fine assortment of delicious sushi before picking up his knife, looking over at his cheap set. Since she had to buy new knives and everything in order to cook everyone's meals, she could recognize a dull blade when she saw one.

"Well, as soon as they wake up we can head out. I know the mall has a store almost entirely dedicated to specialized cutlery." Jackie watched his head snap over to her with his eyes shining excitedly.

"Yes! I should begin getting ready." He said, heading towards the water as Jackie grinned, setting the knife aside and happily popping the sushi into her mouth.

Antain rolled to try and get up and jump on Reza, yipping for his attention before rolling again with his big belly up, giggling and kicking out his feet. The lionfish wryly smiled, sliding over towards the giggling fox as he tugging on his feet, making Antain giggle.

"How do you expect to chase me so diligently with a fat gut, little fox?" Reza snickered, poking Antain's stomach and watching him roll onto his side with a happy giggle. His fluffy tail curled between his legs as Antain hugged it, nuzzling close against the softness of his tail.

"Jeez, just how much did they all eat?" Jackie asked, walking clear around Reza to avoid his spines before crouching by Antain and watching him roll around in place while happily purring away. He turned towards his mama completely KO'ed, nuzzling into her side as she held still, concentrating on digesting and her long tail in her mouth as she bit into her own fluff.

"All my reserves of rice." Reza said while pulling o Antain's tail and making him whine. "This small one makes weird noises, but I saw him purr like the big cats. How does that happens?"

"Well, even though he's a fox he learned how to purr since Sabre is his mama." Jackie explained, sliding her fingers around his back and lifting him up as he hummed, wriggling a bit before she held him close. Antain pressed against her with a happy little fox purr, rubbing his tired eyes and yawning.

"He is doing that again. Can I try? I just lift and roll him, correct?" Reza extended his hands to hold the fox but Jackie hesitated for a second.

"Just tuck him into the crook of your elbow." Jackie explained, sticking very close as Reza leaned back, trying to do exactly what the host was doing. Antain murmured and squirmed a bit, shifting himself to get comfortable.

"He isnt purring" Reza pressed him more against himself but Antain shifted a bit, not liking the pressure.

"Give him a minute, he'll settle. Not too tight," Jackie assured him as Antain turned towards the scaled chest with a small huff, nuzzling closer to get comfy.

"Still not working." Reza said, sounding more curious than disappointed.

"Try rubbing his ears; like this," Jackie said, gently sliding his ear into her hand before gingerly rubbing the soft cartilage, making Antain nestle up against Reza in a more comfortable than. "Do it gently."

Reza held Antain with one hand and with the other he imitated the hosts movements, thinking on rubbing a delicate piece of fillet or maybe some algae. This time and after a few minutes, it worked. "He is also vibrating."

"Yeah, it's a weird sensation." Jackie admitted, lightly rubbing Antain's big belly as he purred more deeply and happily. "Have you never held a toddler Extraspecies before?" Jackie asked, guessing that was the case. Since he was a merfolk, she supposed that most of what he has seen is from the ocean and not so much land creatures.

"My little sister long ago but it's very different with land species. This one is fuzzy, warm and vibrating, plus more noisy" Reza finished his examination and passed the cub to Jackie. "Do we need to wait for them to go to the mall for my knives?" Reza pointed at the bunch of defeated but happy predators.

"Yes, once Dumisa and Eztli wake up we'll go. They said they wanted to yesterday, but I'll ask again once they get up and aren't so bloated." Jackie pointed out with a light laugh, seeing Kroc still floating happily in the pool with no signs of getting out anytime soon.

"Host, can we open up their bellies? That'll be faster than waiting for them to digest." Reza eagerly said.

"No." Jackie immediately stated, "just wait for a bit, Reza. They'll wake up soon enough." Jackie assured him but in all honesty, she wasn't sure when they'd wake up either.

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Once the others had woken up, Jackie took another headcount for who wanted to go to the mall; and once again, it was only Dumisa and Eztli that wanted to go in. **Jackie pulled the car up and parked in the mall's parking lot,** ignoring all their grumbling the whole way there except for Reza who had his face pressed up against the glass most of the time and looking at all the sights of the city.

"You all ready to go inside?" Jackie asked with a grin, opening up the pedo van and letting a sore and cramped Dumisa stagger out onto the pavement, who let out a pained huff. Jackie was lucky Ms. Smith was all for letting them go on a small shopping trip. It was sad that Kroc was too busy sleeping still and after their brief food coma, Jaska and Sabre were too busy … well, yeah.

"You need to get a bigger car. This one is too small." The black mamba hissed, stretching himself out as Eztli eagerly leapt out of the back, looking around in a frantic rush in his excitement.

"Eztli, don't stray!" Jackie reminded him as she pulled out Reza's wheelchair. She quickly unfolded it and brought it around to the passenger side, helping Reza unbuckle himself and keep the moist towel over his body. Jackie glanced over the towel, seeing his folded up spines beneath the thick wet barrier. "Your venom isn't going to be a problem, is it?" She asked. Reza had helped show her how to strap his spines into himself so he doesn't accidentally prick anyone with the poison but she had to admit it looked uncomfortable.

"Only if someone gets poked or if, hypothetically speaking, I get threatened, in which case they will get poked." He said, gripping the side of the seat and the car door while he swung into the seat, settling himself in to be wheeled around for a bit, "I am a bit uncomfortable but I will manage. I really want those knives and a few other things." He said, his eyes shining in eagerment.

"Yeah, we can do that." She smiled, letting him tuck his long tail under the seat and get as cozy as he could while she locked the doors.

Eztli looked at the place and smelled just how many humans could be around the place, and gulping down he took a strep back. "I'll go back to the van"

Dumisa's tail whipped around in an instant, smacking Eztli to the side as the feline jumped, startled and looking up at the annoyed looking snake, "don't be such a prey, Eztli. You are a predator, aren't you? Or are you really just a small mouse?" Dumisa questioned with a wry smirk.

Eztli puffed his chest. "Yes, I'm a big predator, I can do this!"

"Then start acting like it." Dumisa snapped at him in annoyance, making the jaguar flinch as he slithered over to Jackie, "Hey, host. I'm tiring of my drab clothing choices lately; I want to go get more clothes."

"Yeah sure," Jackie flippantly agreed, walking past Dumisa and over to Eztli in concern. "Eztli, will you be alright?" She asked, suddenly feeling very unsure if she should bring Eztli inside. "There are going to be a lot of humans but none of them are going to hurt you, alright?" She reassured him.

"Can I stay near? Eztli didn't wait for an answer, he grabbed her hand tightly and pressed to her side, looking around the hoomans that were around. Maybe there wasn't that many now, but from what she'd said and the heavy scent around, there would be soon many of them.

"Of course you can," Jackie smiled, gently squeezing his paw back, "but you need to help me push Reza around if you take my hand, alright?"

"As long as you don't push me too hard. I don't fancy being thrown from my wheelchair." Reza said, holding his body towel firm as he looked back at Eztli with a soft smile that showed many pointy teeth.

"Alright!" Eztli perked, and setting his hand over Jackie's to push the wheelchair forward they began walking.

Dumisa looked at the sickly sweet scene of the three of them in disgust, already sick of this little annoying trip. Dumisa came up behind them, shoving the three of them forest.

"Hurry up. The cold weather isn't pleasurable." He demanded in annoyance.

"Just relax, Dumisa. It will be warmer inside." Jackie assured him as she started pushing Reza along. As they drew closer to the mall's front, Eztli could see all the people inside. The black jaguar held onto her tightly his ears lowering as he pressed against her with each step. "Just relax, Eztli," Jackie encouraged, lightly rubbing his side as Dumisa frowned.

"Hmph. What kind of predator leans so keenly on someone so weak for comfort?" Dumisa sneered as a nice couple held the door open for them, letting them inside. Receiving no response from the trio, Dumisa's frown deepened as he followed after them in annoyance.

The moment they went inside the Extraspecies were quickly amazed at the large variety of stores of the 8 story tall mall. Even Jackie was a bit breathless; usually this place was too expensive for her tastes but it was one of the few Extraspecies friendly places there were around New York that could hold all the items on her list.

Eztli nervously eyed the many people around them, all of which gave them strange looks, sticking close to Jackie and holding her hand.

"Relax, Eztli. I'm right here, and so is Reza, and so is Dumisa," Jackie smiled, reaching up and gently brushing her fingers through his fur, "just take deep breaths and keep calm. If you feel uncomfortable, just take deep breaths." She encouraged.

"But when I do deep breaths it smells like hoomans," Eztli complained or perhaps explained

"Then just smell me or Dumisa." Jackie smiled, petting his side before pausing, "just don't take your clothes off if you get nervous. Leave them on, okay?"

"Okay." He said before he leaned into her head and bit on her hair, nuzzling on it and focusing on her scent.

Dumisa nearly gagged at the overly touchy movements of the jaguar, narrowing his eyes. That jaguar was not a predator at all! If anything, he was only a stupid little kitten in a place he didn't belong. Dumisa let loose a low hiss, whipped Eztli's back and making him jump with a startled scream. He immediately clung tighter to Jackie as the snake retracted his tail quickly, acting as though he hadn't done anything while Eztli frantically looked around for what hit him before clinging tighter to the host.

"Eztli, calm down! What happened?" Jackie asked, ignoring the blatant and curious stares of everyone around them as she concentrated on Eztli.

"I don't know." Eztli admitted, confused and slightly worried as he looked around everywhere.

"Just relax, there's nothing to be afraid of here." Jackie promised.

"Except the many, many 'hoomans'." Dumia casually mentioned with a rather venomous smile, rather enjoying the jaguar's fright now, "this is a strange new place with lots of different things. One wrong steps and you might end up as a rug." He suggested with a rather malicious smile.

Eztli made a fist, his eyes shining and then grinned at Dumisa, "thanks Dumisa. I'll be a good predator. This place is not going to scare me!" The jaguar then released Jackie and grabbed Dumisas's hand "Can I hold onto you?"

"Get off, you annoying cretin." Dumisa hissed back at him, his lips parting to expose his black mouth before he sealed his lips shut again, doing his best not to be tempted to take a bite out of Eztli.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I do, host, and I want to get those knives. I can see the shop just up ahead." Reza said, trying to get the host's attention.

"Oh, right." Jackie said, looking up and seeing the shop, "come on, hurry up." Jackie said as she pushed Reza along.

Dumisa sourly glared at the host, slithering after her while the annoying jaguar clinged to him tightly and refused to let go while getting a free ride on top of the snake. Once in front of the shop, Dumisa looked inside with an annoyed frown before leaning back with a slight smirk. The host can't do anything if he simply refused to go in. That would certainly get her scatterbrained attention.

Jackie turned her back to the door, opening it up before noticing Dumisa coiling up nice and tight as Eztli sat on top of the coil with a happy smile.

"Aren't you coming in?" Jackie asked.

"Ha, it would be more interesting to stay outside rather than go inside that tacky shop," Dumisa yawned and coiled for a nap right there and then.

"Oh, alright. Just stay there and we'll be right out after Reza finds a set of knives he likes." Jackie said as she pulled Reza inside, leaving Dumisa stunned as he glared more fervently into the store.

Brushing him off so easily, what is this supposed to mean? Her playing hard to get? Dumisa tightly folded his arms and leaned against the folds of his body, angrily hissing in a low tone. Well then, he can be plenty patient. Eztli happily purred and leaned against Dumisa, getting comfortable while they patiently waited. Dumisa's eyes slid over to Eztli, becoming more and more aggravated by the jaguar's cheerfulness. He was no predator; he was just a kitten.

"Eztli," Dumisa started, his lips curling into a mischievous and dark grin, "would you like to know what it is humans do in malls like these?"

Inside the store, Jackie was nearly overwhelmed by the large selection of cutlery tools within the shop. Everywhere she looked were different brands and various sizes of knives that she had never even heard before. Reza, however, seemed perfectly at home as he wheeled himself forward and towards a particular shelf with mostly sushi orientated knives.

Jackie looked them over, finding a not too expensive set of knives that rolled up into a nice package. "How about these knives, Reza?" She suggested, getting a good look at them.

"I prefer Japanese made knives, host. They are more efficient and stay sharper longer when it comes to sushi." He eagerly said, his ears twitching continuously as people stared and murmured to one another.

Reza suddenly gasped, startling Jackie as she turned and saw him take off wheeling down the short hall, skittering to a stop as he pressed his face against the glass eagerly, eyes shining.

"Did you find your set?" Jackie asked, trotting over to him and checking out what he was looking at … which was about $2,499.95 set worth of knives. Jackie's heart dropped into her stomach, mortified at the mere thought of purchasing such expensive knives before remembering it was on Smith's tab, which made her smirk. "Go ahead Reza, pick everything you need."

"It's the Wusthof Iron Blackwood, 23 piece Ultimate Knife Block set-!" He gasped, hardly able to contain himself, "host, host I want this one." He said, looking like a very excited guppy as he tried to find a way to open the case.

"Hey, hold on," Jackie said, catching his hands and holding them firm as he looked over the pieces excitedly, "excuse me, we'll take this set," Jackie called as the woman behind the counter walked over to them. She smiled sheepishly, seeming a little nervous.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, but perhaps you should look at our other options first before deciding on what you would like?" She asked, seeming hesitant as Jackie paused, taking a look down at her rather sloppy appearance. She had dressed rather quickly and didn't realize that her clothes were the cheaper clothes that survived Jaska's and Sabre's rampage. Well, whoops. She probably thinks that Jackie can't afford them.

The host let out a sigh before pulling out her wallet, showing her the platinum black credit card given out by the Extraspecies exchange program. "Just use this. Reza is my charge and I am a host." Jackie said with a smile as the woman's eyes flashed, quickly snatching the card out of her hand before somehow reverting back to a very professional smile and kept her eyes on who was paying for the items; the host, "would you care for anything else? Perhaps you would like some complementary serving dishes?" She offered, turning their attention to other nearby shelves stacked to the top with a large variety of sushi platters. Before the host could turn her down, Reza zoomed over to the shelves, quickly and methodically going through each one, tapping it with a nail and flickering his ears.

"And I'll want 43 sets of those stain steel chopsticks sets," Reza pointed at well made metallic chopsticks behind the counter before turning to a nearby shelf of ceramic decor.

"Looks like we're not done yet." Jackie sighed, taking the card back from the saleswoman before walking over to Reza, watching him tap each of the dishes and listening intently. "What are you doing?"

"Testing their quality. Better quality dishes sound better," he said, tapping another plate and looking disappointed before moving along the stacks. He paused at a certain set, tapping against it with a warming smile before holding it up, admiring the black rimmed sides that slowly bled into a dark brown, then a navy before coming to a bright, almost neon blue in the center.

"I want this one, host." He eagerly smiled as Jackie checked the price at about $200.

"Well that's not so bad-,"

"I want 43 sets of these." He stated, making the host have a mild heart attack.

"WHAT?!" Jackie shouted, startled and unable to contain her outburst. "Why so many?!"

"Because I do sense your life becoming very, very hectic in the coming years." He cheerfully smiled, "and I want to be careful incase any of them break on the way home." He said, setting the piece back before looking towards the woman, "we're taking 20 of this set. Please package them up nicely so they will not break on the way home." He smiled as Jackie's face paled.

"But of course! Would you like that delivered directly to your home as to prevent damage? For only $299.99 we could have it delivered to your home within the hour." The woman cheerfully smiled, hiding her very crafty salesmanship.

"Wait-,"

"But of course. I would expect no less from a place of such high standards." Reza very happily smiled, chatting with the woman about other accessories such as table mats and chopsticks.

Jackie stared wide eyed, feeling herself becoming more and more disheveled. So this is what it's like … to live as a rich person. Jackie's head spun as she rubbed her head, trying to forget about all the numbers they were throwing out to one another so casually.

"Alright, host," Reza said, looking back to her with a happy smile as Jackie looked over the large stake of items on the counter, all ready to be purchased from the most basic sushi supplies to the most outrageous, tatami mats included.

"Alright, and the price comes out to be … ," the woman continued as Jackie's mind immediately censored the price everything amounted to and silently cried on the inside as she handed the credit card over to the woman, who swiped it and completed the deed. "Thank you for your purchase!" She happily smiled, "if there's ever anything else you need, just call and ask for Emily!" She cheered as Jackie wheeled Reza out of the store before she had a heart attack.

"That was quite fun." He cheerfully smiled, leaning back into the wheelchair while Jackie pushed him back out, finding Dumisa looking very bored as Eztli stayed within his coil, glancing around at all the other hoomans walking around him in masses.

"Hey, Eztli. How are you doing?" Jackie asked in concern, seeing him shuddering while looking around with unease, trying to brave up and leave Dumisa's side but clearly failing for now.

"If the cat dies of shock can I eat it?," he noted, tilting his head and looking up at the jaguar curiously.

"Don't be such a coward," Dumisa hissed, whipping his back end and sending him tumbling onto the ground. Eztli flipped around onto his feet, tense and startled while trembling slightly, clearly nervous.

"Hey, Eztli, are you alright?" Jackie asked, very gently petting his back before he suddenly hugged her tight and closer, hiding his head in her shoulder.

"Ye-Ye … si … _no,_ " Eztli whined, tears in his eyes as Jackie jumped, startled. Eztli's fur was frayed and his pupils were dilated with fright with his tail twisting, showing his nervousness.

Jackie's eyes widened, surprised at Eztli's clear fright. When she went into the store he was just fine but now he's like this? Her eyes darted over to a smug and rather malicious looking Dumisa as he slithered closer, firmly grabbing her arm with a proud and calm smile.

"Ignore him, host. The little kitten is just looking for attention." He sighed, feeling rather proud of himself for finally getting through the thick skulled jaguar.

"Dumisa, what did you say to him?" Jackie asked, breaking her arm out of his grasp as Dumisa paused, surprised before his eyes narrowed.

"Only the truth." Dumisa shrugged, hardly caring at all.

"Like _what_?" Jackie growled. She was pissed that Dumisa scared Eztli like this for who the hell knows why.

"I wanna go home!" He cried, startling Jackie as he pounced on her, tightly hugged her while mewing with his ears pinned to his head.

"A-A-Alright, alright! Eztli, just calm down. You're safe." Jackie reassured him, gently petting his face until he buried it into the crook of her neck.

"I-I'm not! Dumisa t-t-told me all about this place, a-and-and how many hoomans come and what they do here! Hoomans are scary-!" He cried, sniffling as tears fell down his fur in front.

"I'm not saying it's real, but if it were that the snake exaggerated some of the most terrible and annoying things human do here, and where he is in need to get punishment ... can I use him to test my new knives?" Reza looked at Dumisas's tail, "it's not the same as shark's skin but it could serve." He cheerfully offered.

"Dumisa, why would you say something to scare Eztli like this? And Reza, no." Jackie firmly said .

"A true predator can take that." Dumisa smirked.

"Alright, that's it. We're going home; come on, just breathe, Eztli." Jackie encouraged, kissing his cheek as she grabbed Reza's wheelchair and started for the door.

"No, we're not. We still haven't gotten what I wanted." Dumisa snapped at them, grabbing the host's other hand and holding her firm, "did you come here only to please Reza and Eztli? What about me, host?"

"Not right now; Eztli isn't feeling well." The host countered as she tried to pull free but Dumisa's eyes narrowed, tightening his grasp.

"It's not my fault he is so easy to fool so why must I be denied what we came here for?"

"We didn't come here for _you_ , Dumisa!" Jackie snapped back at him, grimacing at the tightening grip the serpent had on her wrist.

"What!? Of course we did. I'm the one who wanted to go out first since before the fish came." Dumisa hissed, angry and confused as his tail coiled around Jackie's arm and pulled her towards the mall.

"D-Dumisa, that hurts!" Jackie hissed between her teeth, trying to pull her arm free. "And no, Dumisa. We are going home!" Jackie stated, tightly gripping the end of his tail which was a weak point for him. His grip, amazingly, held firm in his angry state.

"Why? We haven't even gotten to the first clothes's store" Dumisa narrowed his eyes but relented his grip

"We can go at a later time. We could have gone now if you hadn't lied to Eztli and scared him." Jackie snapped at him.

"I want to talk when we get home." Dumisa hissed, dropping her back into the needy clutches of the jaguar before he slithered on ahead towards the exit with the mall goers moving out of his way, some of them recording everything that was happening.

"It's fine with me. I've got what I needed," Reza eyed his new host, "say, host, I'm not saying it looks like it but if you where to looked distressed with a situation, and I'm not saying you do, would that distressed expression look like this?" He asked, hopping up his phone and showing her a picture of her face. Jackie glanced at it, noticing she certainly did look distressed; and that's because she was.

Jackie stared at Dumisa's back, grimacing as she pet Eztli's trembling head. She couldn't remember the last time she saw Dumisa this upset before. Annoyed and conniving, yes, but not this upset at her in particular. Something was going on with him; and she was going to be told exactly how upset he was later when they got home. "Yeah, that's a distressed look for me, more or less."

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The moment the host let Reza slip back into his pool, absolutely ecstatic and cheering about his purchases, Dumisa's hand grabbed hold of Jackie's wrist. His furious gaze made her flinch back as he dragged her with ease down the hall, slithering to his room.

"Ow, ow! Dumisa, loosen up! That hurts," Jackie said, trying to pull back but he tossed open his door, throwing Jackie inside before slithering in after her, "Dumisa, what's wrong?"

"Why haven't you come flinging yourself into my arms yet?" He hissed, blocking her from the entrance and looking absolutely livid.

"Wh-What?" Jackie asked, thrown off guard, "why would I fling myself into your arms?" She asked, thrown for a loop at the sudden demand.

"Is it not obvious? You decided to become my mate and I decided to grace you with a chance to prove you are worthy of such. So why aren't you begging for me yet? And worst yet, you are already making moves on the other charges!" Dumisa huffed, looking very confused and upset.

"Your mate? Dumisa, that's not happening," Jackie said, rejecting the thought and beginning to feel awful nervous about being in his room. The door may be open but there was an angry black mamba separating her from the rest of the house. "A-And I haven't made moves on anyone. I wouldn't."

He looked surprised before narrowing his eyes and speaking in a dangerously low tone. "Why not?"

"B-Because … well," Jackie hesitated, glancing to the side and unsure how to answer him. It's not that she wasn't into him or that she was … well, she was somewhat neutral? The host let out a shaky breath, confused herself about what she thought of him. She never thought of him or any of the others as potential boyfriends or anything like that and she felt rather awkward now trying to figure out an answer.

"Is it that you prefer some other male although they are of inferior quality and skills compared to me?" Dumisa questioned, frowning deeply in annoyance.

"What? No! I don't think like that towards anyone here," Jackie snapped back at him.

"Or perhaps you are merely shy and desire a more assertive mate? You may not be well practiced and be a real klutz, but that's not a problem. Even lamias are often nervous their first time." He smirked, "don't worry. I'll train you well and make you melt into pleasure," he coiled around her, slipping out of his shirt.

"Dumisa, you're really starting to freak me out; let go!" She demanded, smacking his body and trying to wiggle free.

Dumisa coiled his tail around her feet below her knees in a way that he could easily pull down her pants, but since the piece of fabric was bothersome he merely ripped it apart, making her stagger and shakily gasp, "much better; lets see what I'll have to deal with." He then ripped off her shirt, evening out the nudity, "better to see the whole package, don't you agree?" he asked, looking over her skin with a faint tinge of red on his face, "I haven't mated with a human before, but if this is what makes you love me then I do not mind." He said, exhaling over her chest before sucking on the skin rather hard.

"Ouch-! Dumisa, get off of me!" Jackie shouted, grabbing at his hair and yanking at it but to no avail.

"Submit to me, Jackie. I am confident in my skills." He hissed, grabbing a breast and holding her chin up, connecting their lips passionately. Jackie let out a sudden grunt, grabbing his shoulders and struggling to pull away as his tongue slipped into her mouth and caressed her tongue, coiling around it before sucking on it. Jackie trembled, frightened as his free hand moved down along the curves of her body, lightly scratching into her skin and making hot streaks trail down her skin.

Jackie twisted under him, breathing fast and hard through her nose before they parted lips, separating for a breath of air as he dragged his tongue up her neck. The host's head spun, feeling her heart racing and face blushing in both fright and unease. Fright at what was happening and unease because she wasn't sure what to think of it.

"I'm done waiting for you to come to me. It's annoying how you pay attention to the others more than me despite I clearly being the best mate," Dumisa hissed, kissing her neck and sucking on her skin as his tongue tasted her, savoring the sweat on her skin, "I am not going to stop until you are aching for me in every crevice, my Jackie."

Jackie gritted her teeth and whipped her hand around, backhanding him hard across the face. "Get off of me!" Jackie shouted at him, shoving against his shoulders and standing up to get some distance between them, "I don't know what you're trying to do but it won't-,"

The furious black mamba wavered back for the briefest of moments, his lips parted before whipping forward and pulling back. A hard hit against her shoulder made her stagger back, startled as she saw Dumisa's face transform from anger to fear in an instant.

The host staggered back a few more steps, holding her shoulder and looking over to see two defined punctures through her skin, making her face pale with shock. "Y-You bit me-?" She breathed out before she staggered back, seeing the room spinning before her eyes in a painfully dizzying array before she fell onto her knees, unable to tell where the ground was. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she hit the ground, feeling her body quickly failing her.

 _Note to self … never slap an angry, venomous, rapey snake._

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 **Peekodemeko12:** OH NO JACKIE WAS BITTEN-! _**10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter :D Love ya!

 **Chaos-dark-lord:** That was a real bite. It wasn't a dream or anything in case you were wishing for something like that. Dumisa DID bite Jackie, and as you can guess that is bad and has many bad consequences, Jackie's health being the most immediate but not the only one.


	22. Chapter 22

Dumisa's eyes widened in terror, looking down at the host before covering his mouth and feeling his fangs fully extended. "I-I didn't mean to!" He gaped, frightened before whipping around and slamming into his bookshelf. The snake shakily ripped out the medical kit that's in everyone's room before rushing back over to her. He took out the ready-to-go vial of the antidote, flicking off the cap and quickly injected it near the bite wound. "Breathe calmly, host. Slow and steady." He said, parting his lips and began to try sucking out some of the poison. He knew how much he injected into her and it was enough to kill a single human easily.

Out in the corridor from a tube, Reza had seen what happened due to the door being open and he being curious. As soon as the snake struck the host, he swam towards the closest place, which was where the cats were mating. He hit open the lit of the closest exit and jumped out, digging his sharp nails into the wooden boards any looking down the hall.

"Hey! Cats! I'm not saying it happened, but what if by some coincidence the snake dragged the host into his room and bit her? How long will the human have before dying? Also, would the meat still be good even after being bitten? Just curious." He called down, listening to the silence that ensued.

The cats, still hugging each other in opposite directions to munch on the other's tail due to their immediate overfed states, immediately turned towards the door. Their hearts had stopped; the snake bit the host-?!

Reza listened to the flurry of sound in the other room curiously, tilting his head in confusion.

"Go wake Kroc!" Jaska screamed, sounding a little stuck at the moment as Reza turned around, hopping back into his tank before heading towards the crocodile's room while both cats burst out of Jackie's room and ran down the corridor.

Jackie's breath already became short and haggard, frightening Dumisa as he quickly dug through the kit, pulling out a small vile of adrenaline and stabbed it near her heart to more quickly get it into her bloodstream. When he bit her, he thought nothing of it; back in his village, if he were ever really angered with pesky females, he would bite them and release just a little bit of poison. Just a little bit. Not enough to kill them but enough to make it known he was angry. But they could take it; a human couldn't.

"Just breathe, Jackie. Just breath," Dumisa pleaded, feeling her pulse on her neck already becoming weaker. Her eyes began to slightly drift to the side, feeling her body very rapidly becoming unresponsive. Frightened tears budded at the corners of her eyes as Dumisa ran a hand through his hair, looking over her in absolute horror. "I'm sorry, Jackie, I'm so sorry." Dumisa pleaded, kissing her forehead while rubbing her body to help keep her temperature up. The black mamba's mind spun, trying to think of what to do before he heard fast paws pounding against the ground. He whipped around, seeing Jaska and Sabre, both naked and fur in a disarray, burst through the door only to see a half naked host in the black mamba's arms, limp and unmoving with two puncture wounds in her bleeding shoulder.

Jaska pounced forward, aiming for Dumisa's belly with a roar. The tiger was ready to hit the snake's head sideways in case Dumisa tried to bite, knowing more antidotes were nearby. Dumisa managed to evade the deadly slice towards his belly by moving aside but he still received a gash in his tail before he was pushed aside by another sharp attack at his lower back from Sabre who kicked him hard.

"Get away from her!" Sabre roared, slashing at him to force the snake's retreat.

Dumisa let out a hiss, laying Jackie down and avoiding their rather murderous attacks before springing himself up into the rafters. Jaska roared and jumped up still trying to attack the lamia with clear intentions on keeping him at bay. Sabre didn't followed in the attack and instead dropped the med-kit on the floor by Jackie's side, seeing the host's unseeing eyes and the bite mark in her shoulder.

"Dumisa! What did you do?!" Sabre roared while getting ready to administer a new antivenom dose to the host.

Dumisa hissed again at the pain. "forget about me! The host will die if the paramedics aren't called!" He shouted back down to them, struggling against his instincts of wanting to go down and help despite his self preservation demanding he stay where he was, "do _not_ give her more antivenom! An overdose will kill her instantly!" Dumisa shouted at Sabre.

"She'll be dead anyways if I don't!" Sabre looked between Jackie and Dumisa, shooting up a glare of betrayal towards the black mamba. "Why did you bite her?!"

"I didn't mean to!" He shouted back at them with a clearly hurt expression as he restlessly slithered around the rafters, trying to find a way down to help but the snarling tiger left no openings for him. Having no choice, he retreated entirely into the rafters where Jaska could not reach him for now. "She made me mad! I only wanted to, t-to-!" Dumisa stammered off, trembling in his fear of the host actually potentially dying. The passion of a snake could certainly turn deadly in an instant; and here was no exception.

"Sabre? Jaska?" Eztli asked, peeking into the room in confusion before seeing everyone without their clothing, Jackie partially included, "why are we all naked?" He asked, sounding almost happy as he looped inside and looked over the situation, clearly not understanding what was happening but also undressing just because that was what everyone seemed to be doing.

"I'm losing her pulse, Jaska!" Sabre shouted, cradling Jackie closer as her eyes remained wide open, barely able to move at all and quickly feeling that power leaving her limbs.

"I keep snake at bay." Jaska snarled, calm but deadly serious as his eyes remain locked on Dumisa.

"Don't be ridiculous! If I were feral, how could I speak?!" Dumisa angrily hissed back at Jaska. "You are a fool to think I am feral still!"

"What dangerous is you _not_ feral and bit host." Jaska snarled back while Dumisa clicked his teeth together, worriedly watching over Sabre caring for the host.

"But I can speak when I'm feral," Eztli pondered but no one seemed to be listening, "so what are we playing?" Eztli looked above to Jaska and Dumisa and then at Sabre and the host. By the sheer smell in the air he noticed something was very wrong. His ears lowered, finally getting a better sense that this was not a game. "We aren't playing anything, are we?"

While the felines were struggling to keep Jackie alive, Reza in the nearest tube called a particular number on his expensive underwater phone while watching the whole scene from his tank, never blinking.

"Smith? Yeah, all fine, got a nice set of pieces for my sushi kit. The host? Well … regarding that, I have a doubt. Let's say … and I'm not saying it happened, but if it were to happen, what would happen if the host just got bitten by the snake?"

" _WHAT!?"_ Smith's yell was so loud everyone could hear it through both the water and the tank itself.

Reza held the phone away and rubbed his finned ear. "I didn't say it happened, but in case it did and the antivenom were administered in a few seconds after the bite, and the host were looking half death on the floor, breathing hard and all … would we need to do something? And, more importantly, could I use her meat in my sushi or would that be poisoned too?"

.

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Jackie laid on the living room couch, unconscious and completely unresponsive as the paramedics monitored her condition entirely.

Ms. Smith nervously stared at the host while the felines surrounded Jackie, nervous and antsy. Reza watched from the tanks, intent on everything that was going on while Dumisa was still inside his room; no one dared to enter just yet and he had been warned to not leave the room or else they would take extreme measures against him.

"Jaska." Ms. Smith stated, making the tigers eyes tighten. "What were you doing instead of monitoring the host and the other Extraspecies? You were placed here to prevent situations like this." Ms. Smith icily demanded, clearly very irritated and upset.

"I accept fault." Jaska stated, his ears lowering as he glanced away. He didn't bother explaining; his and Sabre's appearance was all she needed to understand what happened.

Sabre hissed at Smith and stood up with a fierce stance as though ready to pounce in front of the tiger. "He was with me, Smith." She bared her fangs. "Working on making those kittens you want so badly." She narrowed her eyes and hissed at the coordinator.

Smith adjusted her glasses. "Not at the risk of your host's life." She answered seamlessly, "nevertheless, he failed to complete his mission and now the host of this household paid the consequence for his negligence." She said with a very cold glance their way, full of disappointment and cold thinking. After a few moments of thinking, Ms. Smith turned her attention to the paramedics. "What is her condition?"

"Isn't it your fault too?" Sabre spoke with equal coldness. "Don't blame your own negligence on others. It's you whom dropped so many predators on this host, and knowing what would happen with my heat you obviously knew Jaska would get too busy dealing with me. So it's your own negligence here, Smith."

Smith didn't answer and instead kept on looking at the paramedic, clearly ignoring Sabre.

The paramedic gulped, a little nervous under the intimidating woman's staring. "She was lucky the black mamba did not inject that much poison; normally a black mamba's bite contains enough venom to kill 10 men but she was only administered enough to kill a single human, which are being handled nicely by the antivenom and adrenaline. Who administered the medicine to her?" The head paramedic questioned.

"The snake gave first dose." Jaska reported professionally before glancing at Sabre. He was surprised that Sabre had actually spoke up for him as much as at the fact that Dumisa had controlled himself enough to not use all his venom.

"I see … it's a good thing he came to his senses and did not finish her right then and there." He sighed, "considering the readiness of the antivenom and adrenaline into her system, along with the controlled release of venom amount, I predict she will stay in this state for about 30-48 hours before quickly regaining her ability to walk and move again. Her body is taking to the antivenom very smoothly and I cannot see any complications now or happening in the future."

Ms. Smith let out a heavy sigh of relief, "thank you, Dr. Wernik. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go speak with a certain serpent. In the meantime, Dr. Wernik, please instruct the host's Extraspecies of how to care for her for the next few days here in the home." She said, walking off down the hall with a startlingly menacing aura about her.

"So you're going to keep this incident quiet, Smith?" Sabre crossed her arms, her ears lowered, "Jackie would be better off in a hospital but you don't want word getting out at all, right?"

"Yes. The program's affairs here are already unstable. It would be a devastating blow to lose this country in the process of trying to expand the program itself, among many other reasons." She stated as she kept walking.

"This country already lost itself." Sabre growled before she looked back at Jackie and let out a deep breath as Smith's figure was lost on the hallway.

"I-Is the host going to be okay?" Eztli hesitantly asked, shuffling closer as he looked down at her uneasily, poking at the plastic mask over her face that pumped oxygen into her lungs for her.

"She is stable but will require some attentive care for the next few days. Seeing as she is to be cared for at home, this is what you need to do to help with her recovery." The paramedic answered and began explaining and preparing the papers and medicines they would need to take care of the convalescent host.

The coordinator walked towards the rooms with a cool and steady gait. Even though she was already outside Dumisa's room, Ms. Smith answered Sabre with a rather mischievous and dangerous smile. "There is a reason, Ms. Sabre, that I was chosen to be the head coordinator in the Americas. I am a woman who gets what she wants." She then entered the snake's den.

A soft hiss reverberated down the halls before everything fell silent.

"Dumisa." Ms. Smith said, slipping off her sunglasses as Dumisa glared down at her from the rafters in his room, "I am sure you realize the consequences of biting your host. This is a direct violation of your personal contract in order to not return to your village." She stated, "what happened to make you bite her?"

"Does it matter? The deed is done." Dumisa answered, hesitant before he lowered himself from the rafters and stood before Ms. Smith. His frown was deep, clearly quite upset as shown through his trembling fists.

"It does. So speak before I have to send you back." Smith placed her hands on her hips and looked at him with cold calm demeanor.

" … biting when you are upset is perfectly normal and accepted in my village. When particularly pesky women do not leave me alone or anger me, I bite them with only a little bit of venom as a sign of warning for them to leave." Dumisa bitterly hissed.

"Then that explains why the host is not dead," Ms. Smith said with a somewhat thankful sigh. "But why did you get so upset as to bite your host?"

"The host upset me. I became angry and so I bit her to show my frustration before remembering humans cannot take even the smallest bit of our venom." He answered rather quickly, clearly on edge still.

"Why? I won't ask again." Smith warned.

Dumisa stayed silent before a few moments before deftly sighing, "she rejected my advances. No woman has done that before." He admitted with a deep frown, clearly very hurt.

"You mean you were making advances on her?" Smith calmed down a bit, her hands now off her hips, "don't you remember those videos about human courtships?"

"I don't understand, Smith. I … was always used and tossed aside. I did not want the host to do the same, but rather than using me at all she ignored my feelings. I took her slowness in coming to me as shyness, but clearly I was mistaken. She does not care for me." Dumisa said, his eyes slightly watering up, "I was a fool, Ms. Smith. What female would want me at all if my only good point is intercourse? I thought that if I showed her I was a valuable mate, then perhaps she would come to her senses." Dumisa continued, trembling as he tightly clenched his teeth together.

Smith smiled, happy that Dumisa was advancing in this contract before she froze in place. She had just remembered something very important about this particular host; normal contracts specified no intercourse or mating whatsoever but her contract wasn't the normal one and she had completely forgotten to inform her of the second part. In realization the coordinator took her hand over her mouth. "Oh, yes … whoops. I forgot to tell her the 2nd part of the contract."

"You didn't tell her?" Dumisa asked, startled, "how could you forget something so important?! I was under the impression she was choosing between us all as mates during all this time!" Dumisa snapped at her, mortified. No wonder the host was so hesitant to accept him and all his greatness!

"Ah~ whoopsie." The coordinator wrily smiled. Then she faked a coughed, "I guess this means that you'll only need to go to rehab camp for some extra lessons for a week or two after this incident. No more problems than that … well, except getting everyone in the household to trust you again."

"I could care less what they think about me. What about the host?" Dumisa anxiously inquired.

"She'll be fine. The antidote was administered in time and hopefully there won't be side effects. However she'll need to take things calmly for a few days while she recovers here." She accommodated back her glasses. "And under no circumstance should this incident will be mentioned outside this house."

" … agreed." Dumisa huffed in annoyance.

"Excellent. Now pack your bags- _one_ bag," she quickly corrected herself, knowing how many he would try to take otherwise, "you will be coming with me immediately. The paramedics and other charges will take care of the host in the meantime." Ms. Smith informed him.

"Fine. And I may return back to Jackie as my host?" Dumisa asked, frowning rather deeply and almost fearing the answer.

"If she agrees to take you back." Ms. Smith answered with a cold glance again, "no matter the reason, you were the one who put her in such a state. Now hurry up; we should leave now before Kroc wakes up and finds out what happens. I don't have enough tranquilizers to bring him down if he were to go feral." Ms. Smith snapped at the serpent as Dumisa grimaced, packing only his most precious things.

After that, Smith left the house out the back, unnoticed by the others with the grouchy Dumisa in tow. The paramedics could take care of things here; all she had to do was slip away with Dumisa as to avoid conflict between the predators.

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Meanwhile, back in the living room, Jaska, Sabre, Eztli and Reza were all intently listening to the doctor explain exactly how to care for her.

"Here's the list, simplified," Dr. Wernik offered, handing the clouded leopard the list as she looked it over again.

"One, it is important that the patient be placed at rest, kept warm, and avoid unnecessary movement. Two, wake the patient after she first wakes up and perform a brief neurologic check every hour or so to assure that breathing and other vital functions are not impaired. Three, make sure adequate suction and respiration equipment is available and operative. Four, fluid management is very important in snake bite cases. The patient should be well hydrated and a brisk urine output maintained. Take the patient to the bathroom often. Five, antibiotics are _not_ recommended." Sabre read, furrowing her brows, her tail swinging behind her.

"And if there is anything you have questions on, don't hesitate to call my number." The doctor added, writing his number down on a piece of paper before setting it aside on the kitchen table. His pager began beeping, making everyone look to him as he took out a small box device hooked to his hip. "Ah~ crap, it seems we need to leave now. Please, do be careful with her. Your host in a very fragile state right now. Her health depends on your carefulness in handling her." He reminded them, seeming nervous. "And again, if there's anything you need, call or email me depending on the emergency of the situation." He said before he and the other medical staff took their leave.

Once they were gone, the Extraspecies sat around their host who was laying down on the ground with the IV strapped to her arm and a small respirator device pumping fresh oxygen into her body. Their ears were lowered, uneasy with seeing the host so fragile. She always was fragile before but now she just seemed like she was about it break. It made all of them nervous to even touch her.

"What do we do now?" Eztli asked, looking over her with a frown before he hesitantly licked her forehead, his tail curling around.

"We care for her, I suppose." Reza said, staring at them while half of his body was submerged in the water opening in the corner of the room. All of them stared at the host, very hesitant to take even a small breath; the host was completely and utterly in their care with her life depending entirely on them.

Sabre first dared to take a step, catching everyone's attention as she nervously stared at Jackie. "We can't move her so we should make the living room comfortable." She suggested, looking around the room and planning on how to appropriately organize the furniture.

Jaska took the paper from Sabre, looking it over before turning to the others, "Eztli, grab all soft pillow, blanket and clothing and bring here. Sabre, help bring soft stuff too. I move furniture to make room." Jaska said as the felines immediately moved away and began collecting things for their host.

The tiger easily pushed aside the furniture to the edges of the room, opening up the living room with the host laying in the center. The host stirred slightly, hearing the loud noises around her and let out a slight groan, twitching to life. Her eyes cracked open, staring at the ceiling wordlessly.

"Host, you awake?" Jaska reated by coming to her and shoving some of the couch's pillows under her and around her body. "You can add 2+2?"

"Jaska … ?" Jackie muttered in a low and confused voice, her breathing slightly labored, "Two? Two of what?" She asked, moving her arms just a little bit but was unable to very much.

Jaska looked worried and went to grab a big bottle of water, shoving it in front of Jackie's face. "Drink now, host." He said, taking off her breathing mask.

Jackie's breath stuttered a bit as she simply blinked, looking straight up in the air. Rather than answering, she merely shook her head, declining the water. In a few, weak rolling motions she tried to sit up but her spinning head brought her back down against the ground again. With a sleepy sigh she turned her head to the side, closing her eyes and falling back asleep.

"I brought pillows." Eztli said, coming to drop them over Jackie before darting away to find more.

"Here are some blankets." Sabre came, dropped a bunch of blankets, nuzzled Jackie and Jaska before going to get even more, soon running out of blankets in the entire house and resorting to bringing all the fuzzy stuff she could find in Jackie's closet; including sweaters and even socks.

Jaska took the blankets they left behind and quickly began making lots of nests around the living room with Jackie in the center of them all. He stared at her, letting out a faint, mildly amused chuckle. Right now, at this moment, she was probably one of the most protected hosts in the world. Jackie let out another faint grunt, tossing her head back and forth before Jaska crawled over to her and nuzzled against her head gently. "Rest, host. We take care now."

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The running and thumping of frantic feet made Kroc's eyes crack open, finding it was the late afternoon. He loudly and widely yawned, swimming over to the edge of Reza's pool before getting out, sleepily stretching and air drying himself. Sleeping in water was great; he almost forgot how nice it felt and nicer still since he didn't have to worry about big sharks or other crocodiles nipping at him in his sleep.

"Jaska, wake her up to check she is not brain dead!" Sabre shouted along the corridors.

"I got more pillows!" Eztli cried, sprinting past the door as Kroc groggily rubbed his eyes, looking out into the hallways again just in time to see Sabre and Eztli pushing his heat lamp on wheels down the hall. The saltwater crocodile blinked, puzzled before he poked his head out of the door, seeing them running to the living room. Kroc let out another yawn, toot groggy to wonder what they were doing with his heatlamp. He walked over, curious as to what they were doing before noticing the absurd amount of pillows, clothes and blankets in the living room.

"What are you doing, mates? Why is the living room full of blankets?" He asked, turning into the kitchen and grabbing himself a bottle of water from under the sink.

Everyone froze and looked shocked that Kroc was there and looked about to panic. The last time Jackie screamed, he went feral. So how would he react if he saw their host unconscious and on a small respirator? Their faces paled under their fur as they leapt into action. Sabre jumped in front of everything to block his view of the host while Jaska threw a blanket over Jackie to hide her form.

"I'll tell you … in the safe room." Sabre hesitantly stated, her tail twisting nervously.

"Eh? Why the safe room?" He asked, walking over and looking up at his large custom heat lamp shoddily set up in the living room.

"Yeah, come with me to the safe room, I'll tell you there." Sabre grabbed Kroc's arm and pulled him. Kroc remained still, drinking some water out of the water bottle and wetting himself around the head and neck to help cool himself down.

"Not now, Sheela. I'm tired." He yawned, walking over towards his heat lamp. "Don't know why you took my heat lamp but I'm going to take another nap. I'm still tired" He said, his heavy steps heading right towards the host. The felines immediately jumped, realizing he would step on top of the host if he continued.

Sabre jumped in front of him and waved her hands, speaking quickly to get his attention, "then take a nap here! Well, there. We have many pillows! You sure you don't want to know? The safe room is very cozy, you can sleep there too, even use me as a fluffy pillow," she offered, trying not to show her desperation.

Jaska moved over Jackie and laid over her, careful not to crush her as he felt her twitch and slightly groan from his weight. "Spot taken!"

Eztli moved the heat lamp back into place and then gave Kroc a very small pillow to use, not saying a word. Kroc looked around the room, surveying the place before looking back down to them in confusion. The felines were acting quite … stiff.

" … something wrong?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion as he tipped his head back a bit, squirting some water over his parched tongue.

"Hey felines, if the host dies, will we be assigned to another host together or be separated?" Reza asked, as Kroc looked over to Reza, confused.

"What are you talking about, mate?" He asked as a creeping unease crawled beneath his scales. His eyes darted around the room, listening closely and keeping his jaws open to taste the air, "where's the host? She's usually up around this time." He noted, visibly becoming uncomfortable.

"Oh, you didn't hear all the fuss this morning? Well, I'm not sure why the cats haven't told you yet but the snake bit the host," he answered, confused for their reason of not telling him before he looked around at everyone, "should I prepare a mashup of sushi or do we have to force feed her just liquids?"

The loud pop of the water bottle exploding within Kroc's crushing claws made everyone jump in alarm as his eyes widen, fixed on the fish. The silence in the room was more than sweat inducing; it was terrifying. " … where is he." Kroc demanded with a clearly enraged hiss, his pupils beginning to narrow to tight slits of murderous intentions.

"Miss Smith took him away." Eztli looked up at the rafters and back to the crocodile, debating if he needed to jump up or not.

"We already gave her the antidote." Sabre looked towards the entrance, "you sure don't want to go to the safe room?"

Jaska moved to a crouching position and hit Jackie while doing so by mistake. Despite the blanket separating them, his fur was covering the hosts face. Jackie's pained groan beneath the sheets made the crocodile turn his attention to the host's twitching form. His pupils remained just as thin and his expression just as deadly as he walked over towards the host.

"Move back." Jaska growled. "She no moves. Medic orders."

Kroc stepped in front of Jaska, staring down at him with his narrowed slits of pupils and did not move an inch as he let out very low bearing hisses through his jaws.

"If you go feral, host dies." Jaska very clearly snarled, his muscles tense and ready for a fight if needed.

Sabre gulped nervously, looking between them, "I'm going to hug you now, Kroc. Please don't go feral." She then walked in front of Kroc and hugged him, closing her eyes and waiting for whatever may come. "Just stay near me and please calm down."

After a good few tense minutes, Kroc closed his eyes, frowning before opening them again with slightly wider pupils. "Let me see the Sheela." He said, turning his gaze down past Jaska and over Jackie's breathing form beneath the sheets.

Jaska was deeply bothered but after a few tense seconds he agreed and moved sideways, not yet moving the blanket "She stable and antivenom administered. She need rest." He then pulled on the covers just slightly.

Kroc crouched down and lifted the covers off entirely, staring down at Jackie with Sabre still hugging him. The large saltwater crocodile's tail swept back and forth over the ground as he stared at her silently, saying nothing before he tossed the sheet aside and sat down, staring at her without saying a word.

The nervewracking silence finally made Eztli lose his nerve and jump into the rafters as Sabre hugged the crocodile tighter but moved slightly sideways in case she needed to run away while Jaska very carefully moved to get the gun dart.

" … is he broken?" Reza asked, tilting his head, "it's not like the host is dying. She's recovering now." The lionfish said, cupping his chin and simply staring at the situation, somewhat amused with their worry for their host. Granted, he did not feel much for the host since he was still new, but she was a nice enough human that had gotten him very a good knife set.

Kroc's eyes softened slightly as Jackie let out a faint grunt, moving and shifting in her sleep as though she was trying to wake up but ended up relenting. Kroc then moved his heat lamp and laid down over the cushions on the floor down next to Jackie and beneath the heat lamp. "I'll make sure it doesn't get too hot for the sheela." He calmly said, gently pressing his fingers against her neck and feeling her pulse before, comforted that she was doing alright, nestled up against her so she wouldn't toss and turn in her sleep.

Everyone released a breath of relief and then accommodated whatever else was needed, except Reza who was preparing sushi and testing his new knives, curled near or around the host. Antain was happily running around and playing among the sheets and pillows, hiding beneath the new hiding holes and popping out at random places before spastically running around.

"Well, if we're all going to be laying here, might as well provide entertainment." Sabre suggested not too long after, pulling out the remote and turning on the television. After flipping through the channels a bit, she found an economics documentary that Antain happily yipped for. No way was she gonna not develop her cub's brain since early on.

"Sabre, what this? Why kit watch this?" Jaska said as he looked at Antain tilt his head side to side, shaking his head before running away and giggling, playing with the sheets instead of whatever was on the screen.

"Because it's important information to learn. Economy and finances are more ruthless than the wild." Sabre scratched Antain's head.

"Mama." Antian purred, pushing against her happily.

"He toddler. He no know economy or finances." Jaska then grabbed the control and changed the channel to a kid's show that immediately caught Antain and Eztli's attention with the colorful characters. Jaska smirked, knowing the show immediately had their attention. The show wasn't much for education on economics but finances but it would get them out of his fur.

"Whoa! What's that?!" Eztli shouted, seeing a puppet pop up on the screen suddenly. Both felines, well, one feline and one honorary feline, walked over close to the screen, sitting right in front of the dimly glowing aura of the fun show.

"See?" Jaska said, turning to Sabre with a cheeky grin.

Seeing how Antain was entertained, Sabre merely faked a huff. "I'll let it pass for now."

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Hours later, everyone was watching TV, bored out of their minds except for Antain and Eztli who were still entertained with the cartoons. Jaska stared at the screen, feeling as though he would soon lose his mind if forced to listen to one more children's song. He groaned and nestled up against Sabre, purring into her ear.

"I about to go mad." He complained before licking the back of her head in a grooming manner.

Sabre leaned on him, the temperature going up fast. "Then let's go entertain ourselves," She purred in his ear and gave him a slow lick on his cheek, her hand caressing his chest.

Jaska's tail twisted excitedly, gently nipping at her ear, "da, good plan." Jaska moved, stretching before turning around while Sabre did the same, both silently moving towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Eztli asked, cheerfully plodding over to them as Jaska frowned; they were caught.

"We go take care of stuff." Jaska said and once more turned to leave.

"Can I come too?" Eztli stood between them eagerly.

"Sure … ," Sabre purred in her heated mind. "Two at the same time sounds good."

"Niet." Jaska growled, grabbing the scruff of his neck and dragging Eztli back over to the cushions. "First learn to be _real_ jaguar," he growled, flipping through the channels before finding the Animal Channel. Since it was 'the jaguar week' there was an _old_ documentary on jaguars playing. He perked up, his eyes glowing with interest as he crawled over to the television to see more.

"Oh ... this looks interesting." Eztli smiled, watching as the normal jaguar in the TV jumped a caiman. "Wow!"

Sabre mewled and made her way towards the host's room. Jaska smirked and then his sensible ear caught Sabre's calls. He quickly retreated and went to attend the call of the wild, heading into the designated mating room.

While Eztli was entertained with the TV, Antain turned around and saw that Reza was holding bright and glinting metallic knives and making sushi in his corner of the kitchen. The fox hopped over the host's stomach to get to Reza and as he got close, he jumped over the table and sat there, his head tilting, looking at what Reza was doing.

Reza glanced up from his work, continuing to chop away quickly at the vegetables in front of him.

"Hello, little one. Are you hungry?" Reza asked with a smile, pausing in his cutting for a brief moment to reach over and grab a small slice of salmon before turning back to Antain, finding him leaning over the counter with his hands underneath of his blade. He watched, puzzled before seeing the amazement in Antain's eyes as he studied the glinting reflections off of the knife. "Oh, you're interested in knives too?" Reza asked, grinning as he brought the blade up to show the little fox better in detail about its fine craft, "aren't knives amazing? Hmmm … watch this." Reza grinned, picking up an apple and tossing it into the air. Antain watched, mystified by the flying apple before with a lightning speed Reza sliced through it multiple times, making the pieces drop over and around the kit.

Antain excitedly yipped, running back over to the pieces before gathering them up into his arms, rubbing against them and purring before pausing, looking back over to Jackie. With a few twitches of his tail he picked up the apple pieces, tottering slightly before hopping down onto the seat, and onto the floor. Reza, blinked, tilting his head a bit as Antain made his way over to the host.

While Kroc's eyes were closed, Antain sat on Jackie's chest, making her grunt before he batted at the breathing mask. Once her lips were free, he carefully took a slice and wedged it into her mouth before letting go, watching it fall out. After a few attempts of this, he pushed the apple slice into her mouth deep enough for her jaws to lock, keeping the apple in place. Antain gasped in excitement, running around the host happily knowing that the weakest member of the pack was being fed well. Taking the other slice with him in his mouth, he ran back over to Reza and eagerly climbed onto the counter once again while holding up the apple slice, his eyes shining excitedly.

"Good, Antain! It's good to feed the weakest in this scenario." Reza smiled, watching Antain's eyes shine happily. Antain whined and grunted, poking the apple slight against his chest for his attention. The lionfish smiled, leaning down and licking Antain on the head like he's seen the other felines do to him. He pulled back, making a funny face as he reached into his mouth and pulled out a few hairs. Yuck. Antain's excited shuffling caught his attention, making him smile and toss the hair piece aside.

"Want a demonstration?" He grinned, excited to find another knife lover in the household. "Here, hold this." He said, placing a big red apple in Antain's arms. Antain held it up, staring at it before Reza brought his blade down with blinding speed, digging into the counter between Antain's feet. Antain stared at the apple, tilting his head and moving the apple aside before the two pieces split, making him gasp and jump away before grinning. He excitedly laughed, running around the apple pieces and leaping onto Reza with his tail wagging, his eyes shining.

"Again?" Reza asked with a gleeful grin, happy to have found an effective way to entertain the small kit.

Back in front of the TV, Eztli was mystified looking how a real jaguar attacked and killed caimans by breaking their reptile's skulls with their powerful jaws, slashing their bellies and other memorable techniques. Since he was an Extraspecies he was sure to be even stronger than a normal jungle cat. He looked up at Kroc's laying form and crouched down, sneaking around the sleeping prey and then made a half jump in place to bat at Kroc's tail before quickly scampering away.

Kroc looked over, seeing Eztli and not caring what he was doing. He hadn't been able to sleep despite being so groggy, worried as he was about the host. Once again the host was hurt because of his carelessness. He should have paid more attention to that snake.

Eztli continued his half attacks, batting at Kroc's tail and slowly gaining confidence. Now he was biting on the crocodile's tail but, with the smallest flick, Eztli scampered away quickly, lying in wait again in excitement.

Kroc was getting tired of Eztli's playing and rose up just a bit to look at Eztli, a black mass of fur with only two visible green eyes. "Stop it, mate. I am tired." He then laid back down, wondering when and why the cat had gotten naked but not caring enough to ask.

Eztli was very confident and as soon as his prey laid down; a big mistake. The jaguar pounced, landing landing on Kroc's back, aiming at the back of the crocodile's neck as he bit into his scales.

Kroc sprang to life, immediately whipping around towards him with claws tense and ready and his jaws parted to show off his brilliantly white teeth, "I BLOODY TOLD YOU TO STOP!"

Eztli's eyes widened for a split second before he took off running with Kroc racing after him all the way up to his room. The jaguar sprinted up his tree and leapt onto a branch but Kroc climbed right up after him, startling the jaguar. Before Eztli could get into a den or run to the thinner branches, Kroc tackled him into the pool below.

Eztli spun around within the water, quickly swimming up to the surface but Kroc's claws grippped the back of his neck, startling him as Kroc lifted him out of the water and glared at him with a dark and menacing hiss. "I said enough, mate." Kroc angrily hissed with slightly thinner eyes.

"Wow! You can climb trees!" Eztli smiled brightly and purred, giving Kroc an appreciative kitty kiss by licking his snout while trying to hug the crocodile.

Kroc stared at him, trying to still be angry before letting out a sigh and dropping the kitty back into the water before he went ahead and climbed out, "course I can climb. All crocodiles can." He said, rubbing the back of his neck in exhaustion. "I'm tired, Eztli. Let me sleep." He sighed, dragging himself back towards the hallway.

"But I want to play." Eztli jumped of the water and pounced in small circles around Kroc. "Play with me!"

Kroc heavily groaned, trying to decide whether or not to go back and lay next to the host. He already felt horrible that he wasn't available when that bloody c*** snake bit her but with Eztli jumping around like this, it was more likely he'd jump on top of the host by mistake and hurt her further. With a heavy groan he rubbed his eyes, "tell you what, mate. Come to my room and I'll show you some fighting techniques against a crocodile. Sound good? But only for about 30 minutes before I go to sleep."

"Si!" Eztli then jumped onto Kroc to give him a hug.

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After about an hour, Jaska and Sabre come out of Jackie's room satisfied for the moment, confused as to what was going on since everything had been relatively quiet outside of the official mating room. They walked towards the living room and stepped into the hallways, they saw Antain standing in the hall, holding up a big apple, and before Sabre could ask what he's doing, a big knife sank into the apple against the wall, giving Sabre a heart attack that made her run before she saw Antain laughing and running over to Reza.

"Who throw knives?!" Jaska shouted, startled at the precision of whoever had thrown the blade.

With a hissing roar Sabre grabbed Antian to check him for injuries, but the pup was fine and giggling happily. She then turned to the fish "Reza! What are you doing?!"

"Entertaining the cub. He looked at my blade and so I wanted to show him some tricks." Reza cheerfully smiled as Antain laughed and giggled, pressing against Sabre and purring against his mama.

Sabre just turned around and went to lie near the host, holding tightly Antain, and noticing the breathing mask was off and a lot of apple pieces had been shoved into the host's mouth for some odd reason. But since she was feeling a compulsory need to give her cub a tongue bath and check for any microscopic injury he may had, she didn't bother to removed the apple pieces.

"Are you upset? Should I teach him how to throw knives next instead? That would be more productive for his education, right?" Reza asked, tilting his head in curiosity before all of them looked down the hall, seeing Kroc shooting out of the hallway and looking around for what made Sabre scream.

Kroc turned to Sabre, looking confused as Eztli happily sprang onto Kroc's back. Before Eztli could bite the back of his neck, Kroc reached his arm back and let the jaguar chew on that instead. "Why did you scream, sheela?" She asked, crawling over to her on all fours quickly before looking over her and Antain.

"Fish was throwing knives." Jaska answered, his ears lowered and growling towards the puzzled looking Reza.

Reza looked at everyone. "I see, next time I'll definitely teach the cub how to throw knives instead." He smiled, "and there is more sushi for everyone if you are hungry."

"No change subject!" Jaska snapped at him, glaring back at the perfect skill and precision in which the apple was struck, "how you learn to throw knives?" He demanded in a rather dangerous tone, unnerved by both his skill and how he was using Antain as an accessory for target practice. His ears lowered, recognizing his overprotective side was beginning to become stronger through the past weeks. It was making him lose his cool faster and that was dangerous.

"Throwing knives is a basic skill in the royal guard's training. It's far easier out of water actually." Reza explained, "not that I'm saying that I like it, or that it makes easier skinning whoever you killed with the same tool, but if that was the case, knife skills would be good for preparing food out of your prey." He said with a shrug.

"That not point! No throwing knives near Antain-!" Jaska started before Eztli loudly gasped.

"SABRE, YOU'RE GOING BALD!" The jaguar suddenly screamed from the living room after having followed her and Antain.

Everyone paused, offput by the sudden comment before looking over to him in confusion.

"Bald?" She asked, hugging the purring Antain close as she looked down at herself and around in confusion.

"Bald? Is someone scaling her? Or rather … furring her?" Reza asked, baffled. "Can I watch?"

"Yes! L-Look! Your fur is coming out!" He shouted as he hopped over to her, plucking off a big tuft of fur, much to everyone's confusement except for certain tiger.

" … da. She shed in room too." Jaska said and, on closer inspection of his own fur, he began finding more and more pieces that were not his own but were mixed into his fir, mostly on his belly where he didn't notice it. Curiously, between his fluff he also found a little ribbon. He plucked it out, finding it strange and wondering where it came from before flicking it away. "Seem you shedding for winter coat." He shrugged, baffled himself. Bastet did shed sometimes, but by how he noticed her fur tone was changing on some parts he determined it wasn't entire natural; it must be part of her experiments that's doing this to her.

"Winter coat?" Kroc tilted his head.

"Da, getting fluffier coat for winter." Jaska quickly answered without much detail to cover up.

"It's fine, I'll just get the host to brush it out," she sighed before looking over at the host, remembering that she is quite out of commission now. "Well, maybe not."

"Oh! Here, Sabre, let me brush it out for you." Eztli grinned, hopping over to the drawer, rummaging around before pulling out Jackie's brush for the furry felines. "I've never shed much" He hopped over to her, sitting down nice and neat before shuffling closer and brushing her out.

"Gracias, Eztli (thanks, Eztli)." She bunkered down, letting the jaguar groom her fur.

"De nada, Sabre." Eztli smiled, happy to be able to help. He brushed her back fervently and as soon as the brush was stuffed full of Sabre's fur he tossed the fluff aside and kept going.

Jaska sighed and walked over to the couch, landing heavily on it before changing the channel to some kind of Sci Fi movie. "Watching host busy work." Jaska yawned, stretching out over the couch and preparing for a nap. There really wasn't much any of them could do until the host woke up.

"Not much to do until she wakes up." Kroc answered, sitting beside her now and staring at her still form. When Dumisa came back, if he dared to show his face again, Kroc was going to tie him into so many knots his organs will be permanently rearranged.

"Hey!" Eztli perked up, suddenly very excited. "We are like a big familia. Or how is a bunch of predators called? Pack? Band?" He tilted his head.

"Hardly." Jaska laughed without humor, turning over on the couch, "more like random group of predators."

"All attached to a single human host, no?" Reza playfully smiled from his corner of the living room, keeping his lower half in the water while his upper half rested on the tiles around the opening of his tube entrance. He folded his webbed fingers together, smiling rather mysteriously, "isn't it funny how so many predators can somehow find a way to successfully coexist without ripping each other apart?" Reza smiled, tilting his head before glancing over at the host. "Well, more or less."

"However weird it is I don't think it could be any other way. At least not when it comes to the program." Sabre sternly said while stretching. "Obviously predators can't be placed in a place with preys; they are too skittish."

Reza chuckled at that, thinking about his first and third host. "Oh yes, but it's also quite rare that so many predators are housed together. The most I've seen is three." He noted with a smile, recalling his third host that had a great white shark and octopus.

"That's easy too. This place is big, plus with more predators we can keep an eye on each other and for each other. We are big targets individually, so with more of us it would be harder for anyone to try anything against us." Sabre analyzed.

"But that also puts more stress on the one host watching us all." Kroc pointed out, looking over at Jackie laying still on the cushions amassed around her, "with so many big predators, it's hard on a small human."

"Remember before the arena when those guys were chasing me to get a nice kitty girl, kroc? Remember many humans still think we are fancy creatures and exotic pets or trophies." Sabre sourly growled in annoyance.

"Or think we as expendable." Jaska frowned with his ears turned down.

As they chatted away, Ezlti happily combed through Sabre's fur with the special brush. He did his best to be gentle, copying the techniques the host used on himself and the others. Within only a dozen strokes the brush gathered too much hair, making him peel it off and set it aside for Antain to play with. Jaska fell asleep on the couch, tired from everything that's happened and in desperate need for a nap.

Antain giggled and laughed, rolling around in his mama's scent and becoming poofy like she was with the fur accumulating on him. He gathered up bunches in his mouth, hopping through the blankets and pillows over to Jackie before pushing the tufts into every nook and crevice over Jackie's body to help keep her warm with the furry insulation.

"Well done, Antian." Sabre praised her pup, "she'll stay warm with that extra fluff." She then eyed the excessive amounts of fluff and wondered how dense her winter coat would be if this much fluff was flooding from her normal coat. As much as she was worried about it, she was admittedly curious how furry she'll get.

Antain gasped, excited as he ran around in excited circles, spreading Sabre's fur everywhere before grabbing a big tuft of it and sprinting over to Kroc. He suddenly slowed down, catching Kroc's attention as Antain sneaked closer, pushing some of Sabre's fur onto the end of his tail between his larger pointed scales before running back and repeating the process. Once Kroc's tail was covered in fur, the little fox grabbed more fur and ran over to Jaska, leaping up onto the couch where he slept. Excited, he stuffed the tufts into Jaska's own fur, running around and giggling before leaping off and reaching under the couch. Sabre watched, curious as Antain pulled out a small mouthful of ribbons before he leapt back onto Jaska, crawling on top of him before digging through his fur and pushing the ribbons into the thick, underlayers of his fluff where it would become stuck there until it was groomed out.

Sabre began snickering before she began laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach; she finally knew how all those random little things were getting into Jaska's fur. So it was Antain who learned to store ribbons and other things in the tiger's thick fur!

Jaska perked up, woken up by Sabre's rampant laughter before glancing over at her and seeing Antain sitting on his side with some ribbons in his mouth. Baffled, he watched as the little fox leaned in and dug his way through his fur before pushing one of the ribbons inside, making sure it was firmly tucked between the follicles of his fur before scratching over his hair and covering it up.

Antain's ears went down when he noticed he had been seen. He mew and then walked on all fours over Jaska to press his nose over the tiger's before jumping away to go lay over the host's stomach.

Jackie let out a faint groan at the noise, tossing a little bit in her sleep. The noise, although faint, made the room fall dead silent as everyone immediately had their focus on their precious host, Antain moving off Jackie and to his mama's side. Her eyes cracked open, gagging a bit as she achingly sat up, shifting the breathing mask off her face before gagging louder, spitting out the apple pieces onto her lap as she stared at them in confusion.

" … why were there apples in my mouth?" She croaked out, coughing off to the side a bit harshly before wheezing for air.

Kroc quickly leaned in, supporting her back with his hand before gently pressing the breathing mask back over her mouth and nose while pressing the buttons on either side to pump more oxygen into her.

"Host, how much 2+2?" Jaska quickly asked, crawling off the couch and walking over to her.

"Here, host, drink water and then I'll take you to the bathroom." Sabre said as she placed a bottle of water over Jackie's lap.

"You feeling better, Jackie?" Kroc questioned nervously as he turned the intensity of the heat lamp slightly up, "is this hot enough? Or are you too cold?"

"Do you need more injections, hooman? Want me to brush you too?" Eztli raised the brush, eying her thin hair compared to the other felines.

Jackie's head spun as she leaned on Kroc's chest, keeping still and concentrating on her breathing. No matter how hard she inhaled, however, she could barely get a few mouthfuls of air before her weak diaphragm gave in, exhaling what she had in her. "I-It's hard to breathe." Jackie admitted, closing her eyes and trying to breathe more deeply. Her body felt very heavy, not responding very quickly like she wanted.

"No push it, host." Jaska said, shuffling beside her. "Snake venom attack respiratory and paralyze body. You feel better soon." He promised her as he pressed his fingers against her neck, checking her pulse before leaning in against her chest to listen to her heart. "Little erratic. Nothing bad." He promised with a smile, offering a comforting lick against her neck to lap up some of her sweat.

"What … what happened?" Jackie asked, flinching slightly as she reached over to her shoulder, staring at the two holes in her shoulder.

"Dumisa bit you." Sabre plainly and directly said, eyeing Jackie and examining her reaction.

" … oh." Jackie said rather absentmindedly, remaining silent and making the others tense up. "Where is … uh, Dumisa now?" She asked, looking around and unable to see him.

"Miss Smith took him away." Eztli poked the host's leg to see if it switched, which it didn't and thus he poked at her some more, "she said she's taking him for special classes to behave."

"Yeah but we need to administrate the next dose of antivenom." Sabre got a smaller dose of antivenom ready and pulled Jackie's arm, strucking the needle and injecting the dose. Sabre paused, expecting to hear at the very least an 'ouch' from the hot but she stayed completely still without reacting to the injection at all. Alarmed, Sabre light dug her nails into the host's arm, slowly applying pressure before the host groaned, making the clouded leopard relieved. At least Jackie still has feeling in her arm and wasn't as badly paralyzed as she could have been.

"Jackie? How are you feeling?" Eztli shyly asked, crowding her legs as he laid his head on her lap and looked up at her, deeply concerned for his host. It didn't take a lot to kill or maim a hooman and this was his first time seeing such a sickly hooman.

"Like crap." Jackie sighed with a slight laugh, lightly coughing into the mask before leaning more onto Kroc for support.

Kroc very gently kept Jackie propped up, nervous to touch her at all. She looked so fragile and breakable it made him nervous; however, more than feeling nervous about the host, Kroc felt even stronger about ripping that snake apart. "I'm going to murder that snake." Kroc hissed angrily.

"But Dumisa is a nice guy ... well, he was, si?" Eztli looked down, feeling bad for Dumisa. "I don't know why he would bite the host." The jaguar eyed the host carefully, but at this point he didn't think she was that bad of a hooman either. So why did Dumisa bite her?

"Oh? We're going to kill the snake?" Reza asked with a cheeky grin, already formulating what parts he would be able to use and where, "after you remove the poison bags and canals the rest of the meat can be used. I'll make sure to think of some delicious sushi to make out of him." Reza grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming.

"If there any left of him." Jaska hissed, leaning against Jackie and deeply frowning. He despised the fact he let something like this happen; he didn't think Dumisa would be so stupid as to hurt her.

Jackie grunted, trying to slow her breathing before she reached up, cracking the mask off slightly, "you're not killing him. N-No one is." She wheezed in annoyance before Sabre pushed the mask back over her face and made the host take a breather.

"Fine. He go elsewhere." Jaska growled, flipping his tail around as he tried to think of the coldest places on Earth for Dumisa to be sent to.

"He's not." Jackie weakly growled, taking the mask off now and holding it firmly in her hand. "Dumisa will come back after … after … ," Jackie started, her mind drifting elsewhere as she tried to concentrate, but when she opened her mouth next, Antain quickly shoved an apple slice from the ones that she had spat earlier back into her mouth.

"You're so considerate, Antain." Sabre hugged her cub. "However the host might not be hungry yet." She kissed Antain's head and cuddled him, making the fox giggle and nuzzle back against her.

Jackie's jaws cracked open, letting the apple slice fall out of her mouth and onto her lap. Everyone stared at her, nervous as she began slumping against Kroc a bit. "I'm tired." Jackie breathed, her eyes beginning to slid shut but she resisted, not wanting to go to sleep.

"Here, lay down." Kroc suggested, gently moving his arm back to guide her down but she remained sitting up with a frown.

"I don't want to." She stubbornly sighed, trying to remain sitting up on her own but was slowly failing.

"Sheela," Kroc said, holding her up, "are you sure you don't want to rest?"

"I don't want to lay down." Jackie frowned, leaning towards him. Kroc let out a light sigh as he shifted her onto his lap, folding his legs into a pretzel as she rested in the center.

"Then just lay against me, sheela." He said, gently pressing his claws against her stomach and leaning back slightly so she rested against him. Everyone remained silent, expecting the rather proud owner to say no, but she leaned back against him with a tired breath.

"Okay." Jackie simply stated, closing her eyes a bit and resting against him.

Kroc gently held her, finding her shivering slightly with a gleam of sweat on her skin. "You feel a little cold, sheela." Kroc admitted, going to turn up the heat a bit but hesitated. Too much of the direct heat would burn her thin skin.

"Jaska, bring your fluffiness here. It's needed." Sabre called out while she bumped heads with Jackie and began rubbing her. "Don't worry about the cold; we are fluffy warm pillows. Right, Eztli?"

"Si!" Eztli purred, bumped heads with Sabre and the host, and then also began rubbing himself on the host. He trapped her legs against his warm and soft body, settling over them and hugging her close. "There! All warm!"

"Make room. I thicker fur." Jaska said, settling against Jackie's side as Kroc leaned back, letting the balls of fur coincidentally press against him too while trying to warm up the host.

"Oof," Jackie grunted from their weight, feeling the pressure on her sore body intensifying but she kept quiet, enjoying their collective soft fur.

Antain then meowed loudly not wanting to be left out and jumped over Jaska's back, nesting himself between the tiger's fluff.

Reza stared at the piled up mammals and reptile, feeling a bit curious about how it must feel to be surrounded by so many friendly land predators. The host appeared to be enjoying herself and so, curious as to how it felt, he raised himself partially out of the tub with his gaze intent on the Extraspecies pile up. "Hey, not that I'm saying I want to join the cuddles, but if I did, and I'm not saying I will, I could put little stoppers on my spines and..."

"NO!" Everyone as a collective shouted, making him flinch back a bit.

"Hmmm or maybe just leave one spike free." Eztli purred, imagining the delicious pain just a tiny little prick would bring. He had gone off the kind of pleasure that hurt till it felt good for too long, and it was weird, so maybe later he would poke Reza just for the fun of it.

Reza smiled before laughing, amused with their mutual agreement. "Ok, I'll prepare some food for everyone then." He cheerfully grinned, crawling out of the tank before slipping in headfirst to head back to his room.

While everyone settled down, Antain yawned and then jumped away to go on patrol in the territory since everyone was protecting the hooman. He would be just like mama, prowling around and catching dust mites and other scary things! As he stalked the corridor, his attention was caught by Baba swimming lazily and bumping up along the tank in the hallway before getting sucked into a branching path. Antain jumped, startled and quickly ran into the laundry room to the tank entrance there. There he found Baba breaching the surface and swimming around in circles while bumping its head against the sides constantly.

Antain grabbed Baba quite easily and gave it a hug, before tossing the fish on the big cube filled with water in the room, his tail hitting all the laundry soaps, conditioners and cleaners right into the fish tube. The surge of chemicals immediately began to create a massive amount of bubbles, making Antain giggle and laugh as he frolicked around in it. He leapt up onto the washing machine, excitedly looking over the bubbles before leaping onto the large heavy hatch of the tube, feeling it begin to tilt. He quickly leapt off, sliding off and over the slippery ground as he began playing in the bubbly remains while the rest of the chemicals and soaps were sucked into the filters, spreading through the entire tank system.

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Peeko: This was a very fun chapte x3 I very much so look forward to the next ;3 How do you think Reza will take to the new addition to his water? Leave your thoughts in the _**10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter, my darlings!

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Chaos-dark-lord: Hello everyone. Isn't the amount of cuddles Jackie is getting cute? It does matter that they are probably suffocating her under all that fluff. Also I bet no one considered the cats shedding XD Do you think Sabre's coat will change much? There might be extra effects on her experiments. But personally my mind drifts to Reza trying to 'cuddle' with everyone; that, and what Dumisa will have to do to not get ripped apart and earn forgiveness, and let's hope everyone likes bubbles ;D


	23. Chapter 23

It was one in the morning when Jackie woke up again, slightly groaning from the weight of a bunch of furry bodies laying against her. Very weakly and slowly she took off her breathing mask, breathing in deeply but shakily. Besides her aching body she felt a lot better; it was better to feel the aching than none at all.

The young host stared up at the dark ceiling, frowning deeply. Why did Dumisa bite her? Because she hit him?

With another deep breath, Jackie barely managed to crawl to freedom before slumping onto her feet, slowly walking to her bathroom. A strange white bubbly cloud amassed in the corner of the room went without a second thought in Jackie's mind as she achingly relieved herself, pausing in mid-relief.

… why were there bubbles coming out one of the tank's opening in the living room?

Jackie quickly finished up her business, staggering against the wall as she headed over towards Reza's room. She paced herself, breathing deeply and shakily as she looked down the hall towards the Extraspecies rooms.

Jackie looked down soon after, hearing a skittering across the floorboards before seeing Antain scampering across the ground and playing with a massive bottle of heavy duty soap meant for industrial cleaning that she stored in the laundry room. Her eyes remained locked onto the container, watching it lightly slide across the ground each time Antain batted it with his paw.

… why is the soap canister empty? After a few minutes of forced contemplation and thinking harder about the connection than she should have, she gasped, mortified as it clicked.

"Hey!" Jackie weakly growled, watching Antain jump back with a happy smile on his face she could barely make out. She walked down the hallway, turning on the lights only to see the fox covered from head to toe in bubbles. " … Antain, what did you do?" Jackie asked with wide eyes, frightened before looking up and seeing plumes of bubbles silently being pushed into the hallway from Reza's room.

"HOLY CRAP!" Jackie nearly shrieked in startlement as her heart dropped to her gut. That soap could _not_ be good for Reza and now it was in his water system-! And if Antain spilled that stuff in there while Reza was _sleeping-_! "REZA!" Jackie hoarsely shouted, stumbling down and over to the room, catching herself on the frame as she desperately searched inside. The white masses of bubble, however, were too thick to see through.

"Hrmm~ Jackie, what's going on?" Eztli sleepily asked, poking his head around the sleeping Kroc before perking up at seeing all the bubbles.

"A-Antain put bubbles in Reza's pool and I can't find Reza!" Jackie croaked out before coughing hard, grasping at her aching chest. It was getting harder to breathe but she couldn't falter now. Reza was going to be very sick if not worse off from inhaling that soap during the night. She had to get him out of there and _now_. Jackie dove over to the closet, grabbing a broom before beating away the bubbles and fighting her way into Reza's room. "Hey, Reza! Answer me, where are you?" Jackie wheezed out, making her way over to the pool before stepping on something squishy. While Sabre began waking up, Jackie swept away the bubbles, seeing Reza's tanned back laying motionless on the tiles. "Reza-!" Jackie gasped, frightened as she brushed and pushed the bubbles away from his face. She turned him to look up, seeing his pale and trembling face. His lips were cracked, dried out from being on land for so long as he tottered back and forth rather weakly.

"Ugh … host, I'm not saying … ok, I'm saying it. It hurts." He complained with a groan as he curled into himself and tried to hold still.

"H-Hold on, come here." She said, grabbing his arm and struggling to muster up the strength to at least drag him out.

"What's all this, it's cute and fun!" Eztli pounced around while frolicking in the bubbles.

"E-Eztli, help!" Jackie said, suddenly grasping at her tightening chest again. Her breathing became more shallow, making it difficult to see straight as she kept a trembling grasp on Reza's hand. She tried to slow herself down, struggling to take deep breathes to get more oxygen flowing to her brain.

"Host, you should be sleeping. How are you going to play with the bubbles later if you don't heal first?" Eztli pranced over, concerned and worried about Jackie's breathing before seeing Reza. "Wow! What happened to the fishy?"

"Please help me, Eztli," she rasped out, turning Eztli's attention to Reza laying on the ground.

While Jaska and Kroc were still sleeping and cuddling with each other, Sabre yawned. "Is everything all … um, what happened?" The leopardess saw the host and Reza before she quickly moved to help Jackie. While reaching Jackie's side and helping her move around, Sabre turned to the jaguar. "Eztli, take Reza out of the room and into the hallway."

Once in the hallway, Jackie took deeper breaths with her head spinning rather painfully. Sabre's grip held firm, checking Jackie's pulse and found it racing.

"Host! Lay here, try to breath slowly. We already used all antivenom, now you need to rest." Sabre was undoubtedly alarmed as she laid over the host with a hug.

"I-I'm fine … just fine." Jackie answered, shaking her head before turning to Eztli.

"Eztli, carry Reza to my bathroom. The tanks for all of you are connected except for the water systems in my apartment. Fresh water would be the best for him right now." Jackie breathlessly asked while gripping Sabre's shoulder rather firmly.

"Claro!" Eztli saluted and began dragging Reza by the hands along the floor and towards the host's room while the fish groaned.

The friction against the boards made Reza achingly groan since the thin coat of oils that normally made his body slick was all washed off thanks to the heavy duty soap.

"Sabre, c-can you help me to my room?" Jackie hesitantly asked, slightly embarrassed she had to literally rely on Sabre's help. The host would have otherwise tried to walk there herself but she felt if she did then she'd just pass out trying. After making sure Reza is alright she'd have to go to sleep again.

"Yes, but you'll need to rest once we reach your bed." Sabre pulled up Jackie relatively easily and began following after Eztli and Reza.

Meanwhile in the living room, Jaska perked up, yawning off to the side before performing a kitty stretch, "what going on?" He asked before he stood up and saw the bubbles in the hallway for himself, his eyes widening as he saw Antain excitedly playing in the bubbles. The thick scent of the soap made his sensible nose itch but he had no trouble tracking Sabre, the host, Eztli and Reza to the hosts room. Once inside he went fast to the bed where Sabre laid the host. "Host? What happened?"

"I think Antain spilled my industrial soap and other laundry detergents into Reza's tank … he's not doing so well." Jackie admitted as she tried to urge Sabre with her but the young bastet remained still.

"You are going to rest now host. We'll take care of things." Sabre, concerned for the host pushed her down on the bed and half laid on top of her. "Go back to sleep, Jackie. I will take care of Reza." Sabre assured her, kissing her forehead before emitting a growling call for Jaska and moving aside to leave the space for the tiger. "Fluffy kitty is gonna take care of you, ok?"

" … okay." Jackie heavily sighed, closing her exhausted eyes as she rested her head against Jaska's chest. "Thank you." She mumbled, her breathing light and shallow as Jaska took her back to the living room to set her next to Kroc's still form so that he could set the breathing mask back over her face.

Eztli dragged Reza with ease across the floorboards and into Jackie's room, dumping him not so gently into the medium sized tub.

"Reza, can you hear me?" Eztli asked, reaching over him and turning on the water. The lukewarm water ran over Reza's head as he shivered slightly, parting his lips and sticking out his tongue to drink the water. His cheeks tinged with pink as he gulped down the fresh water before looking over at the jaguar with a frown.

" … what happened to my pool? I suddenly woke up choking on chemicals." Reza gagged in disgust, shifting around in the small space to try and get water on his tail too.

"I'm not sure but the host said that Antain was playing with a large can of heavy duty soap and she said that all our water tanks are connected so now your tank and the tubes are filled with bubbly bubbles." Eztli reached forward, gently touching his cheek that was cracking because of the dryness. "Reza, you're all dried out and your scales aren't shiny."

" … I will be fine soon enough." He groaned with a slight shrug, leaning into the tub and closing his eyes for a bit.

"Are you feeling sick?" Eztli poked his forehead and found him to be a bit warm, "you feel warm." He said as he continued poking him wherever there wasn't a pointy spine. Reza's fish body was a little harder than he thought it would be.

"Perhaps." Reza murmured, tipping his head back against the edge of the cool tub and keeping his eyes closed.

"Reza, how are you feeling?" Sabre came into the bathroom to see Eztli pacing around the edge of the tub, trying to think on what to do while poking the dried fish throughout.

"Dry." Reza answered, his fin ears looking almost like paper; very thin and very delicate.

"Smith's number went straight to voicemail so we'll call again in the morning and have someone come clean your tank." Sabre said, finding the weak sight of the fish unappealing; with him out of commission, that meant no sushi for anyone. "Meanwhile, do you need something else for the night?"

"Just put some salt on the water but it's not that necessary right now. I just need to remove the soap with the running water."

"Okay." Sabre said as she set a towel behind Reza's head to act like a pillow for the time being. "If that's it for now then we'll go check on the host."

"Buenas noches, Rez," Eztli waved night and turned around.

As his tail twitched Reza turned his head slightly, watching the cats enter the host's room. This tiny human tank … was very cramped. He didn't like it one bit. And now all of his supplies were dead and floating in his room while his equipment will need a thorough cleaning. He heavily sighed and sunk lower into the tub, unhappy with the situation at all. "I wonder if Baba finally managed to die."

 **MWMWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWWMMWMWM**

A soft creak of the door made Reza's ear twitch, picking up on the vibrations through the humidity in the air as his eyes cracked open just barely, glancing over and seeing the host walking into the bathroom yawning, flicking on the lights as she stretched. His eyes widened slightly, seeing her in a pair of rather short underpants and a sloppy tank top on; her gait was an ever so slight limp, clearly still affected by the snake's venom but now it seems she was able to walk on her own without too much trouble.

He observed her quietly, curious about the human grooming procedures as she brushed her teeth and spat out the strange white foam. He had always wondered how humans groomed themselves and now was a perfect time to study her as long as he kept quiet; in his introductory classes into the program he learned that humans seldom groomed alongside one another unless they were very close mates so being in the presence of a grooming human was quite rare. He leaned on the side of the tub and openly watching her with interest as she stared into the mirror and rubbed her eyes. Reza's tail flickered, feeling as though he should announce his presence. He was now bothered the host did not greet or acknowledge him and instead went straight to grooming.

"Hey host, I'm here if you remember it." He said, making Jackie stiffen before whipping around and seeing him there in the tub. She stood frozen, tottering ever so slightly as she braced herself against the sink counter and stared rather dumbly at him. She didn't need to say anything; the expression on her face was clear enough that she had forgotten him being in her little human tank due to his own tank becoming a chemical dump. He tilted his head with a somewhat smirk. "You seem awfully out of it, host. Is the antivenom not working?" He asked, leaning forward a bit as he raised his tail up to pour the water over his back. "And if it isn't, and I'm not saying it is, then could I examine your corpse if you were to, say, drop dead? I would appreciate it since I've never been able to properly examine a human body before consumption." He asked, seeming rather excited with the thought.

" … oh, right … the tank and the bubbles." Jackie groaned, leaning more onto the counter before steadying herself, "I'll be right back, I need to go lock up the room before the others try to have fun in it." She sighed, knowing that they would be all over it pretty fast. No wonder she woke up with no one around her in the living room; they were all off frolicking in Reza's tank! With a fast and unsteady pace she hurried down the hall but found she was too late; all of the Extraspecies were near the dense mountain of bubbles in Reza's room and, with the exception of Eztli who couldn't be seen at all, were already covered in bubbles and had bubbly and damp attires, and were resting in the hallway from playing around in the bubbles for who knows how long.

"Hey, guys, get away from the door." Jackie see that they had already been playing around inside. Reza kept all his sharp knives safely stored away but she didn't want to take the chance of them running into them by mistake; it was lucky they hadn't.

"That fun. Where bubbles come from?" Jaska asked curiously with a snickering grin.

"Someone poured heavy duty soap into Reza's tank. Everything is going to have to be cleaned out and refilled, restocked … ugh, I can sense the approaching nightmare." Jackie sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Hey! This is fun, come in! Let's keep on! It's perfect for playing stalk! You can't see or smell and it tickles my nose!" Eztli shouted from inside the foam, recognizing Jackie's alarm.

"Hey!" The host barked, walking over to the door, "Eztli, out!" She ordered.

"But it's fun! And I can't find the exit.." The jaguar said, followed by a thud. "I found a wall!"

"I don't care if it's fun, it's dangerous! Now get out of there so I can call someone to come clean this up." She called inside in annoyance.

"I bet I find you first, Eztli!" Sabre called and went inside again despite being tired; running around in the bubbles was fun! She then turned around, grabbing a bunch of bubbles on her arms and dropping them over Jaska before giggling and running back into the bubbles.

"My fur!" The tiger shouted, shaking himself out before he followed after Sabre. "I catch you, kitty!"

Finally, running between Jackie's legs, Antain dove in headfirst with a sharp yip of excitement. Kroc, still in the living room, remained sleeping.

Jackie stood at the entrance, defeated before she heavily sighed and rubbed her head in annoyance. "Hey, Sabre." Jackie called, "did you call Ms. Smith at least?"

"I called her earlier but she didn't pick up." Sabre called from somewhere inside the bubbles.

"Just be careful!" Jackie shouted inside before hoarsely coughing, leaning against the wall as she tried to take deep, wheezing breaths while she grasped at her tight chest. Ugh … th-this hurts.

"You alright, sheela?" Kroc asked, surprising Jackie as she glanced over and saw Kroc holding out his claws to help steady her; he did not actually touch her, however, and instead kept his claws ghosting either side of her.

"Y-Yeah." She croaked before clearing her throat, grabbing his hand to keep herself up, "thanks, Kroc." Jackie smiled before looking into the room.

"You should take it easy, host. Need anything?" Kroc asked, assessing that she was at least better than previously.

"Do you mind getting everyone out of Reza's room? I don't want them getting hurt or damaging something inside." Jackie asked, glancing inside the masses of bubbles flooding out of the room.

Rather than answered, Kroc gently scooped her up, carrying the startled host back down the hallway before sitting her on the couch. "Sure thing, sheela. Take it easy." He said, setting the respiratory device beside her while handing her a phone to call Ms. Smith.

"Thank you." Jackie grinned as Kroc simply nodded, heading down to Reza's room as Jackie dialed for Ms. Smith's number.

" _This is a rather early call, Jackie. Did you do something naughty with your Extraspecies?"_ She asked, sounding a little tipsy over the phone but Jackie ignored it.

"Someone poured industrial soap into Reza's tank and now the whole system is covered w-with the bubbles." Jackie croaked out again before coughing off to the side, putting the mask back against her mouth before deeply breathing in.

" _How bad is it?"_ She asked, suddenly sounding very professional on the other line.

"Pretty bad, I'm guessing costs will range in the dozens of thousands since the soap is in all of the tanks through the house by now and will all need to be cleaned. Reza was pretty sick when Eztli dragged him out of his room; the soap seems to have cleaned all the slime and oils off of his body." Jackie said all with one breath before putting the mask back on and taking very deep breaths.

" _Put him in clean salt water. You do have extra sea salt so use a tub or anywhere he fits."_ Ms. Smith immediately stated.

"Last night Sabre and Eztli put him in my tub for the time being since the water systems for everyone else has been turned to bubbles too; at least I'm assuming so since all of the water is connected to one another." Jackie said with a frown before she heard snickering from the other line.

" _Good. Keep him there. Don't worry about bathing or showering with him; Reza is pretty harmless unless you get pinched, so take the antidote with you just in case."_ Ms. Smith said, acting rather flippant now.

Jackie froze up. "Ba-Bathing?"

" _Yes but avoid using chemical products like shampoo or conditioner near him. I'll get a team to go assess the damage and clean everything up."_

"O-Obviously I'm not going to bathe with him!" Jackie retorted immediately, turning away to have a small coughing fit before haggardly growling into the phone, "I-I'll just use my shower with a bathing suit."

" _But he'll be there. There is no where else to take him, is there?"_ She cheekily laughed.

" … why do I think you're enjoying my torture?" Jackie asked in annoyance.

"Because the host's discomfort is funny"

"It's not to me." Jackie growled back into the phone, "just send someone to clean up Reza's tank as fast as possible."

"So grumpy ... oh! And don't let the others play too much with the bubbles," she hanged the phone in a sudden rush.

Jackie hung up in annoyance, glancing back into the room and hearing everyone having a blast inside while Kroc was trying to find them in order to clear them out. While they're distracted she could go and take a shower by herself without Sabre pestering her to help her out. The host quickly retreated back into her room, staring at the door into the bathroom and knowing Reza was on the other side of it. She still needed to take a shower … ugh. She quickly put on her bathing suit, taking a deep breath before stepping into the bathroom with Reza immediately perking up.

"Is my room got to be ready soon? All my equipment will probably need cleaning too… and my organic supplies will require to be replenished," Reza asked before staring at her attire, "what are you doing here with a towel, host?"

"Not for a few days unfortunately." Jackie said with a glum frown, "and don't mind me, Reza. I'm going to take a shower real fast, alright?" Jackie said, walking over to the separate glass paneled shower before turning on the water and waiting for it to warm up.

Reza's eyed glowed, feeling almost honored to be able to witness this. "A shower? I've never seen a human wash herself."

"Well, that's because humans take baths in private." Jackie said with a shrug, feeling the water heat up to a good temperature before stepping inside and shutting the glass door to give herself privacy.

"Why?"

"Well, humans just like privacy during showering and stuff." Jackie answered from the shower, taking down some soap and rubbing herself down before shaving right off the bat to get rid of pesky hairs.

"So, it is rare to see a human groom themselves? And only a privileged few get to see it?" He asked, sounding like he was getting more and more excited for some reason.

"Well I guess that's one way to put it. I've personally never 'groomed' myself in front of someone before since it's weird to do that," Jackie said, setting the razor aside before tipping her head back and enjoying the hot water over her face. The humidity made it easier to breathe, opening up her lungs as she happily breathed in deeply.

"Is it?" Reza asked, his voice sounding closer.

"Yeah? Well, how do mermaids normally groom themselves?" Jackie asked, getting some shampoo and quickly rinsing through her hair and getting it clean.

"Just removing old scales, brushing hair and the usual. We are surrounded by water normally so grooming is easy. The only thing we are concerned about are the oils on our body and maintaining that level of cleanliness."

"Well, I guess humans just have more to clean up."

"Do you? I'm curious about that. You have no scales or fur." He said as she heard the slight scraping of his scales against the tile floor. She froze in mid rinse, staring at the glass door before he effortlessly pulled it open and began slipping into the cramped space with her.

"Reza, what are you doing?! Get out!" Jackie shouted as he circled around her legs and prevented her from escaping as he slipped most of his body inside. His spines on his lower hips flared a bit as he shifted, balancing himself as he leaned in close and hugged her one leg closer while he stared at the skin in interest.

"Or is it that grooming is pleasurable? The cats seem to enjoy it a lot and even the reptiles too when you groom them." Reza passed his hand over Jackie's leg to feel the skin. Jackie held completely still, worried about getting speared with his deadly spikes.

"Reza, it's very rude coming in while I'm taking a shower!" Jackie accusingly pointed out before drawing her hand back, cautious of his long beautiful spikes that would kill her pretty quickly if she was jabbed.

"Your skin is smooth everywhere?" He asked with genuine curiosity as he pressed the side of his head against her thigh. The flickering fin tickled her skin as she shifted her weight, slightly blushing in embarrassment before he glanced up at her, "oh, please, do not mind me. Continue grooming." He encouraged with a smile as his chilly hand slid down her leg, caressing the shape with his webbed fingers.

"Hey, watch where you're touching." Jackie said, hesitantly grabbing the soap before she scrubbed herself down. At least she was done with her hair but having him in here definitely made it cramped; not to mention more deadly depending on how she moved.

"Why are you prickly?" Reza asked, puzzled as he drew his slick hand up on her leg. Then his hands moved up to her sides and Jackie jolted under his touch, struggling not to start laughing, "What's that reaction!?" He looked her up and down again scared he may had accidentally punctured her due to the strange sound she emitted.

"N-Nothing," she said, moving his hands back down and collecting herself, "uh, well it's prickly because we have hair that grows and since it's not wanted, we just shave it away."

"Oh, alright." He observed her other leg, "host, your other leg is slightly hairy," Reza passed his hand over her other leg. "But it's still smooth. If fur is useless then you remove it?"

"I still need to shave since it doesn't look good; humans have hairy legs and I along with most other women normally shave in the shower." Jackie explained, pulling a leg away and setting it against a step in the shower before drawing the razor up and cleaning up her leg. Reza watched in deep curiosity, acting like this was something only he would be able to ever witness. After she finished with her one leg she rinsed off the razor and got ready to do the other.

"Can I try doing it for you? I want to see how this thing removes such fine and thin fur." He examined the razor; it looked like the tool he used to 'shave' the scales from some of the sushi's ingredients.

"What- no, no way." Jackie said with a frown before glancing over his scales. Desperate to change the topic she crouched down and touched his scales, making him jump a bit, "how are you doing? You're body isn't as slimy as it usually is." She said, wondering mildly if there was a cream or something she could get to help him out. Apparently it was possible for fish Extraspecies to dry out even underwater if their bodies weren't properly coated.

"I'm very dry but slightly better. That soap ate my coat and my own poison is drier too. I'll take a few more days until I'm completely fine. For now, the more humid the air the better."

"Well that's good," she said before Reza held her leg up a bit, drawing the razor over her leg just as he had seen her do it. The host stiffened up, flexing her leg muscles which immediately caught Reza's attention.

"H-Hey, be careful and don't cut me." She said before pausing, "actually, just stop. I can do it myself." She said, trying to reach for the razor but he pulled his hand away with a smile.

"I'll be carefull. I'd like to take the chance of the privilege of grooming you." He said, continuing to carefully shave her leg. When he was done he kissed her leg with a smile before seeing blood on her other ankle where she nicked herself a bit. "It seems you did get hurt."

"Did I get myself? Yeah, that's fine it happens often enough," she said with an uncaring shrug before he leaned down with a soft smile on his lips. He licked the blood, and the metallic taste invaded his mouth. Was this what sharks tasted in their prey? He gave her another lick as his eyes darkened a bit. He licked his lips rather hungrily, finding the taste rather oddly particular before he leaned in and gave a small, taste testing bite.

"OUCH!" She shouted loudly, instinctively kicking him in the mouth before falling back in the shower. Reza's eyes snapped back in an instant, seeing the host about to fall on top of his deadly spikes. In a move so fast she missed it he twisted around her, catching her over his torso as they fell out of the shower and onto the tiled floor.

Jackie jumped, startled before Reza pinned her down against the tiles and looked over her body with haste and precision.

"Were you pricked?" He asked, alarmed as she sat up, looking herself over too.

"I-I don't think so." She said, not feeling acute pain everywhere besides that of his weight falling onto her. She took a few moments to breathe deeply, trying to steady herself.

"Are you alright then?" He asked, looking at her face and finding himself rather close to her; closer than he had ever been. He noticed that her skin had some points and little holes, he also noticed that the double colored eyes were different. One didn't move like the other to follow movement. She in general looked very soft.

"Why did you bite me?!" Jackie demanded, looking down at her ankle and seeing the clear bite marks in her skin.

"I did?" He blinked and looked over Jackie to examine the little bite mark, "it seems I did so. I apologize then. I guess human really is an acquired taste."

"H-Human taste? What are you talking about?" Jackie asked, startled at seeing him so close to her. His sleek features and bright eyes pierced right through her as she stared up at him, suddenly finding herself a little breathless.

"Oh yes, once I was with some shark friends after I left the royal guard training camp and one of them found a drowned human. He wanted to taste some sushi with it and I prepared it for him since he was letting me stay in his place. Quite frankly the sushi tasted horrible although the raw meat wasn't so bad. However the taste can be improved with deep salting and wasabi then wrapping it in sargazo algae." He unhelpfully added on with a grin, seeming happy and proud with himself.

"Y-You … ate a human before?" She asked with her face paling, frightened. He … literally _ate_ a human before?!

"Just parts of it. There were parts which were useless." He said before leaning into her neck and a little under her jaw while deeply inhaling. His lips brushed across her skin, sending a frightened shiver down her spine, "but you had such an alluring fragrance that it seems I couldn't help but take a bite. Sorry … " he trailed off, his eyes becoming a little empty and his smile disappearing.

"R-Reza?" She breathed, seeing a cold exterior of his gaze. Was he going feral? "REZA!" She shouted before shoving against his chest. His fingers gripped her shoulders, slamming her against the tiles before leaning in with parted lips and a row of sharp teeth.

"Hey host. I need brushing. Soap in fur." Jaska said, opening the door before pausing and looking at the scene. Going unnoticed, Reza placed his teeth against her flesh, seeming to be savoring the moment before his tongue stretched out, sliding up her skin in a rather sensual manner. Jaska knew what he was doing; he was taste testing the host before he was about to bite into her jugular artery. The Siberian tiger roared and surged forward, "AWAY FROM HER, FISH!"

Reza let out a rather frightening hiss before Jaska reached in one jump towards him and hit him with the big brush he was carrying in one hand. Reza went flying back from the hit and then Jaska stood over the host protectively and roared again.

Reza skid across the tiles and hit the side of the tub before letting out a low moaning hiss. With a smack of his tail he launched himself at Jaska, landing on top of him. With a fast move Jaska flipped the fish over his head and threw him into Jackie's room, slamming against the wall and on top of her bed, where he got stuck with his own spines before Jaska slammed the door shut and holding the door handle.

"And stay down until you calm, fish " He hissed angrily before looking over at Jackie who was in front of the mirror and glancing over her wounds. They were superficial, none deep and none that would scar, thankfully no wound was from his spines either. "what happened, host?!"

"I-I don't know! H-He bit my ankle when I cut myself shaving in the shower a-and then he told he freaking _ate_ someone before a-and that I was fresh before trying to bite me!" Jackie said with a panicked shouting, still shaken from Reza, sweet Reza trying to kill her.

"So fish man eater? I need tell Smith," he said before pausing, "wait, you in shower with fish?" Jaska looked her up and down, "why fish?"

"Y-Yeah he just slipped in while I was washing myself." Jackie answered as Jaska stared at her with a poker face. With a groaning snap the handle snapped off the door, startling them both and making their faces pale. With a hard slam Reza burst through the door, trying to bite Jaska as his sharp needle claws dug into his furry arm.

Jaska grabbed the hair dryer and used it like a flail, holding it by the cord to slam the drier into the fish's face. Jackie jumped onto the counter, breathing scarce, to get away from the fighting, watching Reza hiss angrily in Jaska's direction and lurch for him again. Jaska turned on the hairdryer, stepping on the fish's shoulder and pinning him against the ground before blowing the hot and dry air into his eyes.

"GYAAAAAAAH! MY EYES!" Reza shouted, covering his eyeballs and curling into a ball of pain, flipping from side to side in his agony as Jaska moved aside.

"Dryness hurt fish, da?" Jaska calmly said but the growl coming from his throat warned Reza to stay down.

"R-Reza, are you back to normal?" Jackie asked, hopeful before heavy footsteps shook the ground. They all paused, looking over at the door before seeing Kroc burst through the thin door frame and with a low throated hiss tackled Jaska to the ground.

"Kroc?!" Jackie shouted, startled as Reza remained curled up and oblivious or ignoring the fight going on as Kroc leapt back from Jaska with narrowed eyes, thinking the tiger was the one who went feral.

"What you doing, brute! Fish feral one!" He shouted angrily before Kroc whipped around. The Siberian tiger saw the scaly tail coming his way, his eyes widening and ears lowering as he knew there was no way to avoid it. With a last second defense of putting up his arms he was slammed with the tail, tumbling into Jackie's room before hitting his head against her bed frame and putting a large crack in it. As the mattress awkwardly tilted towards the ground Jaska fell flat on his face, clearly dazed and hardly moving.

Jackie stood on the counter with her jaw wide open, seeing Jaska unconscious, Reza howling on the ground in pain and Kroc snorting victoriously as if he properly defended his household.

"K-Kroc … ," Jackie trailed off, only able to utter his name after all the mayhem that just happened.

"Ah, you alright, sheela?" He asked with the proudest grin on his face as he reached up, picking her up with ease before setting her on the ground. She looked up at him, hardly having the heart to rain on his parade just yet.

" … yeah, just fine, thanks." She heavily sighed, rubbing her temples before walking over to Reza, "hold still," she said, filling a cup with tub water before pouring it over his head.

"Ahhh~ host, please more." Reza pitifully pleaded, curled his head up towards her with his eyes cracked open and mouth wide open, tongue curling around the liquid and eagerly drinking it as she finished up with a rather good poker face.

"Are you alright now, Reza?" Jackie asked, cupping his face and looking at his eyes as Kroc walked into her room to check on Jaska.

"Yeah … but I'm hungry." He admitted with a sheepish frown.

Jackie immediately pinched his nose hard, making him flinch at the painful pinch.

"Try to eat me again and you'll be getting more than a tiger and crocodile." Jackie growled in annoyance as his face twisted up in pain.

"Ow, owow, please! I won't, I couldn't control it, I'm sorry. It's just that your blood tastes good." He said, pleading for mercy.

"And you'll control it next time, _right_?" Jackie growled, glancing at his sensitive ear before pinching it. Without warning Reza's entire body stiffened up, his face freezing in place with the exception of his face twisted into a tormented but silent scream of agony. Jackie let go, startled as he immediately held his fine ears with actual tears budding out of his eyes as he whined. "D-Did that hurt that much?" Jackie asked, startled. That look on his face looked like he was really hurt.

"Y-Yes-!" He whined, shuddering as he kept his ears covered, "our ears are very, very sensitive, h-host so unless you want to really hurt me you w-won't pull on them like that." He pleaded rather pathetically.

"Really?" She asked, reaching forward again but he flinched away from her hand.

"Yes. Since we sense vibrations in the water the nerves are extra refined but rather delicate; you could incapacitate a merman with ease b-by grabbing the fin ears but it would likely cause permanent damage if you did." He said with a deep frown and still in tears.

" … sorry. Now you apologize too or else I'll pull them harder." She said as Reza tensed up with goosebumps riddling his skin.

"I-I am sorry for trying to eat you, host." He said with a sorrowful expression, taken aback before awkwardly turning and climbing back into the tub quietly.

"Wait, _Reza_ tried to eat you, sheela?" Kroc looked at the fish in surprise as he helped a wobbly Jaska to his feet. The tiger slipped free of his loosened grasp before falling heavily back, breaking Jackie's bed all the way through as Kroc snapped his head around and saw the mess he made.

"Yeah. Jaska came in to help." Jackie explained as Jaska held tightly to Kroc's shoulder, pulling himself back up while achingly holding his head.

Kroc laughed very lightly and gave Jaska a friendly hit in the shoulder that sent him back down. "Sorry mate." He said but paused, seeing Jaska not answering back. " … Jaska?" He asked but there was no reply.

Out in the hallway, a little red fox peeked into the room, finding the tiger fast asleep in a rather unique position while the others talked. Antain gasped, excited before quickly running off as Jackie saw a flash of red of his tail and nothing more. She glanced back at Jaska, staring at his unconscious form before heavily sighing and rubbing her temples. Great.

"I'm really sorry. I'll prepare good sushi later when I get supplies."

" … it's fine, Reza. You're not the first to go feral." Jackie said with a small smile, gently rustling his hair, "I'll get you some food after I call Ms. Smith about what happened." Jackie said before getting up and walking back into her room.

"I think the tiger's down for the count." Kroc said with a frown, crouching down and poking the tiger in the stomach but got no response back.

"Yeah." Jackie frowned, staring over Jaska and her broken bed as Eztli hovered nearby, lightly pawing at the tiger's head, "I'll go get food for you, Reza. Relax in the tub until I come back." Jackie instructed as she held her aching head. After this she needed to take a nap.

"Anything I can help with?" Eztli asked, continuing to paw at Jaska's head while staring at Jackie.

"No, you're fine. Just try to wake Jaska up." Jackie said before she left, her breathing a little shallow but sounding clearer.

As the host headed towards the kitchen, Antain sprinted past her with an armful of colorful ribbons, leaping into the room excitedly. His little chest puffed excitedly, leaping onto the large tiger with a happy mewl as he dug deep into the tiger's thick fur, biting at some ribbons and pushing his head into the fluff to make the ribbons stay in his super secret hiding spot.

"Antain? What are you doing?" Eztli tilted his head and then pawed at another zone of Jaska's fur and noticed that it too had a ribbon hidden. "That is cool. Can I help too?"

Antain looked at Eztli and tilted his head as the jaguar tilted his own head in the same direction, then Antain once more tilted his head in another direction and Eztli imitated it. After a few moments of very deep consideration, Antain handled Eztli one ribbon to test the other cat. He couldn't share his hiding place with just anyone, so the the bigger kitty first needed to prove himself.

Eztli grabbed the ribbon and then, under the watchful gazer of Antain, moved the fur to tie the little ribbon tightly deep inside Jaska's fluff and then moved the rest of the fur so the ribbon would be hidden "There." The jaguar proudly announced and waited for Antain's approval, which came in the form of the rest of the ribbons being placed between them so both could start placing them all around Jaska.

Jackie soon returned with cut up meat for Reza, lightly seasoned and mixed with rice, walking in to see both Eztli and Antain excitedly digging through Jaska's fur.

"What are you two doing?" Jackie asked, confused as she paused in her steps.

Both kitties perked up and when they looked at Jackie their ears dropped before they quickly placed themselves in front of the ribbons as if to hide them.

"Mama?" Antain looked at her straight in the eyes.

"No, that's the hooman," Eztli pointed out and then he waved at the host, "can you go away host? You need rest, no?"

"Well, that's not suspicious at all. What are you doing to Jaska?" Jackie asked, trotting into the bathroom and setting the bowl down next to Reza as he hungrily began munching away.

It was not often Reza accepted anyone else's inferior cooking but he was starving and was willing to relent for a bit.

After Reza had his food, Jackie walked back into her room to assess the damage done to her bed and found Eztli and Antain once more were preoccupied with Jaska, snickering and playfully wiggling their tails. "Come on, don't bother him. Just let him wake up on his own." Jackie said, walking over to try and shoo them away. "But seriously, what are you two doing?

"Mmhhh ... I'm helping Antain." Eztli merely said, "would … would you like to help too?"

"Help with what?" Jackie asked, seeing Antain turn around on cue and grab a piece of ribbon, digging into Jaska's fur before poking it into the underlayer until it had all but vanished. The little fox turned around, throwing his hands into the air as though to show her the surprise of his disappearing act with the ribbon and Eztli giggling at that.

Jackie stared at them both before suddenly and loudly bursting into hysterical laughter. "Is _that_ where the ribbons have been coming from?! That's hilarious! H-Here, here let me show you something better." Jackie snickered, taking up a piece of ribbon before sitting near Jaska's back paw with her back to the other two. They stared, curious and trying to look over her shoulder before she pulled back, showing his little pinkie toe tied with a perfect ribbon bow as though it were a small wrapped gift. "Let's see how many ribbons we can fit on him." Jackie grinned, wanting to sleep but this was too good to pass up.

Immediately Antain, Eztli and Jackie began handing out the ribbons, and before long they were finished with all of Jaska's toes neatly tied up with ribbons along with his tail and feet, with a sparse number over his body. Once that happened, Antain and Eztli moved around, getting ready for a kitty nap using Jaska as bed and pillow. Jackie yawned, tired as well before Eztli pulled her down and Antain jumped over her, both kitties accommodating and purring.

Jackie smiled and leaned over Jaska's chest with Eztli acting as a soft blanket, closing her eyes to go to sleep for a small while.

"Hey host, I'm gonna take a shower." Sabre said passing by and straight into Jackie's shower, barely letting out a chuckle at the ribbon hiding activity within Jaska's thick fur.

"Do you need any help, sheela? The soap will cling to your thicker fur." Kroc asked, looking over to her after having watched the felines and Jackie tie a bunch of ribbons into the tiger's thick fur.

Sabre blushed madly. "M-maybe another time." She meekly squeaked out and ducked into the bathroom, holding the folded towel tight against her chest. Once inside the bathroom, she removed her wet clothes and let them drop onto the floor before she got inside the shower, leaving the towel aside on a rack.

She undressed and peeked into the shower, checking for shampoo and conditioner before she heard a small splash, whipping around and spying Reza on the bath tub at the other side of the bathroom eyeing her naked body up and down with curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh, don't mind me." Reza said with a somewhat sheepish smile, planning to simply watch since crawling in with the host turned out not as he planned.

Sabre let out a high pitched 'eek' before trying to play it cool. She was a bit unnerved, none the less. "Oh, sorry Reza, didn't see you were here. I'm only gonna take a shower." She calmly walked towards the shower and entered it again, grabbing the smerilled glass door to close it.

"Does your tail ever get in the way of you defecating? I would think it would because its in the back and weirdly positioned unlike mermaids, more like human's." He asked, tilting his head a bit with a small smile and eager smile, "do you mind leaving the door open? I want to watch." Reza asked as though nothing was wrong with that request.

"Sheela, you alright?" Kroc asked, poking his head through the door after overhearing her 'eek' and their little conversation, "and no, Reza, you can't. Sheela's don't like to be watched when they groom."

With an ever bigger blush Sabre hid behind the glass door but poked her head out to vigorously nod in agreement.

"Please? I promise I won't try to scale you like the host with her triple bladed scaler. And I won't bite or sting or try prepare some soy sausage that would go well with you." He joked with a serious touch in his eyes, tilting his head a bit with an attempted cute smile that stretch ear to ear, showing off his sharp teeth. "So can I watch? At least between your legs and under your tail to see how it all connects together? Maybe poke a little?"

"NO!" Sabre hissed, weirded out, mortified and bothered all at the same time. Was it not because her fur was all wet and soapy it would be sticking out all over.

"Please? I won't try to eat you, I promise." Reza smiled before Kroc stepped in front of him, making Reza lean back a bit.

"Eat me, fishie?" Sabre dead panned and then puffed her cheeks before finally shutting the glass door and turning on the water.

"Not a chance, Rez. Go ahead, take your shower, Sheela." Kroc said, waving her onto her grooming as he stood right in Reza's way facing the merman so he couldn't watch at all and to give the bastet a bit more privacy.

"But why not? It's so rare to see a female mammal groom!" Reza growled, seeming annoyed and pouty now that he couldn't see. "If she says it's alright then it's fine, isn't it?"

"Too bad." Kroc shrugged, remaining firm and unmoving.

"I said no!" Sabre growled again and began letting the water soak her to make the industrial soap run down, all while passing her hands over her body and noticing how much fur she was shedding.

Reza's finned ears lowered in annoyance as he tried to move around in the small tub, unable to see her at all before he slumped back in defeat, folding his arms up and instead hunkered down for a bit. "Aren't you interested in the female's anatomy of mammals, Kroc? I don't get to learn these things as the royal guardsman other than where their weak points are to kill them and later how to fillet them." Reza pointed out.

Kroc frowned, still unmoving and did not grace him with an answer. Instead he only stared at Reza, his gaze locked onto his body and analyzing each and every movement of the fish to ensure he could not see anything of Sabre's.

"You could have checked on the internet. Didn't they explain things in the program?" Sabre said from the shower, barely finishing removing wet shedded fur and leaving it into a small pile at the corner of the shower floor.

"Just generalities, but they never showed anything up close" Reza answered "So can we see?"

"Why don't you ask Smith then?" Sabre huffed and now scrubbed out the industrial soap from her underfur.

"She said no." Reza huffed, turning over slightly and staring at Kroc's stomach, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. "Why are females so bothersome not wanting others to watch?" Reza asked more to himself in a pouty manner, certainly cranky being stuck in a tiny tub filled with hardly any substantial water.

"Females are just that way, mate." Kroc answered. "Many are simply not comfortable with males around because males are possible dangers unless it's mating season, right sheela?"

Sabre flickered her furry ears. "Well, yeah but it's also something personal. Even males like some privacy, no?"

"Nope." Reza shrugged.

"Not really." Kroc shrugged, agreeing with Reza on this much. "Don't really care to be seen. I've got nothing to hide." Kroc admitted.

"Well, male humans are. But seriously, wouldn't it be sort of a danger to be caught when in private?" Sabre now asked, just a bit curious why they wouldn't be skittish at all about it. "I mean, private moments are like a chance for any attacker."

"Never really thought about it much. When I was younger a little bit, but not now. I don't have much to fear predator wise." Kroc admitted. "You?" Kroc asked, turning to Reza.

"Our country was founded on unity. If something threatened us, we all simply pitched in until the threat was eradicated. Nothing much scares us either." Reza admitted, "besides, nothing likes to touch me much because of my spines. You learned that the hard way." Reza grinned over towards Kroc.

"Same trick won't work twice." Kroc smirked back, showing off his sharp teeth.

"There's more than one way to fillet a prey." Reza said, showing off his own, less impressive but still dangerous teeth.

"So I take you guys have eaten other Extraspecies often?" Sabre asked, now finally able to get some shampoo on her fur.

"Of course." They both answered at the same time, glancing at one another before looking away.

"Prey is prey, sheela. An Extraspecies fish is no different from another fish." Kroc answered.

"You have not? Reza tilted his head "Why waste such meat?" He then tried again to look pass Kroc but again having no luck " Oh yes, I heard cats toy with their prey. Is that maybe it?"

"I have killed, yes, but never eaten the corpse… they weren't, lets say 'healthy' "- Of course she couldn't tell them that the Extraspecies she had killed had been all experiments pumped up with biochemical cocktails. "And have you eaten anyone recently?"

"Not really," Kroc said, "when the program was approved, many Extraspecies were expected to go along with it. I hated it for a while," Kroc admitted with a frown and tilt of his head, "but I suppose I get it now."

"Humans just have bleeding hearts wanting to change the order of things. And, amazingly, they've done a good job at it. Haven't eaten an Extraspecies for a while now." Reza sighed. "It's not very fair. What if we came in and told humans to stop eating something perfectly natural to them?"

"Please, now that there are zombies around some humans are 'zombie rights activists' depending on the country they would negotiate or reject it. Also consider that many humans still don't consider Extraspecies as people, and well, you can see how humans treat other humans. Not nice either." Sabre began removing all the shampoo, now her fur softer and let out a sigh, "I heard the council doesn't approve much about Extraspecies going with their instincts and killing other extraspecies. The same about killing or eating humans. Have you ever eaten humans before?"

"Only once; tasted gamy." Reza sighed as Kroc remained dead silent.

"Ehh.. kroc?" Sabre questioned.

"Smith said I shouldn't talk about it." Kroc admitted, looking away awkwardly.

"The talk about it, you can trust us … well, me at least." The leopardess reckoned him while finally applying the conditioner to her fur.

"Smith said absolutely no. Would get me in trouble with the … news, she said." Kroc heavily sighed, "another time, sheela."

"Ok" Sabre agreed immediately, she wasn't fond of media on that issue either"

"And have you killed humans, Sabs? Eaten then maybe? The one I got was already drowned, so it was not fresh." Reza flipped in the tub, trying to get more comfortable.

"Maybe a few, but eaten none." Sabre wasn't gonna tell them she had been progressively killing all escapee's and members of the company. She probably had a bigger killing record than all of them together, but lately she had admittedly been questioning her killing quest.

"Well, human flesh it's an acquired taste," Reza nodded, "I didn't liked that human meat that much, it was greasy and tasted odd. That's probably why not many become human eaters but some do"

"Human eaters?" Sabre turned off the water and began pressing her body to get more water out of her fur. "I heard some human eaters become so."

"Yeah. Humans aren't good for the brain; breaks down your sanity, makes you reclusive; real nasty stuff." Kroc huffed, "it's all the things they eat, I think."

"It is. Humans intake a lot of greasy and disgusting foods that aren't good for the body." Reza agreed.

"Yes, not I know someone like that, but if I did heard about a man eating while whale, I'd say it was pretty justified because whaler ships killed his family and dropped oil around a huge part of his territory." Reza stretched on the too small tub.

"Or when they're too old for normal prey." Kroc sighed, "don't last long though; humans with guns usually put them pretty fast … except when they do start using weapons too."

"Yes, but it is fun how the council encourages everyone to dispose of any human that had killed or even harmed an Extraspecies but discouraging eating doing that or the humans 'in public'," Reza chuckled truly amused.

"Does the council say that?" Sabre was finally opening the glass door only get a hold of the towel to dry herself out.

Kroc heard her shuffling around. "the council is very keen on saying that although it is discouraged, its perfectly acceptable when 'defending' one selves and other Extra Species" He then flipped his tail a bit remembering how he council had defended and encouraged his actions during 'that' incident. "basically the council is VERY angry and tired of humans destroying and killing everything else int he planet. If no one finds out then it's fine." Reza shrugged.

"I see" Sabre didnt knew much about the council, but that would be for another time" Kroc… please move 2 steps to the left. Im gonna blow dry my fur"

"Sure thing, sheela." Kroc said, moving over slowly as Sabre moved behind him to get to the counter and connect the air dryer, using it to make her fur super fluff up in the process.

Reza perked up a bit, seeing a bit of her fluffiness through the mirror before his eyes grew wide. "YOU GREW BIGGER!"

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

Jackie let out a wide yawn, stretching a bit as she slowly became aware of the furry arms, big and small, hugging and sleeping against her with purrs rumbling their chests. Her eye cracked open, seeing Eztli resting against her chest and sleeping soundly while smiling and with Antain hugging her leg and burying his face into the crook of her knee. With a smile she pet Eztli's ears and watched as he groaned and pushed against her in his delight, but not waking up.

Seeing the cuteness and not resisting it, Jackie gave a small kiss to the top of Eztli's head, and the response of the big kitty cat was to give a meow. Jackie then gave him another kiss and Eztli meow again in the same cute way, prompting Jackie to deliver a new kiss and extracting new meow for the feline, repeating this enough time for Antain to wake up and crawl between them, laying down and meowing to receive kisses too.

"Alright, alright that's enough." Jackie lightly laughed, trying to pull away now. As adorable as this all was, she was starving and needed to eat.

"No…. hugs….more." Still very sleepy, Eztli let out a new meow asking for more kisses and as did Antain.

"Later; I'm hungry and need to make myself something to eat." Jackie said, trying to sleepily push him away but he instead purred and rubbed up against her.

"No, host. I want to cuddle and sleep." Eztli said with an adorable kitty smile, flicking his tail back and forth in contentment. He was comfortable and clearly not keen on moving just yet.

Meanwhile Antain got a grab of Eztli's fur and buried himself in the feline warmth, falling deeply asleep with a smile and nuzzling against him more than happily.

"Then cuddle with Antain. I'll be back once I've eaten." Jackie yawned again, trying to worm herself out of his grasp but he held on more tightly, locking his arms together to prevent her from getting free.

"No, you cuddle." Eztli purred and gave her a kiss like she had given him.

"Hmm~ then what if I give you a little bit of what I'm eating? I'll cook you some unflavored steak so you can start getting used to solid food, how about that?" Jackie offered, deciding a bit of a reward would be nice for him.

Quickly tucking Antain Eztli was immediately after already at the door, super excited with a note pasted onto his tail. His eyes glowed, thoroughly excited as Jackie stared at the note on his tail's piercing waving back and forth.

"Hey, Eztli, what's this?" Jackie asked, taking the paper off his tail and reading it.

' _Host, I am with Smith and will return later.' - Jaska_

"I'm guessing another job." Jackie said, lightly tapping her finger against the paper before she put it in her pocket. She glanced over at Antain, seeing him hugging his own fluffy tail and purring before she quietly walked over to him, tucking him into the blankets to keep him nice and warm before she left, leaving the light on.

"Don't we wake up the , peque?" Eztli looked at Antain' sleeping form, unsure if they should wake him up for meal time or if leave him to sleep.

"No, leave him be. He's tired." Jackie smiled as she headed over to the kitchen with Eztli excitedly bounding along next to her.

"So I'll get real meat now, right?" Eztli almost bounced on their way to the kitchen and then around the host instantly.

"Yeah yeah hold on, will you? I need to cook it all up. Go wait in the living room." Jackie said, trying to shoo him out of the kitchen as she took out some pots and pans, getting them ready to cook some stir fry vegetables for herself and another smaller pan for some plain steak.

"Hey host, can I eat real meat from now on? Can I store it somewhere? Will you get me some living prey for me to practice like Sabre does with Antain? Do you need help? Here it's the basil, OH! What if we add some of my cappi roots to it!" Eztli kept on moving around looking at all she was doing and quite eager to taste it.

"Yes and no, you'll still get the bottle for a bit longer but some small meat chunks here and there, no you can't store it anywhere, no there will be no live prey so ask Sabre for that, no I don't need help, thank you the basil is for me and not you and … roots?" Jackie asked, turning and looking at him in puzzlement, "I'm just making you some straight meat chunks; your stomach can't handle the spices just yet." Jackie said, reaching over and petting his head before she went to chop up the vegetables.

Finally finishing, Jackie handed the meat to Eztli and then grabbed her food, both eating peacefully with Eztli asking many questions in between bites as she quickly finished eating, feeling him pulling at her towards the couch for more kisses and pets. With a heavy sigh she put her food down, letting Eztli drag her to the couch for some extra petting.

"Come on, be more gentle." Jackie grunted, feeling the bruising on her arm as he tossed her onto the couch and cheerfully leapt onto her lap, nuzzling against her stomach happily.

Eztli bumped heads with her and then relaxed his posture, slowly closing his eyes and laying over her. "You actually _are_ a good host." Eztli purred and rolled over Jackie's lap as she ran her fingers through his fur and pushed against his plush cheeks, enjoying his happy purring.

"Obviously. Why did you think Smith put me with so many of you?" Jackie teased, lightly squishing his cheeks as she pet him thoroughly. She smiled, watching as he stretched over her again and grinned quite happily. Of all her cats Eztli was the happiest, most easy going and least problematic once he wasn't completely wary of her. It was a little rough in the beginning but he's honestly one of the happiest Extraspecies she's had the pleasure of having at her home and that in turn made her happy. Considering she knew that Eztli's had a rather tough past, although she didn't know what it was exactly, she was thrilled that he was fitting in perfectly with the others.

She squished his face a little bit, watching as his tail flip around in pleasure before he suddenly hugged her and nuzzled his head against her shoulder with a deep, thrumming purr in his chest. His ears lowered, panting rather abnormally as he sensually moaned. It used to make her uncomfortable hearing him moan and groan in all sorts of weird ways but making those sounds, she supposed, was just his way of letting her know how much he was liking it. After a little bit of petting, she turned on the television towards a random movie on the syfy channel for a bit.

"You're so cute, Eztli." Jackie admitted with a sighing smile, firmly rubbing his ears as he smiled, already a mushy pile of fur under her skilled fingers. He was seriously like an overgrown kitten and she had to admit it was adorable; even though she considered herself more of a dog person she didn't mind these cats one bit. She honestly loved all of her Extraspecies she's been assigned over.

"And you are nice, host," He began rubbing himself on her hands and body while along his purrs he started emitting some moans of deep pleasure. "Yes host, touch me more~."

Jackie lightly sighed. She'd never get used to the weird sounds he made every time she pet him but at least he was enjoying himself. "I will, I will." She lightly laughed, hugging him and enjoying his silky soft fur against her skin while the TV dimly glowed with a nonsensical B horror film playing on the screen. Since he arrived, his fur had become softer than the coarse coat he had earlier. "Want me to pet anywhere in particular?" Jackie asked, trailing her fingers down his spine in a crawling motion before rubbing above the base of his tail.

"Nyyaah~," he deeply groaned with a faint blush on his cheeks, raising his hips up a bit while his tail flickered back and forth before glancing at the screen at the sound of a loud scream. After a few moments of watching the horrible acting he sighed. "This movie is horrible. It has no drama or emotion and they scream at anything and everything." He said with a frown before shivering as Jackie scratched at the base of his tail and heard him moan.

"What? I love these kinds of movies. They're hilarious," Jackie laughed, scratching her hand over his belly and watching him curl his spine and stretch with a satisfied smile on his lips. "I guess B rated horror movies are a guilty pleasure of mine." She teased.

"Guilty pleasure? What else gives you pleasure?" Eztli asked while tilting his head. Would this host's pleasures be like those others he's had before? He wanted to doubt it but he could not be sure or tell at all with these humans. She was very different from them but were her sexual preferences any different?

"Other? Hm~ steak." Jackie said with a firm nod and serious expression, "steak is another one. And anything with chocolate in it. Definitely." She grinned as a giant, completely computer generated monster leapt from the water and attacked the 'unsuspecting' people on the boat. "What about you?" Jackie asked, curious, "you don't have any guilty pleasures yourself, do you?" She teasingly asked, mindlessly massaging his scalp with her fingers.

"Getting high after a session of watching soap operas." He brazenly admitted with the same bright smile as he popped his hips back a bit with a soft, sensual call.

"Getting high?" Jackie asked, pausing. Getting high … as in off drugs or off something else? "What do you mean by getting high?" She asked, wondering if there was something lost in translation; which she highly doubted since he was so fluent in English.

"Anything that makes me forget anything bad." Eztli pawed at her hand playfully, trying to make her continue petting him. When she did not move, however, he looked up at her as her gaze narrowed.

" … if you ever do drugs in my house or even so much as bring some home I will kick you out." Jackie said with a straight laced frown on her face and rather cold eyes as she slowly began petting him.

He snapped up and his eyes widened, mouth parting in horror, "what?!"

"You heard me. I have a clean house here and I'm not going to-," she started before stopping short, the wheels turning in her head, " … you don't have anything here now, do you?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

Eztli stiffly smiled, flickering his eyes to his room and back to her before taking off running towards his room in a mad flurry.

"EZTLI! Get back here!" Jackie shouted, chasing after him and into his room. The moment she entered they both froze where Jackie looked up and saw him putting a big plastic baggie at the top of the tree and way out of her reach. "Eztli! Get those drugs out of my house!" Jackie shouted with an accusing finger pointed at him.

"They aren't drugs, they are roots to help me sleep!" He called from his den.

"LIAR! I know marijuana when I see it! That's illegal!" She shouted up to him as she started to climb up to his den.

"Human laws don't apply to Extraspecies! Sabre said so!" In one smooth motion Eztli leapt out of the den and onto the ground, startling her before he grabbed her from behind in a tight hug and tucked his legs in, becoming dead weight before dragging her to the ground with him.

" _I_ could still get in trouble by the police if they come by and find that in your room, Eztli!" Jackie argued before gasping, "do you have more bags than just the one?!"

"Only some is mariguana," Eztli grabbed Jackie easily kept her away from the large fake tree. "And it's mine, I can share but you should get your own ayahuasca or mariguana if you want, host."

"Don't be so stubborn, Eztli, and drugs are _not_ good for your body!" Jackie argued, struggling with his iron grasp. She saw firsthand what drugs did to her mother and brother and she was not about to let the same thing happen to Eztli with that stupid gateway drug.

"It's not a drug and whatever humans consume is different for me," Eztli yowled, hugging her tightly.

"How is it different? It messes with your body and kills brain cells!" Jackie shouted as they tumbled over the floor a few times with Eztli laying on top of her with a stubborn huff.

"No! They help, for humans they are bad, don't apply it to me, host. I thought you were nice, but you don't want me to sleep well." Eztli looked sideways, his tail lashing as he visibly looked hurt.

"Ack! Get off, you're heavy!" Jackie shouted, trying to claw her way to freedom but his strength and weight prevented her from moving at all. "Eztli, I'm throwing out those drugs now let go!" Jackie shouted, struggling to untangle her arms from her waist but he held fast.

"No! You can't take my things from me. Bad host!" He shouted as he began dragging her out of his room.

"I'm concerned for your health and wellbeing, I am a _good_ host!" Jackie shouted, trying to get free.

"You want me to have nightmares and steal my stuff. Bad host!" The jaguar pulled her out of his room and closed the door. Then grabbed her again and began dragging her towards the living room and away from his precious stash.

"Of course I don't want to give you nightmares! How does me taking those stupid drugs make me a bad host?! Those things will reduce your mind to the state of a 15 year old, permanently! Eztli, let go!" Jackie shouted, reaching around to hug him as she tried getting a good grip on the back of his neck.

"I told you. Their effects on humans is different. To me they help me calm and sleep. They are natural." Eztli growled and twitched to get free.

"Then take some non addictive sleeping pills!" Jackie shouted, grabbing the back of his neck with both hands as she haggardly breathed.

"I don't trust human drugs." He stiffened and then tensed before relaxing slightly. "Oooh~! Grab me harder!"

"We're getting rid of those drugs! Now be good!" Jackie growled, keeping her grip tight as she began petting him. If she reduced him to a state of furry jelly then she'd have enough time to raid his room quickly and grab the drugs.

Just then the doorbell rang, making Jackie's head turn towards the door before Eztli took advantage of the distraction, leaping off of her and back into his room, climbing up to his den to protect and hide the rest of his precious sleeping medicine.

"We're not done with this, Eztli!" Jackie shouted up to him before leaving his room all huffy now that she learned that one of her Extraspecies had drugs stashed away in his room. Freaking Eztli, what was wrong with him bringing drugs into the house?! She walked up to the door, peeking through the peephole before pausing, startled. With a hard throw she opened the door, seeing Jake, an old friend of her late brother, standing there with a hiking backpack on his back and a goofy grin on his face.

"Phew~ you certainly matured with age, Jackie," he grinned as Jackie stood speechless, shocked to see him standing there. They weren't really friends but were friendly enough with each other since he was Jay's friend. But what confused her was that he was at her house for some reason when she hadn't heard from him in years.

"W-What, what are you doing here?" She asked, finally finding her voice.

"Well, I was just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by for a visit. Glad to see you still living here," he cheerfully laughed before peering past her into the house, "is Jay around?"

"Y-You don't know?" Jackie asked, startled to meet a friend as old as Jake who did not know about Jay.

"Don't know what?" He cheerfully asked with a grin, readjusting the heavy straps, "hey, can I come in? The bag is heavy." He admitted with a sheepish smile.

"Uh … yeah, sure. It's uh, probably best you sit down and relax a bit." Jackie said, letting Jake inside before she softly shut the door with little to no emotion indicated on her face.

"Phew~ this is a really nice setup you have here, Jacks." Jake whistled, impressed as he set the bag down and out of the way, trotting over to the living room and made himself at home on one of the couches, "things sure have changed. You got new nice furniture." He said, swinging his feet before pausing, "ah, you're mom isn't around, is she?" He asked, looking around for her.

" … this is, uh, a little hard to explain but, well," Jackie started, trying to get her thoughts in order before looking him in the eyes, "my mother is in a psyche ward finally getting the help she needs. Jay … he passed away when we were 14." Jackie said as she took a heavy seat herself on the opposite couch, remembering very briefly the bright headlights and the blaring horn before her mind repressed the memories.

"Nah, you're pulling my leg!" He laughed, "that man could never die, not with all the crap I've seen that dude do!" Jake loudly laughed, holding his stomach as Jackie coldly stared at him. This was … still hard to say. His laughter trailed off, puzzled that Jackie was not following along before seeing her earnestly hurt and downcasted expression. " … whoa, no kiddin'? Hey, I-I'm sorry about that I really had no idea." He said, getting up to hug Jackie, "hey, come here." He said, opening his arms up for a hug.

Eztli came into the room and saw the a strange man closing in on Jackie with arms wide open to prevent any escape routes. A flashback of his first human, a male that got him since he was a cub came to his mind; the memories of abuse were almost as horrible as Olivia, his second human. Without a second of contemplation he jumped in the middle of the humans with an angry snarl, all claws out and his fur on edge as his big fangs were on display with his roar.

"WHOA WHAT THE F***?!" The guy shouted, scared out of his mind as he fell over the couch and stumbled to his feet, backing away to a safe distance. "THE F***?!"

" _Whoa_ , whoa WHOA! Eztli wait! Hold on, sorry Jake, I should have told you earlier but I'm a host f-for the Extraspecies program. This is Eztli. Eztli, this is Jake, an old family friend." Jackie explained, putting herself between the two as Jake grasped his chest, almost having a heart attack right then and there before he let out a shaky sigh, clearly startled. Eztli's glaring and snarling towards Jacke startled her.

"J-Jacks, how, what the-?" He asked, borderline panicking before Jackie walked over to him.

"Oh calm down, it's fine, really-," Jackie started before Eztli grabbed her. The black jaguar set her aside easily, surprising her and as he snarled at the intruder, looking terrifying and ready to pounce and rip the guy apart.

"Whoa, whoa man look I don't want no trouble." Jake said, continuing to back up before Jackie got in front of Eztli with a cold spray bottle and spritzed him in the face.

"Eztli! Down! Jeez, what's gotten into you?" Jackie demanded, shielding Jake's body with her own. Why did he suddenly lash out like this? Hardly 5 minutes ago he was a pile of mushy fur and now he's ready to rip someone's head off?

Eztli shook his head to get the water off before glaring at the man. "Go away." The jaguar hissed while baring his pearly white fangs at the guy.

"Look if it's a problem I, uh, I can just go sleep in a park or something," he said, hands up and hiding behind Jackie.

"You're not going to sleep in a park, jeez! You can stay here, there's plenty of room for it." She said, stepping in front of Eztli again before reaching up, petting his jaws, "Eztli, calm down. Go relax in your room, alright?" Jackie said, petting his ears and neck vigorously. She had seriously never seen him like this before. Why was he acting so aggressive? His sudden show of aggression towards Jake was making her freaked out. "Come on, Jake. You can sleep in the guest room tonight. I'll wash the sheets for you." She said, starting to lead him towards the room.

"No," Eztli said firmly with his voice deeper than normally as he glued himself to Jackie.

"Eztli, what are you doing? Talk to me. Jake, go put your stuff in the guest room it's down the hall to the left, right across from my room." Jackie said, motioning down the hall before she looked back up Eztli and saw him intently glaring at Jakie before hissing.

"U-Uh, yeah, s-sorry to bother ya." He apologized, quickly gathering his things before scurrying away. Jackie watched him go before turning back to Eztli.

"What's going on? Why are you being so mean to Jake?" Jackie asked, unable to make sense of his aggressive behavior.

Instead of a proper response he just growled and pulled her against his muscular chest in a painfully strong hug.

She stiffened up, startled as she tried to push away from him. "Eztli, too tight! Loosen up," Jackie said, scratching at his back and the base of his tail before making him moan in his usual sensual way. His arms, however, remained firm around her. "Eztli, look at me. Talk to me." She said, managing to free an arm and run her fingers through his hair, trying to entice him into speaking. This wasn't good. If he was going to keep acting like this she was going to end up trying to make Eztli go to bed.

"Hey Jacks, got anything to eat around here? I'm in the mood for Chinese and can pay for half." He offered with a grin, pausing as he saw the intimidating Extraspecies holding Jackie close.

"I'm hungry too so maybe I can eat intruder tonight." Eztli growled towards the guy, ears against his head.

"Intruder?" Jake asked, "I'm no intruder. I've stayed here a couple times before." Jake pointed out.

"But this is the present and you are intruding." Eztli growled as his tail lashed angrily.

"If you're so hungry then I'll cut you up some meat slices, alright? Jake, go ahead and order from the usual place; the menu is in the leftmost kitchen drawer."

"I'll make him into meat slices if he gets near." Eztli growled once more before Jackie reached up, rubbing Eztli's neck in hopes of dissipating his anger.

"Alright cool. What do you want?" Jake asked, shuffling over to the kitchen before running face to face with a large scaly chest. The man froze, unable to move before slowly looking up at a large metal jawed crocodile standing in front of him. Kroc tilted his head, curious as Jake's face paled in unadulterated fright.

"Who are you, mate?" Kroc asked, stepping back and looking the man over in confusion.

"An unwanted presence." Eztli snarled in response.

"U-Uh I, I'm Jake, Jake uh, Jack's fr-friend," he barely stammered out before nervously breathing a faint laugh. He moved aside and retreated into the kitchen as Kroc stared at him before looking over to Jackie for an answer.

"He's Jake, an old friend of the family. He'll be staying here for the night." Jackie explained while scratching at the base of Eztli's tail and expecting to hear a lewd moan. The only sound she received, however, was a piercing hiss.

Eztli eyed the guy with utter disgust and distrust. "He isn't staying here." His arms around Jackie tightened, holding her close rather protectively.

"What do you mean he's not staying here, of course he is." Jackie said as Kroc's eyes flickered between the two, not knowing exactly what to do.

"Hey Jacks, Riku says they are out of your favorite Beef Lo mein, will chicken do?" He asked, poking his head over the counter and looking at her.

"Yeah sounds fine. Tell him he needs to deliver it here and I'll give him a $10 tip." Jackie said, highly doubting Eztli would let go of her long enough to get the food with Jake.

"Kay cool." Jake said, glancing away and and ordering for them.

The host turned back to Eztli with a frown, "come on, let go and I'll get your meat strips ready." Jackie said,

"I'm not letting go. I don't trust that intruder and I don't want him in our territory." Eztli was completely serious, no happy smile.

"You don't trust my judgement?" Jackie asked with a slight tilt of her head and an annoyed frown, "I know him well and he's trustworthy. A little jumpy but he was a good friend of my brother. He's been a good friend to me too." Jackie said, continuing her petting and trying to make him relax. Kroc stood on the hallway, sipping on his water bottle and remaining fairly indifferent to the situation but stared at Eztli and the host, measuring the level of hostility in the feline's voice.

"I don't trust him and you haven't seen this male for years." Eztli hissed, staring into the kitchen at the lanky man. Eztli looked ready to attack if the guy got close.

"Eztli, trust me, he's just fine. Now let go I need to be a good host." Jackie heavily sighed, leaning away and trying to make him let go.

"No, he is not." Eztli growled, holding her a little tighter. "You are here, Antian is here, Sabre is here, fishie is here, Kroc is here and me is here, so it's bad and that hooman can't stay here. That hooman isn't allowed near this hooman." Eztli huffed, rubbing against Jackie to get his scent more deeply embedded into her clothes and skin.

"Sabre isn't here either." Kroc shrugged. "All is fine if the host says it's fine. I suggest you let the host go, mate." Kroc said with a fairly neutral expression, his tail flickering a bit as he eyed the feline up.

"Wait, where's Sabre?" Jackie asked, perking up as Kroc just shrugged. She let out a huff; she'd have to talk to Sabre later about sneaking out without telling her. Where did she disappeared to anyways?

"No, I'm not letting her go. It's dangerous." Eztli's fur was on edge as Kroc stared at him. Last time this house had seen a cat like that, Sabre and Jaska had tried to kill each other. Kroc looked between Eztli and the human inside the kitchen.

"HA!" Kroc loudly laughed, walking over to them while shooting a stream of water into his mouth, "you're intimidated by that human male? Really?" Kroc grinned, seeming to be in a good mood; or just pretending to be in one.

"You don't know what they can and would do." Eztli hissed in response.

"Mate, I know plenty what humans can do. And that tyke in there ain't one of them." Kroc deeply laughed dabbing his head with the wet towel on his shoulder to cool himself off from assumingly another work out.

"YOU. DO. NOT. KNOW!" Eztli snarled with a dire expression, ears pinned against his head.

Kroc paused, his smile falling as he stared at the jaguar. Whatever the cat knew wasn't something to laugh about. Still, he was becoming agitated and that could turn deadly for the host in a heartbeat. "Let the host go," kroc said in a serious tone, his eyes narrowing,

"Not until that human goes away." Eztli just kept growling, his pupils already slits.

"You're edging on the line of feral, cat. You'll hurt the host." Kroc said with a very low hiss, too low for any human ears to pick up on.

"Hey babe, got any soda in here?" Jake asked from the kitchen as she heard the fridge open.

"Uh, it's in the one to right, bottom shelf." She called back, not liking her chances of survival at the moment. "Eztli, please. I'm perfectly safe here; I've got both you and Kroc to protect me if anything happens." Jackie said, trying to appeal to his logic which was clearly not entirely in place.

"Let her go before I pry you off." Kroc threatened, crushing his water bottle as Jackie tensed up. At this rate they really might throw down.

"Whoa, whoa wait, guys seriously, let's all just calm down for a minute here." Jackie said with a nervous frown, "Eztli, relax. Nothing is going to happen and if something does happen then I can handle it. Come here, lay on the couch with me. I'll groom you until the food arrives." Jackie said, trying to inch him over to the couch.

Eztli looks at her and finally complied but not without a warning growl. He didn't like the presence of other hoomans in their territory, much less of a male that acted as if he was apart of this safehaven. He remember well these kinds of young hooman males, they were the ones that wanted to experiment he always ended up hurt. No way was he gonna allow anything happen now, to the host, to himself, or to anyone else of his new family.

Jackie dragged Eztli over to the couch, motioning Kroc to leave for the time being. Kroc stared at them, weighing his options before leaving but no doubt he would leave the door open to listen to them.

"Here, lay down," Jackie gently encouraged, noticing he was indeed super tense. "Eztli, it's alright. You're safe here." Jackie reassured with a smile, giving him a small and reassuring hug.

"I'm making sure of that," Eztli let out a small growling hiss.

"Yes, because you are a big strong jaguar," Jackie grinned in attempts to butter him up, scratching his belly before he reluctantly let her go. Eztli slipped his shirt off and tossed it aside, spreading his scent to show this was _his_ safe haven towards the intruder.

Eztli joined Jackie as she grabbed some brushes, wrinkling his nose as he picked up the scent of the stranger on her. Just for safe measures, he leaned over to Jackie and hugged her again, rubbing himself all over her, especially his plush cheeks.

"Pffffft Eztli! What are you doing? That tickles!" Jackie laughed as his hands slid over her sides and back, ensuring all parts of her were covered with his scent instead of the intruder's smell. He leaned into her neck, sniffing her before he laid down with a smug grin at having gotten rid of the intruder's scent. "Alright, alright! Just relax, alright?" Jackie sighed, rubbing his cheeks before running the brush down his back and sweeping out the dead and loose fur.

"Hey Jacks, food is on its way." Jake said, trotting out of the kitchen with a diet coke in hand and a soda in the other, "here," he said, handing Jackie the Dr. Pepper as she brushed Eztli's fur.

"Thanks." She said, reaching for the soda.

Eztli roared and scratched at the air to where the guy's hand had been a second before he managed to move back and not lose his hand. The soda landed on the table before Jackie caught it, hugging Eztli against her as he leaned away from her and towards Jake. "Don't come near," Eztli growled, his accent becoming thicker. The stranger was now grabbing ' _their'_ food and was providing the host with it, now 'that' was far more than insulting, not to mention he may have put something on that drink.

"Phew~ hey, Jacks, when did you become a host?" Jake asked, backing away and wisely sitting the couch on the opposite side of the room.

"Not too long ago. Maybe a couple weeks, almost 2 months?" She said, rubbing Eztli's head and trying to make him concentrate on her instead. She had no idea why Eztli was reacting this way but it was scary seeing him so out of his normally cheerful and romantic personality.

"Yeah? And uh, how many do you have?" He asked, sipping on the soda.

"None of your business." Eztli growled again

"Be nice." Jackie lightly admonished, scratching his neck, "I have about … well, there's Dumisa, Jaska, Kroc the other one you met, Sabre, Antain and Eztli here. Oh, and Reza too, he's the newest one." She explained.

"Whoa, that's a whole lot." He said, surprised. "Is it hard taking care of them?"

"A little. I had to go on leave from the shop for a bit to take care of them." She explained.

"That sucks." He said with a frown.

Eztli made an attempt to get up at the word 'suck'. His fur was ruffled and his growls turned even more menacing. He looked about to attack despite Jackie trying to calm him by petting him.

Jackie tugged on his ear, covering his eyes with her free hand as she rubbed his head. When she did that, he tensed. Her fingers dragged through his fur around his neck and shoulders, gently pulling him back down over her lap as she madly continued to pet and scratch him.

"Yeah but it's alright. I really like being a host," Jackie said.

"Yeah? What are your other uh, what are they called, Exterspecies? Interspecies?" He asked himself, puzzled.

"Extraspecies. And going in order, I'm hosting a Black Mamba, Siberian Tiger, Saltwater Crocodile, Clouded Leopard girl, a baby fox, and-,"

"Jaguar, right, Jacks?" He asked, proud of his knowledge.

"Yeah, how could you tell?" She asked, surprised that he knew

"From his spots. They're hard to see but you can see the rosette patterns on his fur," he pointed out, rather proud of himself.

"You're talking as if I am not here." Eztli growled once more, his tail was lashing more angrily by the minute.

"Well that depends. Are you going to bite my head off if I ask you?" Jake asked, beginning to grow bothered at the jaguar's attitude but played it cool.

"I would bite your skull and break it anyways." Eztli said and then hissed to show his fangs. Jake shivered slightly, certainly intimidated as he leaned back and sipped on his soda.

"Be nice." Jackie said, lightly flicking his nose before hugging his head so her boobs were accidentally against Eztli's face, figuring if he couldn't see he'd be a little more calm, "so Jake, what have you been up to all this time?" She asked, trying to get his mind off of the borderline murderous feline as he bared his fangs, snarling against Jackie's chest as his tail methodically flickered back and forth. She could feel just how tense he was, never realizing before just how intimidating his thick and toned muscles were until now. Whatever was happening he was definitely freaked out.

"Oh you know, mostly traveling around the world and such, living off the kindness of others. Have you ever been to Africa? It's pretty awesome down there." He childishly grinned.

"Whoa, really? How in the world did _you_ afford to go flying around like that?" Jackie asked with a small laugh.

"Every traveler has his secrets," he cheekily grinned, "so uh, what's it like being a host? I've stayed with a few host families before in other countries. Their houses weren't as nice as this though." He noted, looking around with an impressed whistle.

"And you want to invade _our_ territory? Maybe you were kicked out from others, no?" Eztli's claws came out noticeably against Jackie's waist, making her let out a pained grunt before he eased up his grip on her.

"Phew~ easy there, pussycat. I'm not interested-,"

"Then is it our host you're after?" Eztli needled with a sharp hiss and glare, practically worming out of Jackie's embrace as she held him tighter.

"Eztli, would you just relax already?" Jackie sighed before getting a good idea. She hugged his head again with her arm other his eyes, reaching over to a nearby drawer where she pulled out a small ball of catnip. "Here, Eztli." Jackie said, patting the ball on top of his nose a few times, seeing him blink and pause before his pupils grew very large.

His squirming movements shifted to waves, pressing against her as he lovingly held her close, high off of the concentration of catnip.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool." Jake said with a goofy grin.

"Yeah but then they cling to you like nobody's business," Jackie sighed, very gently rubbing Eztli's head before resting her chin on it, "so what places have you gone to in your travels?" Jackie asked as Eztli snuggled closer, breathing rather needily.

"You know, just around. The furthest I've gone is Paris," he proudly grinned, continuing to talk about how great it was as Jackie zoned out a bit.

Yeah, he went to paris but on whose payroll? Jackie wondered when Eztli's tongue scraped at her chest through the shirt, his face a deep blush before he lightly nipped at her shirt and tugged it down. Jackie jolted, startled before pulling her shirt out of his mouth and covering his lips with her hand.

"Traveling is really cool. Weird, but I haven't seen that many Extraspecies though. However the cities were awesome."

"Oh yeah? So how was Paris?" Jackie asked with a forced smile, feeling Eztli licking at her palm repeatedly before he pulled his head back slightly, curling his lips around her digit before he began sucking on it and letting out some moans. Jackie's face paled as he nursed from her finger with closed eyes, groaning and working his tongue around the digit while panting over her hand.

"Pretty good. The people were kinda snobby but many of them were very nice too." Jake said with a grin, seeming oblivious to whatever Eztli was doing.

"Y-Yeah?" Jackie asked as Jake leaned forward, staring at the jaguar Extraspecies.

"Phew, he's _really_ sweet now. Can I pet him?" He asked, walking over to them with suicidal curiously. His fingers scratched at the base of his tail, making him mewl with a deep groan as he raised his hips up, panting a little harder as he more vigorously sucked.

"OH-kay, I think that's enough petting. The effects of catnip only last about 10 minutes or so." Jackie said as Eztli's hands trailed down her sides before firmly grasping her hips and pushing her against the couch.

At that moment the doorbell rang, catching their attention.

"Sweet! Food's here." Jake grinned, hopping over to the door to pay for it before Jackie grabbed Eztli's ears, twisting them a bit and making him loudly whine. His spine curled as his hips bucked backwards, spreading them with a deep flush on his face. With a crawling motion his hands trailed down his own spine, slipping into his pants as she froze, startled. What the?!

"Eztli! What in the world-," she started before he pressed his lips against her mouth, whining throughout as his tail flickered back and forth. Jackie remained frozen, startled that Eztli was kissing her before she popped her head back from him. He tightly hugged her as she felt a friendly little poke downstairs before he reached down, unbuttoning his pants.

"EZTLI!" Jackie thundered, suddenly springing up and trying to run away but he latched onto her, kissing her waist before lightly nipping at her skin. Whatever the hell was going on with him was definitely getting out of hand. Jackie whipped her phone around, dialing up Ms. Smith as she heard Jake making small talk with Riku, the delivery guy and friend.

" _Oh, good evening, Jackie. How are you and Eztli getting along?"_ She asked, sounding rather content as purring sounded through the phone.

"Yeah just great, listen uh, what would happen if, let's say that I were to invite a guy friend over for a bit because he needed a place to stay so, so tell me why would Eztli act, act the way he is?" Jackie asked as Eztli nipped at her shoulder, sliding his hand into his pants with a deep flush on his face.

" _What did you do to calm Eztli down?"_ She asked in a cold tone, " _did you give him catnip?"_

"W-What? Yes, I did but he's not calming down at all," Jackie said, trying to push him away, "he was acting ridiculously aggressive towards Jake and-,"

" _Get your friend out of there immediately and lock Eztli in the safe room. Now."_ She coldly ordered as Jackie heard her heels furiously clicking in the background.

"W-Why, what's going on? A-And I'm not just going to lock Eztli up like some animal-,"

" _Eztli raped and comatosed his last host after killing the 'friend' she invited over, Jackie,"_ Ms. Smith calmly stated as Jackie froze, her eyes widening with fright, " _if the catnip wears off before that boy is gone Eztli is going to kill him and then attack you. Do as I say; I'm on my way now."_ Ms. Smith stated before hanging up the phone, making Jackie borderline panic. E-Eztli … d-did what? Cute, romantic, friendly and happy Eztli did _that_?! Eztli's purring slowly morphed into growls, his wide pupils shrinking into slits slowly as he began to slowly come around to his senses.

"Hey, Jacks I got the food-," he started before Jackie leapt to her feet, throwing a pillow at Eztli as a replacement before dashing over and grabbing her wallet.

"Get your bags, _now_! This is a serious emergency so do not ask me why!" Jackie quickly ordered, thumbing out $50 for him before shoving the cash into his hands, "take this and go down the block to the motel there, tell him Jackie Penske will fix his crappy car for free if he gets it to me in the next week."

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow your roll what's going on?" He asked, baffled as Eztli hissed, wobbling a little uncoordinatedly before his furious gaze locked onto Jake.

"KROC!" Jackie shouted before grabbing Jake and shoving him towards the door. A loud and vicious roar tore from Eztli's lips as he leapt towards the duo, losing his balance before angrily hissing at them while trying to get his full coordination back after the catnip dose. The floor boards resonated heavily with Kroc's footsteps as he charged at Eztli, going to make a grab for the large cat.

With a roar Eztli jumped aside and tried to position himself at the crocodile's back to try and lunge himself against Kroc. His instincts told him where exactly to bite to kill the reptile.

Kroc let out a loud hiss, raising his tail and ready to swat the jaguar away like a mosquito. Eztli was certainly deadly; Kroc knew jaguars often ate caimans and crocodiles and the cat knew exactly where to bite on a crocodile to kill them instantly and had the force in his jaws to get past their scales. Despite Eztli's wiry build Kroc was not taking any chances against a feral foe.

"I said leave now! I'll bring your bags in the morning _just go_!" Jackie shouted, pushing him out the door before slamming and locking it shut, barely turning around in time to see Eztli saw the last glimpse of the guy and lunge for the door ignoring Kroc for a second. Jackie let out a short shriek, scrambling away as Eztli left very deep claw marks in the door before whipping around towards them with a loud roar that made Jackie tremble in fright.

Kroc stepped between them and hissed at Eztli, his heavy swaying tail sliding over the ground in a snake-like motion.

"Grab the tranq. Eztli's gone feral." Kroc ordered slowly, matching Eztli's slightly swaying motions.

"R-Right!" Jackie squeaked out, about to make a run for it before remembering that might not be such a great idea. So instead, the host slowly backed away into the kitchen, grabbing the tranq gun out of sight.

Eztli jumped forward towards Kroc but not so far that he'd actually reach the crocodile, instead, his second jump was to change direction towards his real prey, Jackie. Kroc hissed angrily, catching the feline in mid air and threw him into the hallway before Jackie slipped into the living room and took aim. Eztli rolled onto his feet with grace, loudly and angrily roaring in their direction.

"I'm really sorry, Eztli!" Jackie said before firing but the dart got stuck in a wall way too off its intended target. "Crap!"

Eztli jumped up from the table towards the ceiling to grab only to the beam and propel himself towards the next wall. He wasn't as agile as to crawls on the beams like Sabre but with that move he bounced on the wall and smashed all his weight on Kroc's face at the side and over the granite counter. Kroc stumbled forward, smacking his head against the hard granite and left a large crack in it. Kroc held completely still, making Jackie's heart stop before he slumped to the ground, KOed from the smash.

"K-Kroc?" Jackie called, frightened as Eztli's low growl made her turn to him with wide eyes. Eztli set his sights on his original prey and hissed, completely ignoring the chance to kill the crocodile.

"No, no Eztli NO!" Jackie shrieked as he knocked her over and onto the ground, jarring the tranq right out of her hand. He bit her pant leg, startling her before he ran back to his room while dragging Jackie with ease across the floorboards. Her eyes widened, nearly scared to death. "Eztli, stop, STOP!" Jackie shouted.

Jackie screamed before Eztli dragged her into his room by the leg. She whipped around once he let her go, Eztli running over to the doors and locking them before leaping on top of a very large and very heavy dresser. Her eyes widened, startled as he wedged himself between the wall and the heavy furniture, shoving it over in one hard shove before it shook the ground with its heavy landing. Jackie's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, realizing just how trapped she was with a feral Extraspecies. Oh … oh, oh this is so very, very not good.

Eztli slowly turned around, flickering his tail back and forth as his bright greenish eyes and slit pupils cut her to the core.

"Okay … okay, Eztli? Calm down," Jackie said, jolting back as Eztli hissed at her, his fur raising up a bit in a show of dominance, " … ugh, this is so stupid," Jackie huffed in nervous annoyance, sitting down before laying on her side to 'submit' to the stupid macho man. Out of all the videos Ms. Smith stressed to pay attention to the ones where it showed her how to 'submit' if one of her three felines got like this. Jackie's eyes wandered to the side slightly, trying to swallow her pride as a host for the sake of surviving.

Eztli's ears twitched, letting out a low growl before he walked around her, keeping his eyes fixed on her as she slowly and calmly breathed. This is … pretty terrifying. And creepy. Definitely, definitely creepy. But at least if she acted submissive or whatever, he'd lose interest and leave. Hopefully.

"So you submit to me? Good. I'll take you down to true submission," he growled in a low voice, drawing a little closer with his eyes intent on her. Jackie's eyes widened, startled as she looked back at him.

"Y-You can talk? So, you're not feral?" Jackie asked, moving to get up before he roared at her. The host quickly laid back on her side, startled by the roar as she felt her chest squeeze with fright.

"Take off your clothes or I'll rip them off with your skin," Ezlti growled with a crooked, vicious grin, positioning himself over Jackie with his fangs close to her neck.

" … y-you want me to what?" Jackie squeaked out, startled as she kicked her feet against the ground and tried to get some distance between them, "Eztli, stop you're freaking me out here." Jackie said, her mind going back again and again to what Ms. Smith said he did to his last host; and right now she found herself believing it.

Eztli got his mouth over her neck, his fangs dangerously sliding over her skin. She remained frozen, startled as his hand slid down her arm and hold her firmly. His lips parted, biting and sucking on her neck while his hand partially ripped off her shirt .

"Ow, Eztli, Eztli ouch that hurts!" Jackie shouted, pushing against his chest and trying to worm further back, not realizing she was edging towards the pool or that her resisting only irked him.

Eztli hissed and then he merely grabbed her and carried her over the tree branches over the pool where she couldn't squirm. "You aren't going anywhere until I'm done with you." He pulled her pants down.

"Eztli, get off, get off me!" Jackie shouted, kicking him in the nuts before slipping off the branch. Her ankle caught on the branch before she unbuttoned her pants, slipping out of them after twisting her ankle painfully and landing with a loud slap against the water as Eztli held his tenders and roared down at her, staring at her under the water. His gaze remained unfeeling before his eyes widened, seeing her sinking rather than swimming to the surface.

"JA-JACKIE!" He jumped down from the branch and dived to pull her out, swimming back to the surface and to the ledge. Jackie gagged and coughed as Eztli threw her onto the ledge, crawling around her and hearing her coughing the water out of her lungs. Eztli paced around Jackie, pushing her with his paw to make her move and react as he anxiously watched her. The host pushed herself up, haggardly breathing as she looked over her ankle. She touched her tender ankle carefully before letting out a shaky breath of relief. It didn't feel broken but it was definitely strained at the very least.

" … are you still feral?" Jackie asked as Eztli snuffed her neck, his pupils still tiny slits as he seemed hyper aware of his environment.

Without words this time, Eztli grabbed her and once more climbed his tree but instead of setting her on the branches, he dragged her to his den where he started to lick her madly to remove the water droplets on her skin with a worried gaze. Jackie shivered and pushed herself against the back of the den as his tongue licked up her legs, seeming driven and intent on getting rid of every last water droplet.

"Eztli, stop. I need to get an icepack for my ankle; I twisted it." Jackie said, trying to push his head away. Faster than she could react she felt a piercing pain before be began licking her hand just after lightly biting her.

"Stay," he painfully muttered. A second later he froze, contemplating something before hugging her around the waist.

Jackie shakily exhaled, exhausted from just the past very tense half hour of the evening. Well, this was terrifying. Trying to appease him, the host ran her fingers through Eztli's damp fur and gently rubbed his ears, trying to rev up his purrs.

"Eztli, talk to me." Jackie said, scratching his back and feeling his spine curve in a little bit in pleasure while he licked her stomach in the same spot.

Eztli didn't speak but he seemed more calmed and as gentle as always in his touches. Jackie lightly sighed, hugging him tightly while sweetly rubbing his back and trying to coax him into speaking.

"Eztli … say something." Jackie pleaded, hesitating before kissing the top of his head affectionately once, twice and even leaving a small kiss on his ear, all the while showering him with nice petting.

A couple of minutes later, Eztli's hug became slightly tighter but not harmful at all as he finally spoke. "I'm sorry … !"

"Are you alright now?" Jackie asked, leaning back a bit to look at his glowing green eyes and seeing his pupils wider than before.

"I'm really sorry." He whined with a pained expression.

"It's, uh, alright. I'm upset but it's alright, alright?" Jackie said, very lightly nuzzling the top of his head.

He rubbed his head against her "you're the first host that is nice to me. You haven't abused me." He hid his face on her skin.

"Eztli?" Jackie asked, baffled as she very gently ran her fingers through his fur. Jackie protectively hugged him tighter, letting him snuggle a little closer, "you uh, don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Just know that I'm here for you." Jackie said, very gently rubbing his ears.

"You're nice, you aren't like other humans. You don't force me to entertain you or others in painful ways." He didn't see her but his slurred and quivering tone told more. Jackie remained silent, very gently petting him before kissing the top of his head again and just simply listening. "You don't rip out my fur. You don't burn me with wax and fire. You don't chain me down. You don't hurt me and film it. You don't bound me for days and leave me in the dark. You don't treat me like a toy." He murmured, rubbing his head closer against her with a small purr.

"It's alright, Eztli. You're safe here." Jackie said, gently cradling his head and rubbing his ear as he began to purr a bit more and lean into her reassuring arms. Eztli's ear twitched as he held Jackie closer.

"Ms. Smith is here. Is she going to take me away now?" Eztli asked with a fairly neutral tone, his expression appearing to have no life in it. Jackie paused, surprised before listening harder through the cracked window. Some noises were heard outside the door, including Ms. Smith's muffled voice and then Sabre's. A couple minutes later, Sabre's voice came from below the tree. The only indication of how she had come in was that for what Jackie could see outside the small den, the windows were open.

"Eztli, I'm coming up. I'm leaving all my gear down here. Is the host there with you?" Sabre spoke calmly, listening closely.

"It's fine, Sabre. He's uh, he's not feral anymore." Jackie called back as Eztli held her closer, curling into a small ball against her, "tell Ms. Smith it's under control." Jackie said, rubbing Eztli's ear, "oh, and can you bring an ice pack? I twisted my ankle." Jackie asked.

Sabre took out her phone and called Smith. "The host seems fine and Eztli is not feral. They are in his tree den. I'm going in with them for the night," She then removed her gear, "I'm still coming up to see my cousin."

"Uh, that's fine but seriously I need an ice pack. Please?" Jackie said, hoping that Sabre would bring her one. The host glanced down at her foot, seeing it beginning to swell. Eztli perked up a bit, looking down at Jackie's ankle and seeing some scraps in it before he leaned over, giving a few licks before restlessly returning to Jackie's safe embrace.

Sabre climbed up easily with something in her jaws before peering inside, assessing before entering. Eztli was trembling and clinging to Jackie with her ankle a swollen red. Sabre dropped an instant cold pack and crawled in. "What happened?" She activated the pack and set it on Jackie's ankle before worming her way inside and pressing herself at the other side to Eztli so the jaguar was in the middle.

"Well, a friend of Jay's came over and needed a place to stay. I went ahead and offered to have him stay here but Eztli … got possessive. I tried to distract him down with some catnip but it didn't work. I ended up kicking Jake out to go to a motel and then things got a little scary from there." Jackie explained, rubbing Eztli's head.

Sabre took in the info and then hugged the other cat and began licking his ears and head affectionately. "Esta bien, Eztli (It's alright, Eztli)."

Eztli was trembling but he accommodated so Sabre could hug him "Sabre? la señorita Smith me va llevar lejos de aquí (Is Ms. Smith going to take me away, Sabre)?" Eztli asked as he physically trembled, tightening his grip on Jackie.

"No lo se. Smith estaba muy enfadada pero no contigo Eztli, solo en general (I don't know. Smith was very angry. Not at you, Eztli, just in general)." Sabre said, continuing to lick his ears and softly rub him with her hand while hugging him.

"No quiero irme de aquí. Esta anfitriona es buena conmigo (I don't want to go. This host is good to me)." Eztli pulled Jackie towards him as he leaned on Sabre.

"Hay muchos otros anfitriones buenos, Eztli. No es el fin del mundo si te reasignan (There are plenty of other nice hosts, Eztli. It's not the end of the world if you get reassigned)." Sabre calmly said in a hush. She didn't know what Smith would try. This wasn't the first incident this host has had with her assigned Extraspecies, namely herself and Jaska being at fault. Maybe they really were too many too handle for her, especially because everyone here were predators.

"No me quiero ir (I dont want to go)." He growled which morphed into a whine as he pressed his head against Jackie and trembled, "No quiero otro anfitrión. La quiero a ella. Ella no me lastima (I don't want a different host. I want this one. She does not hurt me)."

Sabre let out a side, gently rubbing his stomach as she purred slightly, "Si. Ella es una buena anfitriona (Yeah. This one is a good host)." She admitted, "Y es buena para tí. Tendrás que atravesar algunos procedimientos legales, primo, pero yo te ayudo. Piensas ir por la segunda parte del contrato (And a good fit for you. You'll have to go through some legal stuff, cousin, but I'll help you through it. Are you aiming for the second part of the contract too)?" Sabre asked.

"Segunda parte (Second part)?" He asked, craning his head back to look at her as she licked his forehead affectionately, nuzzled and purred.

"Si. La parte que habla sobre que los Extra-especies pueden casarse legalmente con su anfitrión. Te atrae la anfitriona, primo? (Yes. The part about Extraspecies being able to legally marry their host. Are you attracted to the host, cousin)?" Sabre specified as Eztli blinked, startled.

"No sabía que había algo así en el contrato. (I did not know there was something like that in the contract)." Eztli looked baffled and taken aback.

"Específicamente no en tuyo. Pero si quieres que esa sea una posibilidad entonces tienes que hablar con Smith sobre ello (Not in yours specifically. But if you want it to be a possibility then you can speak to Ms. Smith about it)." Sabre shrugged. "Incluso si no estás interesado podrìas ser ùtil agregar eso a tu contrato. Como implica que podrìas estar buscando una pareja, ya sea Extra-especies o un anfitrión humano, su utilidad es que incidentes como estos pasarán como una mera confusión en el cortejo. (Even if you aren't interested it might be useful if you add that to your contract. It implies that you may be looking for mate, either another Extraspecies or a human host, and its utility is that incidents like this will be passed like a mere courtship misunderstanding)."

"No lo se (I don't know)," Eztli wormed between the females more. "Tendré que pensarlo… Sabre? y tu eres una opción? (I'll have to think about it… Sabre? Are you an option too)?"

"Es solo una opción. La verdad es que no se que soy, pero incluso si no optas por eso, de todas formas te voy a ayudar a permanecer aquí. (It's just an option. The truth is I don't know what I am, but even if you don't want to pursue it, I'll still help you stay here)." Sabre purred, tugging Eztli's head down before gently licking his ears some more and making him cuddle closer against them.

He said turned around and lick her on the nose and pulled her on hug, "Gracias Sabre, no se que haria sin ti. Eses la bastet más maravillosa del mundo. (Thank you, Sabre, I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the most wonderful bastet of the world)."

"Am I?" Sabre licked him in the nose too and hugged him tighter. "Everything is going to be alright Eztli." She began nuzzling and petting his muscular frame while he very slowly began to purr. Then she extended her hand to grab Jackie's hand and set it over Eztli's fur. "Host, Eztli needs some more petting. Help."

During all this Jackie had remained silent during this. She had no idea what they had said, but she reckoned that whatever Sabre had said, Eztli was far more calmer. "Right," She began petting Eztli too while he purred with more calm and cuddled between both protective girls, since Sabre was licking his ears and that was obviously calming him, that gave her the idea to follow that example.

 _Note to self: No matter how cuddly, cute and friendly your Extraspecies may be, beware of bringing in unknown make friends._

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Hey all! Hope you all loved this long awaited chapter; things have been really busy lately with all my moving around and getting ready to study abroad in Japan so releases may be a bit off but we will aim to have them out as soon as we get _**10 REVIEWS**_ for them all! Enjoy!

Chaos-dark-lord : Wow, that was intense. But poor Eztli has a really bad and dark past that you may be starting to get. But to be honest, maybe Ms. Smith should give her all the information of her charges since the beginning, right?


	24. Chapter 24

Early the next morning Jackie stood in front of Smith's office, tired and weary from everything that had happened the day before. Because it was convenient to Ms. Smith, she went ahead and told Jackie to come in early in the morning to get her check up interview done that she had missed a few weeks back before the beach trip due to a variety of reasons. Not to mention, Jackie had to try and pry some money out of Smith's cold dead hands so the host could get clothes to replace her destroyed wardrobe. Bargaining for more money for clothes and other necessities would be hard considering how well versed and practiced Ms. Smith was in the art of avoiding giving out money but this time Jackie wasn't alone.

"What a bother." Sabre stretched herself out, purring at the cracking of her bones. "But I guess you need to come here, host." The leopardess walked besides Jackie, looking calmed but taking into every detail around.

"Why did you want to come along anyway? I thought you didn't like Ms. Smith." Jackie asked, not minding her being here but curious as to why she wanted to come at all. Last time they had to drag her out of her room. "You are still not completely out of your heat, are you?" She asked.

"I don't and I'm not." Sabre yawned. "But hey, you are very easy to trick and need some support when dealing with someone like that if you wanna get money for clothes. Also by coming with you I avoid my own examination." The leopardess grinned before losing her feline smile. "I wanna hear what she says too. There are too many strange situations in your contracts, host."

"How so?" Jackie asked as Sabre stared at her with a poker face, astounded by her lack of apparent awareness of the things that have been happening to her, "wait, isn't this all normal for a host to deal with?"

Sabre blinked a couple times and then facepalmed before taking a couple deep breaths. "Did you even read the contracts before signing? ...Changing topic, what kind of clothes do you want for your new wardrobe?" Sabre inquired while lightly hitting Jackie with her elbow. "This is the your chance to plan for a whole new look."

"I don't see why my look needs to change. Jeans and T-shirts never go out of style." Jackie grinned.

"But those are for staying home or for taking out trash or go get groceries." Sabre waved her arms. "What about cute clothes for dating or for formal occasions? You need to dress the part, you know?" Sabre pointed at her own designed clothes before pulling on Jackie's mildly ripped t-shirt, "you look a bit like a hobo or a poor peasant, which you are. But still you are a host, like an ambassador of humans towards extraspecies."

"Dating?" Jackie asked, almost as if she wasn't sure of the word before grimacing, "being a female car mechanic, dates don't happen very often. They just don't." Jackie shrugged.

"They would if you looked for them and you aren't a mechanic right now. You are a host." Sabre poked Jackie in the ribs, watching the host twitch in response. "When Extraspecies see you they get a glimpse of how humans normally look or act. To some Extraspecies it would be insulting that you don't look your best. They would take it like you don't consider them 'people' or 'acceptable' enough for you to dress nicely." Sabre sighed. "Many Extraspecies wouldn't care at all but humans also don't see that well." The bastet shrugged. "It's all just a power play."

"Well when you put it like that I guess so. But it's not like I meet other Extraspecies that often. Besides, my main concern is taking care of you all." Jackie grinned with a care free thumbs up in Sabre's direction.

Sabre smiled and gave her thumbs up at Jackie. "Still, you are getting good clothes out of this." She winked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jackie lightly smiled as the door opened, revealing a professional looking Ms. Smith.

"Good morning, Jackie. Oh? Sabre, you decided to come too? Have you decided to come sign a new contract?" Ms. Smith said with a hopeful smile, pulling out some folded paper with Sabre's name on them, all ready to go for her to sign.

"I already work in missions for you Smith. I won't be signing anything else." Sabre said in a curt but professional way.

"Well, it was worth a shot. Come on in." Ms. Smith said, stepping aside and letting the two of them into the surprisingly modest office space. Jackie took a seat on the couch, automatically folding her legs so Sabre could have a comfortable place to lay down.

Sabre discretely looked around finding no apparent cameras inside the office, and seeing the outlay she knew that this office was actually a fancy safe room. No matter what they said here, they were under cover from the rest of the world.

"Sabre, come here," Jackie enticed as she patted the sofa cushion, inviting the feline to come sit with her.

Sabre looked at Jackie and let out a sigh. She sat besides the host and sat up rather rigidly, something rather uncharacteristic of her considering the host expected her to lay over Jackie's legs and make her pet her. "Alright, Smith. Jackie Penske is here to give her report as to what happened with Eztli, request deeper information on her assigned charges, and get into effect clause 37 regarding damaged property."

"Oh? And are you going to be the host's lawyer today?" Ms. Smith asked with a cool and collected smile, seeming rather amused.

Sabre shrugged her shoulders. "Just her advisor and maybe the one negotiating some terms." Sabre lightly squeezed Jackie's shoulder, her tail twitching back and forth in thought while looking directly at Ms. Smith in a calculative and devious way. "What if we speak about replacing your destroyed wardrobe first, host?"

"Yeah, sure." Jackie shrugged, not really caring what order they were going in for all this.

"Why not speaking about that at the end. Isn't the information on the charges more important?" Smith smiled evasively, clearly trying to sneak out of this particular subject.

The feline tsk-ed and made a no-no motion with her index finger. "We have limited time for this interview, don't we?" Sabre smirked and pointed her finger at Smith's desk, "So once we settle the business we can get onto the more informative parts, which would be faster because you have the files right there in your computer, am I right?"

Smith looked down at her computer and frowned a bit, knowing that now there was no avoiding this. "I suppose we can revise that quickly and then give more attention to the charges."

Jackie sat content while petting Sabre with a job well done, making a mental note to bring Sabre more often. Usually Ms. Smith could drive the conversation however she wanted but not with Sabre here. "Good kitty." Jackie smiled.

"Those will be 5 belly rubs, host," Sabre whispered to Jackie and then went back to Smith. "Let's sum it up. She already filled the documents with the listed items but the host's whole wardrobe was destroyed along with almost all the fabrics in the house, from curtains to bed sheets and even towels. Not to mention electronics, hardware and others. But for now let's address the clothing issue." Sabre looked at her claws and then gently pulled on Jackie's ripped t-shirt, showing Smith that Jackie was reduced to wearing some of the less shredded clothing that weren't as noticeable. "She needs clothes, just look at what she is wearing now."

Jackie glanced over her clothes, "what's wrong with what I have on-,"

Sabre placed her hand over Jackie's mouth. "As you can see, this is not the image a formal host should present. The same can be said for the clothes given to many Extraspecies in the program." The kitty cat faked a long bothered sigh.

Smith gave a sigh of her own. "That is true. Unfortunately, there aren't many good up to date designers that work with Extraspecies to make clothes for them and there are none in this country, so it's difficult to acquire such clothes for the large variety of Extraspecies out there."

Sabre gave a Cheshire grin, "Oh? But there is 1 designer at the moment willing to take on the challenge." Her grin widened. "I propose a deal that might interest you, Smith. I'm sure you have heard about the brand of Extraspecies clothes made by and for Extraspecies 'Wyld'," Sabre smiled with pride. "Wouldn't it be convenient if you extend a contract to provide nice clothes for the Extraspecies in the programs and their hosts? Very durable and good looking clothes that also provide jobs for Extraspecies."

"I suppose it would be. Do you have all that you claim to have?" Ms. Smith asked leaning forward and resting her chin on the back of her hand, seeming both amused and interested by the presented idea. Now Ms. Smith knew why Sabre came; it was to promote her 'secret' business.

"It's a win-win situation. You will spend far less on replacement clothes for all the extraspecies in the programs too because you won't need to replace them that often. Of course, the brand is still fairly new so the production would have to increase gradually. But as it is right now it can start covering the hosts in the NY area. Starting of course with the Penske household and then the other hosts on the city; and then on the state, although special of fast needing shipping could be provided too if needed, now just on grand scale for now." Sabre grabbed Jackie's bag and took out a folder that she placed on Smith's desk. Jackie sat silently, paying attention but most of the words going over her head. She was rather tired and simply decided to go with the flow for the time being. Sometimes being quiet made a good host.

The coordinator skimmed through the papers and then cheerfully smiled. "Sounds like a fair deal, Miss Sabre."

Sabre purred contently. "Alright, Smith. I'll handle the replacement of Jackie's clothes as soon as possible and then we'll arrange shippings for the whole area." Sabre shook Smith's hands and then went back to Jackie to lay on the host's lap. "Pet me, host." She purred with satisfaction, clearly wanting a reward for her hard work of negotiating that went much smoother than she anticipated.

"I'm starting to see why you came." Jackie lightly laughed, continuing to pet her back. Sabre just wanted to come to help herself but oh well. As long as she was happy it was fine. Plus she could now get some clothes for free.

"Looks like you are adapting and enjoying, Miss Sabre." Smith chuckled at Sabre's utterly feline behavior.

Sabre rubbed her face on Jackie and leaned into the petting, not bothering to look at Smith when Sabre addressed the coordinator. "Now would be the moment to start speaking about Eztli, coordinator. All of Jackie's charges are problematic one way or another, no? What else haven't you said about them?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand quite what you mean." Smith smiled, "all of the charges are healthy and in stable mental condition. You will have to be more specific." Ms. Smith smiled.

"Stable mental condition my furry a**." Sabre growled, actually lifting her tail and flipping it around in agitation, accidentally hitting Jackie in the face. Sabre accommodated once again over Jackie's lap, growling towards Ms. Smith while Jackie held the feline's twisting tail down. "Eztli's fear and hate of humans is not random and you can't expect Jackie to help him without knowing more about it."

"And why not? She's done a marvelous job at taking care of everyone. I don't see any reason as to why she should know everything about them the moment she met them." Ms. Smith said with a cool and relaxed smile.

"I beg to differ. Eztli almost murdered someone." Jackie pointed out in annoyance, "a family friend at that despite me telling him that Jake was a friend."

"He was just protecting everyone. The fact that such protections extends to you now is proff of his improvement" Smith said quite calmly.

"He wasn't protecting. He was _attacking_." Jackie corrected her, "why didn't he understand that he is, well, was a friend and didn't mean us any harm? How can I show him that there are other good humans out there besides me? And at this rate how will he do in public?" Jackie pushed with a deep frown, now very worried about Eztli and concerned for his well being. They had gone to a mall once before and he was alright until Dumisa got into his head but if Eztli was alone without her, how would he do then? She couldn't help but feel extremely anxious about him.

"Attacking is how predators protect. Miss Sabre here has gone feral more than once while protecting herself or her cub. So it's natural. If you feel so anxious then just have someone else to go with you in public when Eztli is out."

"It was different with Eztli. There was something much more deeper to him attacking that Sabre's feral attacks have been." Jackie exclaimed.

"I was feral Smith. At least tell what is the source of his traumas to avoid triggering similar reactions. There is nothing on Eztli's papers about what may trigger such behaviors besides the word 'humans'." Sabre growled.

"That's exactly what triggers it; humans." Smith adjusted her glasses, "Eztli's childhood was quite difficult. The faster he can leave that behind the best. Same for you, miss Sabre."

"That really doesn't help me pinpoint the problem better." Jackie frowned before heavily sighing, figuring this was useless to keep arguing any longer. She just wanted to go home at this point but the interview technically hadn't even started. Sabre glared at Ms. Smith before Smith noticed it, gently smiling back at her.

"Don't worry Miss Sabre, your business and past are also safe, just as everyone else's are." Smith assured with a thumbs up.

Sabre let out a growl and then turned to Jackie, knowing that she could get the information on her own later. "Belly rub." Sabre roughly demanded in annoyance as she rolled over on Jackie's lap and exposed her stomach, trying to get comfortable.

"Yeah, sure." Jackie said, rubbing her soft belly and sides to go ahead and put her to sleep. Sabre soon was a pile of purring mush and completely out of the conversation with twitching her hips around and her tail aside.

Smith looked at Sabre with a smirk, deciding to change the topic. "I see she is still in heat. Almost out of it, though, and accommodating very well to her lifestyle with you."

"Yeah." Jackie agreed, tugging on her fur a bit before petting her more deeply. While Sabre purred, Jackie found herself smiling, happy at the compliment but still quite uneasy about the conversation. "Yeah, well, it really would help me to know more. For example, Ms. Smith, am I housing man-eaters? Like, like Reza? And maybe even Kroc?" Jackie asked, concerned as she thought about Reza trying to take a big bite out of her.

"As stated in your contract, I can keep information secret if it's for their own good. Just know that you are doing an excellent job as it is." Smith maintained a professional attitude, eyeing Sabre instead of Jackie but the bastet remained purring lost in the petting, which meant that she wouldn't intercede for the time being.

" … fine." Jackie heavily sighed, running a hand through her hair. She understood privacy but she could easily keep a secret. If she understood them better right off the bat then she could better care for them. "But it _would_ really help if you told me more or gave me hints every once in awhile. Sometimes they're more difficult to figure out than it seems."

Smith smiled at Jackie's passive compliance. "I could tell you about new ways to pet them now that they have opened up more to you."

"Well that would be great and all but is there any other advice you can give me as to how to avoid landmines with certain charges in my house? I don't want a repeat of someone becoming dinner." Jackie pushed, trying to get _some_ information to help her out at the very least before dropping the subject entirely.

"Just listen to them. Eztli told you clearly he didn't wanted that person in your shared territory so technically, it is your fault. Other than that, trust me. You're doing fine and now you are one of my best example hosts. Many struggle with 2 herbivores and yet you have various carnivores. Even Eztli's health seems far better than before. His coat is getting glossy and soft and his musculature is getting fine too. Now he is becoming quite the handsome bastet, isn't he?" Smith winked at Jackie.

" … yeah." Jackie said, deciding to just take the compliment silently as she scratched her irritation away into Sabre's belly.

Sabre mewled and began rubbing herself harder on Jackie, her hand grabbing Jackie's shirt and pulling on it up while she began nibbling Jackie's neck and getting more and more affectionate.

Smith chuckled and took a couple of subtle photos of the cuteness, none of which Sabre reacted to. "Isn't she a cute kitty when she is not being so antagonizing?"

"Come on Sabre, relax a little." Jackie sighed, pushing Sabre's head away and rubbing her ears as Sabre suddenly hugged her, deeply purring and pressing her head against Jackie's neck to express the utmost affection for the host.

Smith looked over her sunglasses for a second and focused on Sabre. "Now onto something else … have you noticed how much Extraspecies follow their instincts sometimes no matter how rational they are at other times?"

"Yeah, I have. They don't have the best self control." Jackie said, leaning back a bit and getting comfortable but in turn, Sabre became a bit more restless. "Not right now, Sabre. Later." Jackie frowned, lightly pinching and pulling the feline's cheeks before pushing them together and watching her lean in and purr more deeply against her.

"Look at Sabre here. She might be a tough girl but she is now a big kitty." Smith then pointed at Sabre and at Jackie. "She is not human, and as such, you shouldn't think about her on human terms; that is the case with all Extraspecies. Whatever happened in their past has nothing to do with human concepts of morale."

Jackie now struggled to calm Sabre down but she continued to push Jackie over and demand for all of her attention, much to the host's annoyance. Before it was cute but now it was too much.

Ms. Smith chuckled as she watched the two push against each other, Jackie trying to push Sabre away but Sabre's strength proving to be too much each time. "Think of her heat. Humans do not pass through that so it's not something easy to understand. The same can be said about other Extraspecies's past." Putting the camera away, the coordinator stood up to approach them and pinched Sabre's ear. "Look at her. She is enjoying the pets all too much to even listen to us at the moment." She softly spoke while fondly looking over Sabre with a smile.

Sabre raised her rump and mewled louder for attention, kneading her claws on the sofa and making far more ruckus as she turned around and around again, pushing her shoulders, waist and hips against Jackie to the point the host fell over with Sabre getting on top and nuzzling against her happily.

Smith stood up and grinned, "perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere else and leave the kitty here? You need your own personal revision too after all." Smith suggested as she went to the door and opened it for Jackie.

"Agreed." Jackie growled, pushing Sabre off before standing up. "And yeah, I guess our senses of morals would be different from Extraspecies." Jackie said, letting Sabre lounge over the chair and stretch herself out. As soon as the host grabbed her backpack to take with her the clouded leopard's claws shot out, grabbing the bag and startling Jackie as Sabre rolled over and tightly hugged the host's belongings, purring and rubbing against them, moving her hips and dry humping the bag in pure bliss.

Jackie let go of her bag with a very heavy sigh, giving it up to Sabre. "I'll be right back; don't make trouble." Jackie lightly scolded before she quickly went to the door and left with Ms. Smith.

As soon as the door closed, Sabre's ear twitched as she listened to the human's retreating footsteps. Her breathing slowed, forcibly calming herself and pulling the back away quietly and setting it down. They took forever before finally deciding to leave. When they were a sufficient distance away, she quickly rolled over and dug through Jackie's backpack to pull out the portable harddrive that she had hidden in there without the host's knowledge. With a smirk the sneaky feline leaped over Smith's desk, plugging in the electronic and immediately began decoding and searching through Smith's files for information on Dumisa, Jaska, Kroc, herself, Antain, Eztli and Reza. And just for interest, other Extraspecies Ms. Smith was potentially considering to add on to Jackie's charge list.

While the files were downloaded she decided to read Eztli's file since she had the free time. Under 'past', she found everything she needed. "Kidnap, abuse, sexual slavery, forced piercings … ," she continued to name off the list, finding her voice quieting into a silent movement of her lips. With a dire grimace Sabre unconsciously placed her hand over her belly. When Eztli was a cub he had been kidnapped from his home and sold at an auction like some kind of exotic pet. Then he then had been abused by his first 'host' which had been a sick perverted man that bribed the officials to get a legal recognition as host. When Smith came to this country and found out she got Eztli out of that situation but the coordinator at the time allowed under a nice sum of money for a woman become Eztli's new host and the abuse only got worse.

Those piercings, the fact he had never been fed meat, his behavior … everything suddenly made a lot more sense. Reading further into the file Sabre read he had been then forced to participate in 'live shows' and videos where anything and everything was allowed as long as the woman was paid enough. Sabre shivered in disgust, scrolling down to read more information on the day Eztli got free.

Let's see … that day the female host had brought home a 'male friend' that wanted to abuse Eztli far worse and finally the jaguar snapped and became dangerously feral. Sabre frowned at the end result; one male victim found dead with his groin gouged out and head caved in and the woman with her neck broken, currently in a coma somewhere in an undisclosed hospital. It seemed at that time Smith had become the coordinator and took matters into her own hands.

Sabre gulped in unease, feeling her heart aching for her cousin. For such horrible things to happen to him it was amazing he was not far worse off and more insane. He seems completely normal now with exceptions to his minor panic attacks here and there. Another shiver riveted down her spine as she spotted Antain's file, immediately going to check it. After a tense few seconds of fast reading she sighed. All it said about Antain was that he was an Extraspecies fox cub that had been adopted by a bastet called Sabre Neofelis Nebulosa. Just that and nothing more.

Her ears twitched, hearing footsteps drawing near at a slow pace. With the files finished copying and Sabre finding herself not in the mood to read any more, Sabre erased her presence in the system but left a couple backdoors open for her to intrude later on if needed. She quickly hopped back to the couch to lay down and take a nap … or rather, fake it while hugging Jackie's bag and curling up. She remembered some of the company's files and even normal humans were a risk for Extraspecies. What if she did have cubs? They would be a big target, exotic kitties who were cool pets for the rich and sick minded, just like Eztli. With the memories of her past heat swirling around in her head, Sabre hugged Jackie's bag tighter. What if she got pregnant? She might become an easy target too with reduced mobility. As her creeping fears became worse she hugged the bag tighter, smelling the host's familiar and calming scent before she closed her eyes. She just needed to kill out all the remainder of the company, that's all. After that she would be fine.

Jackie eyed her backpack suspiciously, wondering if she should burn it or wash it when she returned home. Sabre seemed very tense and on edge, a pretty bad sign for the backpack. "Sabre, you better not have humped my backpack."

Sabre snarled, her claws digging on Smith's couch as she tried to put on a smile. She wanted to go give Eztli enough hugs to last him a lifetime but first she needed to act as though nothing was wrong. "Hi, host. Let's go shopping for clothes now." She stiffly stood up and passed Jackie her bag before heading to the door and pushing the host right on out. "You'll get the bill once the clothes are ready, Smith."

Smith sighed but waved goodbye nonetheless before perking up. "Oh yes, Jackie, Kroc will have to take some anger management classes soon before Dumisa is allowed to come back."

"Oh, alright. When will that begin?" Jackie asked as Sabre continued to push her down the hall.

"We will call before we come!" Ms. Smith called down the hall as Sabre pushed her right into the elevator.

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Back at Jackie's house Eztli was almost done roaming around. He was still very unsettled by the presence of the male stranger, pacing back and forth around the house in a somewhat aggressive manner. The lingering scent of the male made his nose cringe as he growled at those particular areas, hissing and wanting to tear apart the furniture where he sat. He reached out with his claws before pausing, remembering what happened the last time he tore furniture up; the host yelled at Jaska and Sabre thinking it was them and they got in trouble. Pouting, he sat down, staring at the couch in annoyance before remembering what he had seen on a nature channel about big cats 'spraying' on their territory.

He suddenly smiled brightly, excited as his ears perked up. He could do that to get rid of that horrible male human scent! He hopped onto the couch and turned around like on the television, flexing his glands but hardly felt anything at all. After only a few failed attempted pushes did he pause and frown, realizing why he couldn't spray. The thought made his ears fall down and press against his head before suddenly gasping in excitement and smiling, his depression forgotten. If spraying didn't work then urine would work better! He turned around and crouched over the cushion a bit, letting out a happy hum as he marked the cushion with his own scent. Now that awful human stence wouldn't stink up the place!

"Eztli, what you do?!" Jaska groaned upon entering the room and making Eztli jump away in surprise. The tiger sniffed and then growled at the powerful stench of another male's scent that came from a pee soaked cushion. The mere smell made his instincts flare with annoyance, wanting to challenge the younger male but he knew he had to behave.

"C-Covering the human's scent with my own." Eztli frowned with his ears lowered, feeling like he was being scolded by the large tiger; which of course he was. It was taught in the classes before becoming an Extraspecies charge that urinating and marking their territory with other predators around wouldn't be allowed.

"You no pee in common area; go pee in your room! Why pee here at all?" Jaska gnashed his teeth, growling in deep aggravation.

"Because I'm covering up that stupid human male's scent!" Eztli pointed out, "it stinks out here! I was getting rid of it. That's all!" He defended himself.

"Why you no spray like normal cat then?! No pee, spray!" Jaska admonished him, "no marking in common areas!" He barked at him, glaring at the frowning Ezlti. What he couldn't figure out was why Eztli would pee if he could just spray. "Why you no spray?" Jaska asked, frowning and crossing his arms in an intimidating manner.

"I … I can't." Eztli said with a trembling voice as his lower lip quivered, curling into a little sad furry ball as he dolefully looked up at Jaska, "t-the humans took it out." He answered hesitantly. He had forgotten the humans removed that from him until now; he never had to really use it or wanted to use it until now.

Silence pervaded the air as Jaska's face paled beneath his stern expression upon understanding what the other feline was talking about. He certainly hadn't expected that to be the jaguar's answer at all although it made sense. Smith had admitted more about Eztli's past and he understood; humans didn't like any musky natural scent so they tended to cover up the scents they found displeasurable with shampoos or conditioners. That nasty habit of theirs would of course include Extraspecies who were maturing and were beginning to show these tendencies. But in Eztli's case it seemed that they had removed the problem rather than deal with covering the scent.

"I don't have that gland. I can't mark." Eztli looked up at Jaska with his super sad adorable face that showed some tears as his ears fell down and flat against his skull.

"S-Spraying is not only way to mark." Jaska started with a twitchy smile, trying to correct his mistake. "There other glands to spread smell, like chin," he said, pointing underneath his chin.

"Th-There are?" Eztli asked, sniffling a bit and looking up to Jaska with shiny eyes of oncoming tears, "under the chin?" He repeated, reaching up and rubbing under his own chin before sniffing it. "I can't tell." He admitted.

"Th-That because it not as strong, but it there." Jaska said, walking over and grabbing Eztli's head, pulling it back before sniffing around his neck. Thankfully he was not wrong in this venture, so he continued, "to mark what yours like cat, you rub on them. Easier to come off, but this allowed by program as proper way to mark without spraying." Jaska explained. "Do you know why cats mark?"

"You're teaching me?" Eztli's ears perked as he smiled with happy with glittering eyes of love. "You'll be rough with me, right?"

"Cats mark to show what theirs. You mark anything you like to keep for self and let other know it your space, not theirs." Jaska explained, having some trouble explaining what marking is in general."

"So anything I like, I can mark?" Eztli asked, bouncing in excitement.

"Da. But _nothing_ in common room!" Jaska snapped at him.

"I LIKE YOU!" The jaguar jumped on Jaska and started to rub himself, especially his chin all over the tiger to mark him.

"Gah! What you doing?!" Jaska demanded, trying to peel the feline off but he crawled around onto the tiger's back and snuggle in closer to his fur.

"I like you, so I'm marking you!" Eztli loudly laughed, purring deeply with his tail flicking back and forth in excitement.

"You no mark living things!" Jaska snapped at him in annoyance.

"But I like you." Eztli happily cried with a grin so cheerful and happy, Jaska didn't have the heart to tell him to stop. "And you mark on Sabre, no? She sometimes has your scent on her." Eztli curiously asked.

Jaska was speechless for a second. The curious thought made the tiger pause, briefly turning his attention towards the clouded leopard. It was true he had his scent on her but that was because she was in heat and needed ambious amounts of relief. Since she hadn't gone to other males for relief, that meant she accepted him fully, didn't it?

Eztli perked up, looking around Jaska as he spotted Kroc stretching and stepping into the kitchen with a wet towel around his neck and empty water bottle in hand. With a gleeful grin he leapt over Jaska, sprinting over the counter before throwing himself onto a startled Kroc who held still as Eztli laughed and hugged his neck, wrapping his arms around the crocodile's waist as he rubbed against him furiously while muttering, "mine mine mine mine mine~!"

Kroc stared at the strange little jaguar, waiting for something else to happen but when nothing else happened, he spoke up. "Eztli, what uh, what are you doing there, mate?" Kroc asked with an unsure voice, staring uncomfortably at the deeply purring male before the crocodile lightly sniffed the air, making an annoyed face as he looked around the common room. "You marked the common area? That's no good, mate." Kroc said, grabbing the nap of Eztli's neck and holding him up in the air. "You're not allowed to take over the common area." He said with a light hiss of annoyance.

"Why not?" Eztli innocently asked, laughing before reaching out to him, "I'm just marking what's mine." He cheerfully grinned, grabbing Kroc's arm and wrapping his legs around his shoulder so he could rub up against the crocodile's arm. "And since I like you, you're mine too!"

"Not living things." Jaska sighed.

" … you trying to say you own me, cat?" Kroc asked with a narrowed glare and deep hiss in the back of his throat, pissed off at the presumptuous feline's claims.

"He learning to mark." Jaska answered, sensing the impending fight and quickly intervening so Kroc understood what's going on. The explanation hardly helped as Kroc's chest shook with a deep hiss.

"Don't mark a predator, mate. It'll piss em' them off real good." Kroc deeply growled before tossing the happy jaguar off his arm, turning around to head back to his room.

"Oh? Are you marking to make alpha claims on the territory? Water is taken, so fight it off, cats. Seems like the crocodile is giving up the fight." Reza came out from one of the openings in the tubes with a curious smile, surprised by the crocodile admitting defeat. "Would that mean I can claim his pool too?" He excitedly asked.

Kroc came to a sudden stop, twitching slightly as Jaska growled at what was to come. The crocodile glanced back, staring at Reza. "Alpha fight? Is that what this is?" Kroc asked with a slow and wild grin curling his lips up. "Why didn't you say so, mate? You know I love a good tumble." Kroc smirked as his eyes locked onto Jaska.

"No was but now it is." Jaska raised an eyebrow and prepared to evade the crocodile's tail. Cracking his neck and preparing for the fight. He had his own pride to defend and he couldn't back down.

"Ha ha! Let's have some good fun, then!" Kroc loudly laughed, tossing his towel and bottle aside before he charged at the tiger. Just before he grabbed the tiger, however, Kroc came to a fast stop, making Jaska perk up in confusion. "Right, forgot about that." He said with a frown, turning his back on the tiger, "come here, ankle biter." Kroc said, walking into the kitchen before picking up a frazzled Antain who laughed and pawed at Kroc's snout with a childish laugh.

"She left cub here? With you?" Jaska was bewildered that Sabre had left Antain here, with _Kroc_ of all people to babysit him. She who would kill anyone getting near her cub had trusted the crocodile to take care of her precious cub. He couldn't believe it. A deep growl came from his throat as his claws came out.

"Make sure you watch closely, Antain." Kroc grinned before crouching down, staring at a rafter near the ceiling before leaping up, dropping Antain right on the ledge so the little fox could get an aerial view of the fight. Once Kroc was sure Antain was safely stowed away in the rafters to watch, he turned to Jaska with a wild grin. "Now we fight." He simply answered before hissing and lunging at Jaska.

Jaska bounced back, roaring before leaping over the crocodile's back and barely evading his tail as Kroc slid to a stop, whipping around and nearly taking Jaska's face off with his claws before the tiger whipped around his arm, twisting it behind Kroc's back before biting into his shoulder.

Reza watched with a happy smile, entertained by the fight as he leaned forward and propped his chin up on his hands. It was entertaining to see land creatures fight. It was completely different than what an underwater encounter would be. The more they fought, the more Reza felt his own territorial blood boiling. All it would take is a few pokes and pricks here and they'd all be down for the count. The thought made him grin before two furry hands suddenly yanked his upper half out of the water as Eztli rubbed his face against Reza's cheek, startling him as he began to thrash around in the surprisingly strong grip of the jaguar. -"What are you doing cat!?"

"I like you too!" Eztli cheerfully cried, lightly nipping at Reza's finned ear in a playful manner. A silent scream contorted the lionfish's face as he grabbed Eztli's ear and twisted, forcing him to let go before he was dropped into the water. Hurting a fishman's ear was a grave insult; it was one of their very few major weaknesses. Reza's teeth clicked together, glaring at the jaguar. How insulting to get bitten by a cat!

"You want a fight, feline? You got it." Reza, still in a lot of pain, hissed at Eztli then spat a squirt of water towards the feline who moved aside while looking happy at the playfight. The water hitting Kroc in the face.

"You too mate?" Kroc hissed towards Reza and Reza hissed back at the very real threat.

"Yay!" Eztli exclaimed. "Let's see who's alpha!"

"Want to fight me? Well, come on then!" Kroc shouted with a hardly laugh as he put his fists up and let his jaws gap open to show off his impressive and deadly set of teeth. Jaska kicked Eztli's side, startling him as he bowed with the kick before tackling Jaska and sinking his canines into his shoulder.

Krocs tail hit Eztli off Jaska and sent him crashing onto the TV before Reza began throwing knives towards Kroc and Jaska who took the chance to give a low roll kick to Kroc's legs and Eztli jumped with his claws all out on the couch to reach the tubes and lunge at Reza in one jump while the fish shot water towards the jaguar, making the black cat jump over the countertops that were destroyed by a charge from Kroc.

The fight for alpha was on.

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Hours later Jackie and Sabre came stumbling back from the shopping trip, both of their arms full of bags.

"It was a productive day after all. I got this many nice samples of fabrics and now you'll have a new wardrobe, host. I deserve a nice big steak." Sabre beamed and then urged the human to get inside.

"If you have helped with the second part of the negotiation for Eztli then I would consider it." Jackie huffed, actually in a rather foul mood. She hardly got any answers out of Ms. Smith; again. Jackie irritably huffed, rubbing her forehead in annoyance.

"But I did." Sabre twisted her lip and looked away. "I found out stuff … and it's not nice."

"Found it? What do you mean, you found it?" Jackie asked, stopping where she was with her key in hand as she looked back at Sabre in confusion.

The bastet let out a sad sigh, "I just did."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jackie asked, puzzled.

"Nothing" Sabre sighed. "Just be nice to him, host."

"No no, tell me." Jackie said before gasping, "were you snooping in her office?!"

"I never said I was. I just said that you ought to be nice and tolerant to Eztli" Sabre pushed Jackie towards the door again. "Now hurry host. Prepare em a steak and prepare one for him too."

Jackie stared at Sabre, sensing how heartbroken and serious she was. After studying the clouded leopard for a little bit, she sighed. "Of course I will. I love all of you Extraspecies like my own family." Jackie sweetly grinned. "There's not much you can do to make me hate you." Jackie said.

"But there's a lot other humans can do to make some Extraspecies hate and fear them" Sabre softly said.

"Yeah, it's true. But those humans arent' very common. It's just that those few scream louder than the ones that want to be friend with Extraspecies." Jackie smiled, setting down her bags.

"You are wrong in that, Jackie." Sabre closed her eyes "Eztli's experience was of the worst I've seen, but it's not the worst of what could have happened. I've seen experiments or worse. You think I don't know what could happen to me if someone got their hands of a cute kitty girl? If someone got a young cub like Antain? Eztli is enough evidence to fear that. Heck. Even other Extraspecies are a threat."

"Well, I guess I can't say much to counter that." Jackie admitted with a sheepish smile before she wrapped her arms around Sabre's shoulders, pulling her into a very firm and comforting hug. "It's alright, Sabre. I won't let anything happen to you now that you're here." Jackie smiled brightly, gently petting her back.

Sabre leaned into the hug trembling slightly. "You don't get it, host. You are nice but ultimately you are powerless."

"What, so the thought doesn't count?" Jackie playfully teased, rubbing Sabre's ears in just the right spot she liked it. "If you ever need help, I'll do whatever I can to help you. No one has all the power and no one is completely powerless. Just trust me, okay?" Jackie warmly smiled before kissing her cheek and squeezing her in the hug.

Sabre purred and smiled. Hugging Jackie back "Will you prepare me my steak now?"

"Only the best for you." Jackie grinned, poking her nose playfully as she picked up the other bags. "If there's ever anything you want to tell me, I'm here for you." Jackie said, working around the door before pausing. She hesitated, hedging her options before sighing and glancing back at Sabre. "Hey, Sabre. I want to be a good host for all of you; I really, really do. You don't have to, but could you at least tell me a little bit more about Eztli? I don't want to be in the dark but I don't want to hurt him by asking him."

Sabre looked at Jackie and gulped before looking away so the host would see all the emotions in her eyes. "He was abused, host. He was abused very badly. When he was little he was captured and then sold … he was forced to ... do stuff. Don't mention it to anyone." Her ear flickered, thinking that perhaps she shouldn't have told the host that. "Now open the door and prepare me a steak!"

"S-Sold?" Jackie asked, her heart sinking. "Like some kind of slave?"

The leopardess growled and flicked her tail. "There are many humans that think Extraspecies are exotic pets, or things to be used or worse … ," her growl deepened before she closed tightly her eyes and shook her head. "Forget I told you anything. Now go prepare my steak, host!" Sabre then gave Jackie a small harmless bite in the shoulder, "I'm hungry after shopping so much so hurry up!"

"OUCH! Alright, alright just relax! I'm opening the door now but you're going to tell me more later!" Jackie huffed, trying to balance on one foot as she positioned the keys. After almost stumbling over twice she finally popped the keys into the lock and kicked the door opening, stepping inside and expecting the house to be in chaos since she left them alone for a few hours that ran a little longer than she expected due to the shopping trip.

The host's trouble sensors went off the radar as she was met with nothing but eerie silence as Sabre stopped and sniffed, her fur on edge as Jackie walked into the living room. Peeking through the bags of clothing she spotted the reason for the silence piled up in the middle of the room. The stench in the room was immediate even to the host's dull nose, making her gag in disgust.

They slowed to a stop seeing everyone's bodies slouching on the floor with some minor bloody scratches from their 'playing' on everyone's furs and scales, all of them too tired to move at all. On top of the pile was Eztli with Antain in his arms, cheerfully cuddling into the annoyed fox as he whimpered and flailed about, trying to get free from the overly cuddly jaguar who continuously muttered 'mine mine mine mine mine~,' with each cuddle of his head against the little fox.

"Wha…?" Sabre looked at the pile and then made the smallest growling call for her cub.

Eztli answered the call with a small mew that imitated the answers Antain gave to his mom, all excited at the girls coming back. Antain gasped, turning and seeing his mama before slipping out of Eztli's arms and immediately dashing over to her. He leapt up into her arms and purred, happy for his mama's return while giggling triumphantly for he had come on top of everyone else at the end.

"By the smell and the sight they must have fought for alpha position." Sabre pinched her nose and looked at the scene before focusing on Antain. He giggled and rubbed his face and chin over the leopardess while gently grabbing at her fur. Sabre gave him a little huffing scowl before turning to Jackie's paled and very, very slowly growing furious expression as she realized what the males have done in their absence. "Okay host, count to 30 for me to get far enough before you proceed." The female bastet grabbed some stuff from the bags and went out of the door to left the guys to handle Jackie's outrage.

Jackie couldn't find the energy to start screaming so she instead took a very, very deep breath, counting to 30 before calmly walking over to the fire alarm system, making sure she was well out of everyone's escape route before pulling the lever.

The monstrous whooping sound blared on, making everyone jump and scream before getting a free cold shower for the evening. All of them immediately fled to the safety of their rooms, leaving the room in a hazardous mess before Jackie shut the alarm off. The host walked over to a telephone, waiting for the security company's phone call to make sure everything was alright while Jackie assessed the damage with a surprisingly calm disposition; a calm but tired disposition.

Ripped up sofas, broken TV, shattered counter tops, completely wrecked kitchen, cupboards torn off their hinges, destroyed table and chairs, sound system just a pile of crap, a hole in the floor, some cracks on the ceiling … and all for what, to prove who had the biggest balls in the house to be named 'alpha'? That's stupid.

" … I am obviously the alpha. No contest needed." She heavily in exhuastion, answering the phone and giving the prompted message before hanging up and walking over to the floorboards in the kitchen. She opened a large cabinet and pulled out a massive suitcase for first aide before heading to the rooms to patch up her testosterone fueled Extraspecies which must have cuts and scrapes from the fray. Today was not going to be a restful day.

As she headed towards their rooms, her mind was turning towards extremely low fat meat and other diets for them all to go through as punishment for destroying her house; again.

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Later that night out in the compound directly under Smith's supervision where Extraspecies who were in classes regarding how to behave around humans, Dumisa rested out in his temporary but incredibly dull, cramped and boring room. He was laying by himself, coiled up on the comfortable cushion that made his bed.

The spaces of the rooms were tight, the bathroom was too small, the food was awful and there was nothing to do other than classes and their own self reflection. He deeply frowned and laid down on himself, glaring at the wall. He missed being back at the house but now the other host's charges were all going to try and kill him. With a disgusted grunt he laid his head over his arms to try and get some sleep, all the while cursing his misfortune. The host rejected his advances; so what? That did not mean that there was no chance.

The black mamba heavily groaned, flipping around and moving in discomfort while trying to find a bearable position to sleep in. "Who am I kidding. I f***ed it up." The lamia slammed his palm over his face, groaning in despair.

"Yes, you did. Now let me in." Sabre's voice came muffled through the closed window, interrupting his thoughts.

Dumisa's eyes burst open, startled as he looked up at the window and saw the clouded leopard Extraspecies trying to unlock it from the outside.

"Get up and open the window." She motioned for him to the window's lock and accommodated her backpack.

The black mamba stared at her, hardly able to believe his eyes and couldn't think of a reason as to why she was there. Remembering they were on the 4th floor, he lifted himself up, hesitating a bit before he unlocked the window. She grabbed the edge to open it but he held it there so she couldn't slip inside just yet. "What do you want, Sabre? You'll get in trouble for being out there." Dumisa said, grumpily eyeing her while being unsure of her intentions.

"Then just let me in already, Dumisa." Sabre didn't seemed fazed at the height of the building. She knew that she could have slipped inside easily into the low security place but she was not risking it until the very poisonous snake accepted her into his den.

"What? Here to slit my throat for what I did to the host?" Dumisa asked with a cheeky smile, keeping his grip on the window firm. He had to admit he wasn't sure how she would react now since before she tried to rip his throat out.

Sabre rolled her eyes and groaned. "Dumisa, I'm hanging out from a 4th floor window. Are you gonna let me in or no, you diva?"

In return dumisa too rolled his eyes but finally opened fully the window and moved aside to let her in. "Fine, get in. But remember I will bite you if you try anything," he threatened, his instincts warning him not to allow the feline in but he ignored them for the time being.

"Like you did the host?" Sabre slipped in, dropped her small backpack on the floor and then promptly hugged Dumisa. "I'm still here to visit you, you difficult snake."

Dumisa froze, rigid and slightly nervous as she held him in her furry arms. He waited, as though expecting a follow up attack but she did not do so. Baffled by the clouded leopard's actions, he remained still, waiting for her to make the first move.

"I'm glad you're doing well. The place isn't as bad as the company. At least they aren't experimenting on you." Sabre rubbed her cheek on his chest. "They haven't tried to brainwash you or anything, have they? Have they feed you well? Have they tranquilized you or anything?"

Dumisa, very awkwardly, returned the hug and coiled his body around her to inhibit some of her movements while thinking deeply about her response. He had to admit it certainly wasn't the response he was expecting. "So you aren't here to get revenge for the host? ... how is Jackie?" Dumisa asked, twitching his tail back and forth with a deep frown. The host wasn't allowed to come and see him and he wasn't allowed to call either while taking the lessons. This would be the first news he's heard of her in almost a week.

"I risked myself to come see you, and you ask about the host first?" Sabre loosened the hug and faked a pout, dropping her ears and puffing her fur. "She is fine."

He chuckled in response, seeing that Sabre wanted to come and see him for who he was. There was no other reason for her to risk coming out here. "You and the host are the closest woman I have in my life. As I can see now you are fine, if not just a bit more fluffy; but as for the host, I cannot see how she is doing." Dumisa said, tightly hugging her back and glancing down at her tail. He notices the scent of her heat was receding but still there, and for the first time, he felt a bit guilty. All those times she had to go to Jaska even though the tiger scared her was because he refused to satisfy her for his own selfish reasons. What sort of 'friend' would do that to one another?

"Of course I am, I am your friend and partner." She crossed her arms and looked at him through the corner of her eyes. "And I came to see how you were doing. After all that happened we haven't heard anything about you." She gazed directly into his eyes before she slightly flushed, feeling silly for admitting that. "I was worried; we all are."

Dumisa looked intently at her and then pulled her again into a hug, the vague scent tickling his nose. He hadn't been that good of a friend, did he? He had refused to do her in fear of being taken advantage of and in doing so, he hurt her. "Sabre … do you need help now? Is that why you came here instead of going back to the host's house?" Dumisa asked, still unsure but was feeling quite guilty regardless. If she needed the help, then he would give it. It was the least he could do after denying her for so long before. But … is that the reason she came here? Impossible, wasn't it? Or was it? Dumisa found himself in an internal dilemma, unsure of what exactly the feline wanted from him by coming here. But why else would she come all the way out here?

"What are you talking about, Dumisa? Ain't you the one who needs help?" Sabre moved from his coils and grabbed her backpack before going to sit on his cushion bed where she stretched.

Dumisa came to her side and pulled her into his arms. "It's come to my attention that I have not treated you, my friend, right at all. So, so you'd let me, I'd like to pleasure you in the one way I can do right." Dumisa said, sliding his hand down and over her hip, "if you want, that is." He proposed, glancing away as his hand paused. Being this unsure of what a young woman, a non-lamia, wanted from him made him very uneasy. He didn't want to upset her and felt as though he wasn't doing anything right. This particular unease of not knowing what to do with a female beside him made him uncomfortable.

"Dumisa, what the hell's got into you? Did they drug you?" Sabre rolled on top and pushed one of his eyes open to check out his pupils. They were as slitted as ever. "Why are you acting like this?"

Dumisa hesitated, seeming quite unsure before letting out a heavy sigh, deciding to get off his chest about what he had learned from the classes he was forced to take; not every female wanted to mate with him all the time. Simple as that. "I am sorry I did not help you through your heat before. I was much too worried about being used to dare allow myself to open up." Dumisa said while stroking her back in a platonic manner, keeping mind to shy away from her 'womanly private' parts he's been shown over and over again in class of what not to touch unless given permission. "I am thankful you've kept your promise but that's only hurt you." He said, leaning in and kissing her cheek, "being here is terrible, really. I hate it. But I hate more how I've hurt my friends who liked me for my own glorious self and not simply because of my gender." He said, coiling his tail around her leg and gently squeezing it.

Sabre sighed and patted his head. "You don't have to, Dumisa. It's alright because friends fulfill promises." She smiled and kissed his forehead, giving him a new hug. "I didn't came for that at all, you silly snake." The bastet nuzzled him. "I came to check on you because I was worried and I don't trust Smith. If they did anything to you here then we wouldn't know."

"Thank you, Sabre." Dumisa smiled, pondering more on her words before slightly frowning, "then why are you here really? I doubt it was only because you suddenly decided to come see me. Something on your mind?" Dumisa asked, sensing, or rather tasting, her unease in the air.

"Of course I came to check on you. I also came to tell you that we got a big contract for Wyld. We are going to be providing all the hosts and their charges in the area and eventually everyone in the contracts~!" Sabre playfully flicked his nose and winked at him, but then frowned pretty quickly. "But you are right. I found out some of the stuff that Smith has been hiding about all of you guys from the host."

"The news about Wyld is good!" He grinned, his smile dampering slightly as he pondered her words, "well, Smith doesn't surprise me. Humans like to keep secrets; it makes them think they're more important given their weaker stature." Dumisa said, not too bothered by that but more so concerned over what had Sabre looking so paranoid. "What did you find, exactly?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She very lightly bit her lip. "Various things happened at the house too. Turns out Reza is or _was_ a human-eater and Eztli … ," she hid her face again Dumisa's chest, hesitating, " ... Eztli's past is so bad that it's amazing he is in a program at all."

"That's not so rare, really. The program allows a very wide range of Extraspecies in despite the, or rather what humans consider to be, 'criminal offenses' that they've committed before." Dumisa said, making quotations with his fingers, "since we Extraspecies don't follow the laws of humans there are many, many times where Extraspecies who committed the most horrendous of murders, pillages and more are allowed in with the slate wiped clean." Dumisa shrugged. "To many Extraspecies that is merely the way of life and not a bad thing. Our cultures are merely different."

"We are … ?" Sabre didn't know if she had asked or confirmed. "Smith has also hid information from the council, about Eztli, or me, or even Jaska. The council doesn't even know we exist."

"So not even the council knows … that won't turn out well in the end. Smith is playing a dangerous game. The council at the moment doesn't seem very fond of humans." Dumisa admitted with a frown, twitching his tail back and forth.

Sabre licked her lips and then looked at the ceiling, "Dumisa … to being honest I don't know that much about the council or inner Extraspecies affairs." She admitted. "I barely know that it is a sort of government body for all Extraspecies while dealing with affairs related to dealing with the humans. I heard it gathered first to decide and vote if the Extraspecies were to reveal themselves to the humans and then orchestrated how it was to be done; all on large scale and at the same time around the world to the UN and to many countries. They are also the ones who manage the programs and contracts on the Extraspecies part."

"Hmm~ some Extraspecies are picked up directly by the program so I'm not so surprised. Many of us, however, do go through the council first. I can answer what I can, if you'd like." Dumisa offered, leaning back and getting comfortable. "But even I don't know everything."

 **Sabre nodded. "Thanks, just tell me all you know please."**

Time passed as Dumisa gave more information but it was not very helpful; just tidbits of what he had heard from others or seen for himself. After that they spoke briefly about what had gone on at home, most in particular the most recent incident with Eztli. What picked up Dumisa's interest was the jaguar's odd antics, or rather why a predator would act the way he did.

"Tell me more about Eztli, now." Dumisa said, twitching his tail back and forth, "you've piqued my interested about the strange little kitten."

"He was abused, obviously, but … it was bad and," Sabre hesitated, clamming up a bit.

" … and why are you telling me this?" Dumisa asked, feeling almost uncomfortable by how tensed up Sabre was.

"It scares me Dumisa. It scares me that something like that could happen to Antain ... or if I had cubs and I'm captured … ," she crunched into a little fluffy ball. "I've seen a lot of experiments of the worst kind, but those were for profit. Eztli was abused for mere pleasure."

Dumisa let out a deep sigh, a bit bothered and confused at what she was dancing around instead of actually answering. "Tell me what's wrong with the black kitty. You trust me, don't you?" He asked, gently tightening his tail around her leg in a reassuring manner.

Sabre took a deep breath and calmed down."Alright. Also Eztli kinda looks up to you, so be nice to him. " Sabre's ears went flat against her head as she made herself a tight ball of fur. "I don't know how Extraspecies would deal with this but ... to sum it up, Eztli was kidnapped when he was a child and sold on a black market auction as a sort of exotic slave/pet. He was a victim of abuse and pedofilia along a bunch of stuff." She didn't specify that the 'stuff' was along the lines of sexual shows, being f***ed by every guest, being filmed, being fed just kitty food through baby bottles to make him entirely dependent of the person who bought him, beatings, or even worse 'stuff'. "Smith found him when she was a mere agent here in North America. The coordinator before Smith put him with a host, a woman that also abused him and used him even worse for sexual stuff. That woman put him those piercings and 'trained' him until at some point she brought in a male 'friend' but Eztli finally snapped and went feral, killing the guy and raping the woman before breaking her neck."

" … with a background like that, the council wouldn't have allowed him into the program. Those Extraspecies who had bad run ins with humans, being abused and such, are usually put into places where there aren't any humans at all." Dumisa mentioned, tapping a finger to his chin, "although Eztli should take classes it's best the council doesn't know about him." He looked at Sabre and stroked her back to comfort her. "To say it nicely, those old geezers wouldn't take it nicely."

"I can imagine; I also understand why the council doesn't know about me … but I have no idea why Smith keeps Jaska a secret too." Sabre groaned but then relaxed.

The lamia frowned, seemingly uneasy, "I don't trust the council very much. They … what's the word," Dumisa said, glancing away with a frown, "are pretty human crazy. Negatively. And they are powerful." He roughly explained. "It's hard to explain, really. It's just an uneasy feeling I get while being there."

"How so?" Sabre tilted her head.

"Meaning all or most of them hate humans quite a lot. I've heard rumors that they don't like the programs at all and want to cut off from the human world altogether." He sighed. "But they are not fools either and I'm sure they have bigger agendas."

"I guess that would make sense." Sabre then blinked and got up to grab her backpack and rummage through it. From it she got out a small tupperware with boiled quail eggs placed over fine fish and ham slices in the form of a cute snake, presenting them to Dumisa with a bright smile. "I got this for you."

Dumisa's eyes immediately locked onto the eggs, holding back his rampant excitement as he gently took the box from her with stars in his eyes. This entire time they had been feeding him horrible food and between the cramped space and horrendous privacy, anything to give him comfort would be good. "Are they seasoned like the host does it?" Dumisa asked, flicking his tongue out and tasting for himself the beauty of the deliciousness before him. He quickly popped one into his mouth, savoring the taste with a light blush and smile on his face.

"Yes, I stole her seasoning and used it on them." Sabre winked, taking a cautious step back from the very eager and very poisonous snake that had just gotten very nice food. "I hope you can get back soon, Dumisa."

Dumisa mumbled something as a quiet 'thanks' and Sabre laughed before she cautiously gave him a kiss on the check. She then grabbed her backpack and walked towards the window. "I'll leave you to enjoy it, just hide the tupperware."

And with that, she was gone, easily climbing the facade of the building towards the ground and away from the building. Tonight she wouldn't' go back to the host's house; she would join her cub in her studio and there she would make plans. She just hoped that all would be calm for Jackie for a little while.

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 **Chaos-dark-lord : Well, a new chapter and I'm guessing this will be the last one from my co-works with peekodemeeko12 for a few weeks. I'm going on vacation to Europe, so our works will slow down, and after that, she is going to study abroad and I might start on my PHD. But don't worry, we have some advancements to finish this story and also the other ones we are working on. So you might want to check those meanwhile.- And when you read this I'm almost flying back home. -UPDATE - I'm back. This was written weeks ago.**

 **BTW, what other fandom you'd like us to try?**

 **And out of curiosity, of those of you who have read peeko's and my works, ¿When reading one of our co-works is it noticeable who writes what?**

… **...**

 **PeekoDeMeeko12: I will go ahead and admit it, I've been very, very busy with a lot of things regarding studying abroad in Japan, family and a variety of other matters so we were VERY late in getting this chapter out, from hastily writing it to finalizing it, to me not letting Chaos-dark-lord publishing it because I felt it wasn't ready before rewriting sections to finally get it ready so I do apologize for the long wait but I hope you enjoy the quality otherwise! I hope you enjoyed with fun read! Look forward to the next chapter :D**


	25. Chapter 25

**.**

Reza's body quickly shot through the tanks through the house, easily swimming through the confined spaces with a large toothy grin over his lips. His muscles flexed and altered ever so slightly, keeping him in perfect control as he shot out of the tubes, cheering happily as he dove into his large, clean tank and inspected every tiny element possible to ensure everything was in order. All of his ingredients had unfortunately died in the incident but he could hardly care about that at all; he was out of the host's tiny cramped pool and into his own, making him ecstatic and happy as he leapt in and out of the water in his excitement.

"You seem happy, Rez." Sabre came to stand in front of his pool watching him jump around. His flaring colors and wild movements would make every dolphin show pale in comparison. His movements were fluid and entrances back into the water hardly made any splash at all.

"Yes!" Reza cried, clearly thrilled with having his room back. The show continued as he kept jumping and diving back under, "I won't say I'm ecstatic from," he started before dipping back under, leaping back up, "getting out of the host's small tub but," his voice cut off, under the water once more before leaping up exceedingly high, "I'll declare I am happy indeed to stretch my spines!" He cried while cutting through the water like a blade through butter, leaping out and twisting in the air before diving back in.

Without knowing it, Sabre had began stalking the merman around the edge of the pool like the cat she was, although she had some trouble following his quick movements and fast turns in the water. "Hey … do you want me to make some calls to get your supplies replaced?"

"No need, because the host," he started, diving back into the water with a fantastic swirl while his fans opened up wide, stretching to their fullest extent before he popped back up with a happy and joyful sigh, "already called Ms. Smith." He exhaled, humming contently with his eyes closed.

Sabre was already running around following too; Reza looked like one of those cats that just ran around at random hours of the night in happiness … not that she had done that, of course, well, maybe just sometimes. In any case, she was actually having fun watching Reza and trying to stalk him.

At some point during the show, it became a game. Seeing as Sabre was adverse to water and getting wet, Reza grinned and began making it a challenge for himself to make her wet. The lionfish swam around the water in a predatory way, flickering his ear fins and perfectly sensing where Sabre was at all times. Without verbally communicating his idea, he went ahead with the challenge.

With charges and splashes he swatted water at her, making her leap to safety before repeating the process and swimming away quickly to gage her responses before repeating the attacks in fast, random successions to leave her guessing. Sabre played along and roared occasionally, avoiding the shots of water almost every time while jumping and twisting in the air, bouncing on the walls or roof, crouching down and rolling when needed. Skillful and agile she was, and Reza noticed it. This made the game all that much more fun.

The merman's eyes flashed as a wide and wry sharp toothed grin pulled his lips up. He wanted to take this little game further and surprise her. He deeply laughed to himself before diving down deep, gaining some momentum. The moment Sabre inched near the edge and peaked over the side to get a visual on him, he shot out of the water with a wild grin and hiss, locking his sights onto her as he soared out of the water with the intent to grab her with his sharp clawed tipped fingers.

Sabre's body reacted before her mind registered the attack and, as her training had prepared her, she ducked and rolled out of the way. Just as fast however, she regained her stance in a quadruped position, ready to counter Reza's advances.

"Good move." Reza spoke, reassuring her he was not feral and was indeed simply being playful. He grinned with a hiss, arching his back ever so slightly as his spines rose up and flared in a dazzling display of danger and beauty. "Let's play some more, cat." He hissed, showing off his sharp teeth and claws to her, which were not as large as hers but still just quite sharp.

"You are more like a cat than I anticipated, lionfish. I deem you feline enough, Reza." Sabre batted her paw and saw the beams on the ceiling right over the fish and the wall nearby barely in her reach.

"Heh. Am I?" He playfully asked as his pupils shivered with excitement, narrowing slightly before he took in a deep breath, calming himself. His pupils became large, almost overtaking his entire eyeball as he relied on his own training from years ago to guide his movements.

"Yes you are." Sabre eyed his body and grinned, stalking him slowly as she crawled to the side to get a better angle at the less than agile out of water pursuer.

Reza flared his spines and anticipated her leap. She had looked at the tip of his tail and crouched, so he knew where the supposed amateur would leap towards. When the clouded leopard indeed jumped up, he tossed his tail around to counter her attack but said attack didn't come to his tail. Her leap had been too short in range and Sabre used it to project herself to the wall at his side, making him twist in that direction as she bounced on the wall towards the ceiling, and bounced again towards him. Since he had twisted to face another direction, she used his position, her weight and the added strength from her leap to unbalance him with the strike and make him roll on his back, leaving him fairly defenseless with the cat on top holding him down and purring in excitement.

Placing her lips on Reza's neck, she gave a small suck that accidentally left him with a small love mark. "Nya! Kill bite, roar!" She laughed, flicking her tail back and forth in victory.

Reza paused, staring up at her before letting out a sigh and falling back down, at her mercy. He was getting sloppy if he was pushed over so easily by the feline. He could have flipped her off, poisoned her or tried to claw at her but he didn't feel like hurting her at the moment. The game was fun and he was finished with a bite to the throat. "Hmmm … not that I am conceding defeat but I'm in a rather tough spot, wouldn't you say?" Reza playfully grinned, biting at the air and showing off his smaller sharp teeth.

Sabre licked the tip of Reza's nose, "I win, Reza." She chuckled and then she gave a long lick to one of his finned ears.

The fish immediately bucked as the raspy tongue slid along his highly sensitive ears, his lips parted with a startled scream that motion in return startled Sabre. She quickly leapt back, watching the wildly blushing fish flop around on the ground before getting his bearing, retreating quickly into his tank's depths.

Sabre carefully approached the water, first confused before she recalled earlier how he moved his ears in the water. Each twitch preceded an attack he made, both in and out of the water. Then she remembered more lesson on her training; merfolk weren't an important subject because those were enemies they would hardly ever face but some key points to be kept in mind was that their ears were their weakest spot. Realizing this, Sabre's ears dropped as her tail curled slightly between her legs. Her barbed tongue surely must have hurt him. "Rez! I'm sorry, I forgot merfolk ears were sensible. I didn't mean for that to hurt." She said.

Silence ensued as she paced along the side of the pool, pawing at the water and trying to encourage him to surface. He was swimming against the bottom quickly, appearing to be disorientated now that one of his main senses had been overstimulated. Sabre nervously watched as Reza's head bumped into the walls a bit and some coral fixtures, proving he was having difficulty navigating his own tank.

"Rez! C'mon! Tell me you're okay. You're sushi is too good for you to die." Sabre pawed at the water, trying to urge him to surface again, worried.

Reza soon surfaced, his face a rather deep red in comparison to his usually caramel skin tone as he stared at her, his ears pressing against his head. "I-I-I'm not … saying that hurt, but rather, i-it felt startlingly good." He admitted, curiously swimming closer to her as he hesitantly rose his upper half out of the water, staring at her mouth intently with his brows stitched together in thought, "your tongue is quite different from any fish I've ever met." He said with his previously licked ear twitching and trembling rather erratically.

"Are you alright?" Sabre eyed his ear and did her best to contain her impulses to bat a paw at it or lick him again to gage his reactions. She had no idea a simple lick to his ear could disorientate him so much.

"Hmmmm … yes." He said after some excessive thought, his ears twitching slightly and gradually fanning out from his head once more; the ear she licked, however, remained against his head.

"Can you see alright?" Sabre asked, pacing a bit as she leaned in and looked him in the eyes, seeing he wasn't entirely focusing on her.

"I'm not saying that I cannot sense my environment entirely at the moment, but I can sense enough to get my bearings." Reza admitted, twitching his head slightly as the licked ear slowly fanned out again. Once in proper position, Reza's attention became much more clearly on her as he looked her right in the eyes. "Sabre, may I see your tongue?" He asked, holding his hand out as though he expected her to present him literally with her tongue for him to examine.

"Huh? Mmhhh… I guess?" Sabre assumed he wanted to see the rough sand paper texture so she struck out her tongue for him to see the texture designed for scraping flesh out of bones that all cats had.

The moment her tongue was within reach his hand snapped out, startling her as he gripped her tongue and tugged on it, making it extend further out so he could closer examining the small barbs. "You have small spikes on your tongue! Don't they hurt the roof of your mouth?" He asked, pinching her nose and ducking down as he tried to get a better look at the roof of her mouth.

"O, ey ont." Sabre tried to say 'no they don't' but obviously she couldn't with the fish practically imitating one of those circus acts where a man shoved his face inside a lion's mouth. Reza leaned in much closer, blinking as he examined her mouth with his own eyes before turning his head slightly and very lightly tapping his ear against her large fang to get a better bearing on the interior of her mouth. The small tap provided him with plenty of information as to shape and density before he pulled away, giving her tongue one last look over.

"It felt very odd," he curiously admitted, letting her tongue go and watching it slip back into her mouth. He continued to stare, leaning forward a little bit and unnerving Sabre with his pointed staring. "Can you lick me again?" He asked, feeling a faint touch of a blush crawling back onto his lips while his eyes glowed. This time he wanted to sense the tongue more than the sensations it brought over him; while the sensations were bone tingling, he was curious as to the density and strength her tongue held.

Sabre pulled back and licked her lips and the roof of her mouth, wetting her dry tongue before focusing on Reza again; he was back on land at the edge of the pool and laying sideways, almost pawing her way while asking for more, and she decided that, indeed, he was like a water kitty in too many ways. "Sure. Just be careful of your spines and don't sting me or I'll bite," she smiled in a way that showed the longest fangs of all bastet species before she laid down and, lowly and carefully, began licking Reza's ears.

Tremors visibly crawled down his spine as he hummed, trying to best to remain still despite the overly stimulating laps. His teeth clenched as his hands shook, hesitantly panting while thoroughly enjoying and measuring the textured treatment his sensitive ears were receiving. The direct stimulation to his nerves made his scales feel tight, leaning slightly against her slightly as to prevent himself from leaping away.

Sabre licked at his ear slowly, glancing down and seeing Reza's almost blacked out eyes looking up at her through his slitted gaze, his tongue lolling out and licking his lips. He had suddenly looked quite lewd and ravenous expression as a startling scent reached her nose, making her eyes widen in surprise.

"That feels good … ," Reza groaned, gently hooking his hand under her knee to keep her still as he leaned over her, wryly smiling, "can I have more?" He asked in a very deep and masculine groan, turning his head slightly and shivering with a shortened breath as his ear traveled over the short fur on her face. "I have to admit, it's impressive you revved up my heat so quickly but now I ask for more." He grinned, leaning down and licking her neck, enjoying the furry texture on his tongue.

Saber was stunned at how quickly Reza, out of all Extraspecies, was getting turned on; and in turn, she was also starting to get a bit hot even though her heat was supposed to be diminishing. "Wait … your heat?"

"Yes. I mostly avoided the effects of your heat by staying underwater. I thought it was over now that your heat is finished but your tongue is turning on my own heat, thus reawakening yours a bit." He explained, sliding a webbed hand up up her thigh with a hum, "sorry, well, not sorry, but you're going to get turned on too." He grinned, leaning partially over her as his scent became more and more enticing, making Sabre's breathing hitch.

"What do you mean?" Sabre asked, not quite understanding what he meant.

Reza closed up his spines to prevent himself from hurting her, leaning in closer and sniffing her pleasant aroma, "since I'm entering a spell of heat from you licking my ears, you'll be affected too. A merfolk's heat affects everyone; it's one of the things that makes us more unique from you mammals, whose heats only affect those of the same race." He noted, nuzzling against her fur quite happily. "Or so I thought until I met you. You are the first non-merfolk creature I know to affect males of other species with her heat."

Sabre knew that her heat was stronger and it had been enhanced to affect basically every male around. The company had made it so. But Reza couldn't be right, she didn't know that should be impossible … or if Reza was right … then that would be an even scarier possibility, which would mean that the scientists must have done more to her body than she realized.

"Hmmm … aren't you getting turned on?" Reza asked, genuinely unsure as he poked her to regain her attention. He had never seen a mammal's response to a merfolk's heat before but had heard of it from others. It was common knowledge among merfolk, but based on her smell alone he wasn't sure if her body was preparing itself just yet.

"Err… not really. I mean, my heat is still there and waning and almost finished, but no, I'm not." Sabre was getting unsure too. This made her realize a new horrible truth. The scientists had made her heat to be able to affect everyone but they had apparently made it so she wouldn't be affected by others. The only reason for that, she thought, was that the company would be able to breed her with whatever candidates they wished without risking her mating with someone outside their control. Her stomach churned, terrified as she felt more ill the more she thought about it. Who knows what other subtle touches those humans did to her-! Sabre suddenly froze, feeling her heart tighten with fright. She just thought 'those humans' and not 'those scientists'. Her hand covered her mouth, holding back what would have become a roar. Was she really starting to get so used to the knowledge that she was an Extraspecies that she wasn't thinking of herself as human at all now? Wouldn't that be for the best or would it be bad? At this point she didn't know and that frightened her.

Reza's tongue lightly lapped at her fur, not paying attention to her expression of horror. He was excited now and desired to satisfy his lust; and seeing she was an available female and she was not fleeing, she reciprocated that desire. "But enough of that. Shall we?" Reza sexily asked, drawing his lips by hers before pausing, hearing a skittering of claws.

"MAMA!" Antain ran up to her while loudly giggling, making Reza stop and pull back slightly in surprise at the fuzzy interruption.

"Hello Antain." Reza pleasantly smiled, remaining where he was over Sabre, who had suddenly snapped back into reality thanks for the cub. Reza's lips lightly kissed at her cheek, reminding her of the position she was in; there was an excited fish flopping over her and trying to hump her through her clothes.

Sabre suddenly grabbed Reza by the shoulders, pleasantly surprising him before she rolled and kicked him back into the water, watching as he twisted and dove down quickly into the depths. He turned around quickly, and, taking the throw as being playful, planned to tackle her over and resume their playing but stopped when he saw her pick up Antain and tightly hug him. Ah~ mothering instincts. She won't be interested any long. Reza sighed and began calming himself, instead deciding to watch the mother and cub scene a mammal would most likely call 'endearing'.

Sabre pressed her nose against Antain's and then hugged her cub while the little fox giggled, calling her name as his tail wagged. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and nuzzled his face into her neck, which Sabre responded by licking the fox's ear and then playfully giving it a small bite before she kissed his other ear. When Antain wiggled in her grasp, she blew softly inside his ear and made him excitedly trill.

"Mama!" Antain clung to her and she continued to administer cuddles and motherly love, which soon turned into a lesson about bouncing off walls.

Reza took in the scene with an expressionless gaze, watching and thinking how much fish are so different from mammals. This tender scene of mammal adoration for one another was something he was not accustomed with. While mammals catered to their young quite lavishly, merfolk were quite different. His mother, compared to this, was quite aloof in caring for him or his brothers and sisters but that was more or less normal to merfolk. In fact, in his opinion, his mother did very well; she mostly ignored him and the others, letting them come and go at their leisure. Coddling children excessively in his mother's opinion was seen as preparing them for inevitable death.

He simply could not understand the feelings of such strong attachment shared between mother and child, pleasantly baffling him as he faintly smiled. He enjoyed watching this; it was new and interesting. Rather than learning on his own, Antain was being taught by his mother how to handle situations and learn more about his environment under the watchful protection of his adopted mother. While this way of raising a child was strange to him, it was normal for mammals.

The more he stared, the more he began to dwell on his thoughts. The more he saw of the human world and that of other Extraspecies, he better understood that his mother would be considered 'neglectful' rather than teaching him important life lessons by letting him figure things out on his own. He was grateful for his mother's thought process; it helped him grow up strong enough to become one of the best royal guardsmen in the queen's company; at least until he got bored with that and headed off to make what he wanted with his life, which was of course preparing sushi. Without his mother's guidance in that way, he probably would still be a guardsman.

While Reza kept on watching, Sabre decided it was enough practice for the moment and Antain went to grab Baba and came back, giggling and laughing, cuddling against her with Baba in his arms, hugging Baba as the overweight fish flopped around, unable to breathe. "Mama, mama!" He cheerfully cried, holding Baba in one arm while grabbing her fur with his other, pushing his head up against her while deeply purring. With a powerful thrust Baba managed to get free, making Antain whine and shout in surprise, looking over Sabre's arms in alarm as Baba flopped over the ground and away from the water in it desperation to flee.

"Baba!" Antain cried with a giggling laugh, leaping out of Sabre's arms as he landed on top of the fish, stunning it as he gripping it and hugged it close in his elated happiness. He then gasped as he realized Baba was no long moving, quickly biting its tail and dragging it over to the kiddy pool before shoving it in, whining as he paced around the lip of the pool. Baba remained unmoving, bobbing slightly in the water.

"Oh ho~ is this the end for Baba?" Reza asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, his heat all but gone now that Sabre's mothering instincts were kicking in.

With a twitch and a jolt Baba sprang back to life, making Antain cheer as he leapt into the shallow water, swimming around and after the fish excitedly as he pawed at its upturned belly.

"It seems today is not Baba's final day." Reza sighed offhandedly and shrugged, watching and enjoying himself in their presence.

Sabre glanced at Reza watching him entertaining himself by watching the kit. The merman seemed completely calm with no intentions on mating with her now that Antain was there and she didn't know how to feel about what had almost happened. If Antain hadn't come in the moment he did, she would have probably done it with Reza for a multitude of reasons but none good enough. Truth be told she was starting to feel too insecure about what else had happened to her body that she wasn't aware of and what would happen in the future. Things were just confusing.

"MAMA!" Antain suddenly screamed, making Sabre's head snap around and spot Baba munching on Antain's tail tip, latched onto it and slowly dragging Antain down as he splashed around in the water in a panic. Sabre was there in an instant before she scooped Antain up, watching Baba hang onto the fox's tail with the clear intention of swallowing the fluffball whole. She quickly pulled Baba off from her precious kit's tail and was about to kill the fish but much to Reza's amusement, Antain tackled Baba again and gnawed on the fish's head playfully while laughing, all hard feelings gone in the fox's mind.

Sabre let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "C'mon Antian, just kill that thing already. Kill it like all those pigeons earlier or the rabbits." She encouraged, batting at Baba's body to show him how it was done.

Antain laughed and cheered away in excitement, clearly not hearing his mama's instructions as he leapt onto Baba and rolled around with it, continuing to lovingly gnaw on the fish's head before Sabre sighed. He was already too attached to his prey to properly kill it.

" … Sabre, you do realize if Baba does ever get big enough, he'd eat Antain, right?" Reza said, staring at the duo as they 'played' together.

"Yes, but I think Antain will grow bigger sooner and will realize it himself… or he'll kill that thing first, maybe eat it too." Sabre massaged her temples, keeping a much closer eye on her kit now as he tossed the fish up and down into the air.

"Maybe. Or maybe not." Reza playfully suggested with a teasing grin. "Fish eat anything that is smaller than they are, sometimes even bigger things if they don't measure well. They aren't known for making attachments." Reza admitted, curious as to her reaction for finding out more about the fish's lifestyle. What would she think of his opinion? As a mammal would she be disgusted? Would she hate him? He was curious to see the feline's reaction.

"Oh? And what attachments you don't have Reza?" Sabre chuckled and stretched out on the floor.

"Everyone and no one." Reza honestly shrugged, staring at Antain and Baba playfully along the edge of the pool before they both tipped over and into the shallow end, Antain grabbing Baba's tail and running with it as Baba tried desperately to swim away.

"Not even your lil' sis?" Sabre stretched her limbs, extending her claws in the air before rolling. "I admit that might be wise. Getting attached could be a liability, but some of us can't help it."

" … I just simply don't feel it." Reza admitted, staring at Baba and Antain. He wondered if he was considered 'strange' for not feeling those connections, "I could care less if Baba lived or died. Watching you and how you treat the others, and watching the others in general, I'm starting to realize that's not how mammals and even reptiles are. They grow attachments to things. Merfolk do too, of course, but I've never felt that." He admitted, frowning in disappointment, "makes me feel like there is something … missing." He said, leaning forward on the concrete as his eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what that was.

Sabre smiled knowingly, finding the fish's troubles to be amusing. "I used to be that way. It took me meeting one special person to change. Perhaps one day you'll meet someone special enough to grow attached to."

"Perhaps." Reza agreed but his eyes were unfocused and rather mindless in thinking before he sighed, shrugging, "oh well, today is simply not that day." He flippantly said as he swim along the shore towards his workshop, taking out his knives and began arduously cleaning them while wearing the special towel Sabre had gotten for him around his neck to keep him saturated longer.

"Perhaps." Sabre saw the towel he was wearing. "Do you like the towel I got you?

"Hm? Oh, yes. I'm not saying it's the best, but it _is_ better than what I have. " He admitted with a hum, feeling the fabric under his fingertips while cleaning off his blades. Reza expertly flipped the knives around, making them slide into their individual cleaned slots on the counter with ease as he hummed along and continued cleaning his blades.

The glinting of the metal caught Antain's attention as his pupils widened and glowed, dropping Baba back into the water as he gasped with excitement and immediately made a dash over to Reza's sushi stand, leaping up onto the table and eagerly shuffling around in place as he looked around the counter and saw all of the shiny knives.

"Oh, do you want one? Here." Reza smiled, handing Antain a very heavy butcher blade handle for the kit to grab and hold. Antain laughed in excitement, hugging the handle before Reza let go. The weight of the blade made Antain stumble back and forth, unable to get the right cuddling position for the awkwardly weighted blade.

Sabre's eyes widened as she ran to grab Antain and pull him away but the cub had already grabbed the knife and was swinging it around trying to balance himself with the heavy blade while Sabre tried to find an opening to take it from him safely. She turned to Reza with a pouting expression. "Reza! You can't give him that, it's not safe!"

"It's a blade; they aren't meant to be safe." Reza shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Antain is only a small cub!" Sabre growled.

"Better yet, it's educational. Teeth and claws aren't the only weapons an Extraspecies can use." Reza toothily grinned.

"What if he cuts himself?!" She clenched and unclenched her firsts, sheathing and unsheathing her claws at the same time.

"Then that would be quite an important lesson." Reza smiled and pointed at a big scar he had in his tail, "this one was from when I cut myself once. I learned how to throw knives properly after months of being unable to swim." He grinned, proud of his scar which proved his learning experience.

Sabre roared to call Antian in an angry tone, which made the cub freeze. He whimpered, thinking he was in trouble while his tail curled around his legs as she extended her a hand and grabbed hold of the blade. Sabre swiftly grabbed the cub's wrist and took the knife, chucking it at Baba and just barely not hitting it and before growling at Antian again, who ran away towards their room while gleefully giggling.

"GYAAAAH! Don't throw it at the concrete like that! The angle will bend it!" Reza cried, horrified as he dove into the water and immediately popped out and grabbed the knife, checking it to make sure the metal was alright.

Before Sabre could follow her cub out, Reza shot above water and tossed her a jet of water that she skillfully evaded with a back jump in the air. Reza landed between her and the door, hissing rather angrily at her. All of the playfulness in his eyes were gone, startling Sabre but she returned his aggression with her own hiss.

"Sabre." Reza stated in a rather firm voice, making her glance over to him as she saw a rather dead look in his eyes, "do not throw my knives again." His spines lifted up, showing off a deadly array of spikes that leaked poison from the tips, showing how angry he genuinely was.

"Don't give them to my cub, then." Sabre's growl became deep as her tail lashed and her posture tensed, her claws extending out and her lips pulling back showing her fangs.

Reza remained silent, staring at her before heavily sighing, letting a lazy smile pull his lips up. His spines remained up high, however, threatening her a bit. "Ah~ but how else will they learn?" He asked as he shrugged, slipping into the water and swimming back over to the rack and cleaning off the scuff on the blade. After a few moments of silence and noticing Sabre was not yet leaving, Reza let out a sheepish hum, "sorry, sorry. I don't like anyone damaging my knives. It … upsets me." He said, staring at his reflection in the blade before sticking it into the proper rack.

"Seems you do have an attachment to your knives after all," Sabre chuckled, remaining a little tense but sensed the danger had passed, "I know Antain needs to learn but he is too young for weapons. However, I have been teaching him basic fighting skills and he already can kill pigeons, rabbits and small prey. But he is still not ready for weapons."

"Hmmm~ then I'll show him later. But do not _ever_ throw my knives so carelessly. Amateurs who throw my knives don't often live to tell about it. So it's good you aren't entirely an amateur, but still, dont hurt my knives." Reza hummed to himself, taking a rag and wetting it before setting it over his shoulders, making Sabre perk up a bit as she noticed he was using her towel. "I'm amazed by this fabric; it's still wet and fresh. Where did you get it?" Reza asked, changing the subject while pressing it against his cheek and hydrating his skin cheerfully.

Sabre distractedly glanced at the other towels and fabrics he had hung up by his sushi bar; they were common everyday ones that humans used. "I'm experimenting with metamaterial fabrics. I thought that aquatic Extraspecies needed clothes that can work well underwater and on land. That towel is a prototype."

"Oh ho, sounds quite interesting. Although I already get my clothes imported from the castle. Not as effective on land though," he mentioned, feeling the fabric between his fingers and then looking at Sabre's clothes. "Not that I'm saying your clothes are interesting but where do you get them? They seem to be tailored for an Extraspecies; can I see underneath your tail?"

Sabre sharply turned to look at him. "No! You can't," she huffed, "but yeah, they are from my … a branch called WYLD. It's an Extraspecies company that makes suitable clothes for Extraspecies."

Reza touched his chin in thought, "perhaps my sister would be interested. She's grown bored of the clothes the palace supplies for us and wants something more modern. I believe she had been looking into 'Other Species Style' for a little white but nothing has caught her interest quite yet."

Sabre leapt forward to step in front of Reza "What?! Other Species Styles? They just take human fashion and try to adapt it but they don't design for Extraspecies." She growled all irate, her tail lashing wildly behind her, "their fabrics are simple ones and not suitable for Extraspecies types and needs! They don't know the difference needed for feathers or scales or fur! They're measured all wrong too!" She ranted angrily while flailing her arms.

"Oh? You sound like you know a lot about them." Reza said, looking up to her curiously, "do you have a better brand you know of then?"

Sabre stretched her arms and puffed her chest. "Of course! WYLD; the branch made by and for Extraspecies, designing to fill the particular needs of different types and forms. Real clothes Extraspecies can wear made for them and not adapted from horrid human trends." She placed her hands on her hips with pride and posed.

"The one you're wearing?" Reza got a hold of her shirt and pulled on it while Sabre took a step back. "The fabric does seems different."

"Think of the towel I got you. It's made with metamaterials, so it stays cool and wet for a long time in land but it's still light and efficient underwater. If it were to be used in clothes then you wouldn't need to change clothes whenever you get out of your tank. I've noticed mermen clothes dry like paper out of the water but clothes for land get too heavy and immovable underwater." She crossed her arms, her pride almost blinding.

"Quite so! Do you have any other fabrics I could test out underwater?" Reza asked with a cheerful smile, "and how might I contact them directly about ordering things using the 'web'?"

Sabre's eyes glowed as she leaned forward and drew her cheerful face centimeters away from Reza's. "Of course! You want to test some tailored clothes? WYLD hadn't tried that much with mermen but you can test the prototypes. What kind would you like? What about mermaids and mermen in general?"

"Something tight that won't drag in the water." Reza said, "flowy material is nice for formal occasions but impractical when fighting. Do they have any flexible armor?" He excitedly asked. "Or sheaths for blades?"

"Combat clothes?" Sabre pulled back and scratched her chin, "I think it can be done incorporating other materials in the very threads or by weaving small plaques..."

"You sound as if you were designing them." Reza smirked

Sabre's eyes widened and she began playing with her hands, "ummhh… yeah, well, more or less…"

"Interesting." Reza simply stated with a thoughtful smile, "I really do quite like your fabric. Would you mind if I sent some samples to my sister?"

Sabre had a small blush on her face. "If you tell me what she likes and her sizes I can get you a few prototypes."

"That would be excellent. I wouldn't doubt it if the royal family took an interest in this as well. They too are looking to modernize their clothing to be more presentable to humans at gatherings."

Sabre's eyes glowed. "Y-You think so?"

"Oh yes, especially because they want to overshadow the council's tactics to lessen trading and interactions with the humans. Merfolks know they need to negotiate on their own so they need to dress to impress the humans." Reza explained rather happily.

"So formal and normal clothing? Formal would be a bit more flowy, right? Any tradition or line that needs to be followed? I guess I can make suits and proper dresses maybe … no, not dresses, well, not human like dresses, but the lines ... I think something that looks a bit out of the XVIII century could work on a general design for vests. It's fancy enough to impress," Sabre rambled on a bit more before pausing, something else important clicking in her mind. "Wait ... you know the council?"

"Of course. I used to be one of the guards present to protect the royal family at the discussions with the council." Reza said with a bored yawn. "Their meetings were often quite boring."

"How can those discussions be boring? They were what formed the Extraspecies general society as it is now as a whole … and what is the council like?" She curiously asked, keeping Dumisa's words in the back of her mind.

"Demanding, obscure and selfish." Reza frowned, "manipulative as well. Not the greatest group of Extraspecies; it's because of them that I don't trust the council very much." He huffed, folding his arms. "They are callous and too murdery. The merfolk, on all occasions, dislike meeting with them but they're too big of a group to ignore and necessary." He said, grimacing at some particular memories.

"What do you mean? Aren't they supposed to be protecting Extraspecies at a large?" Sabre flipped her ears sideways.

"They are very … prejudice, I should say. They rather despise humans but are working with them for the time being in order to secure enough plots of land around the world to place Extraspecies into before severing their promise. The queen has taken a rather distasteful opinion of them." Reza explained with a frown, "the queen wants peace with the humans and to work with them; the council despises humans and just wants to stay away from them. It's disgusting, really, what they do." He angrily hissed, clenching his fists. "Yes, humans may have polluted and destroyed a lot but we know we can work with them."

Sabre took on a serious tone. "I heard that mermaids were of the first to suggest a big council. As soon as you could, you took over all underwater oil rings and mines and leased extraction permits. Pollution affects you a lot, but the oceans are quite big."

"Yes we did; we know more about the ocean than the humans do and thus offer our services and expertise to ensure the oceans become less polluted. We are working things out; the council, however, is tired of working things out. They want to end cooperation. That is no secret." He sneered, seeming surprisingly passionate about talking about this.

"That may be because land Extraspecies have suffered more from human expansion, wars and pollution … but isolation would be stupid." Sabre lowered her ears, unnerved. Reza was usually much more laid back but just talking about this was getting him agitated.

"They know that, that's why they allow the programs to exist and 'officially' support it. But they are inflexible and have their own plans." Reza's tail moved up and down in agitation.

"Human groups or the council. I don't think I can trust either." Sabre sighed.

"Ah. Alright." Reza smiled, quickly slipping back into his more relaxed mood from before. "And where is the new sushi place you told me of? I would love to see their fresh ingredients." He said with glowing eyes.

"We can go later." Sabre licked her lips. "Their sushi is good but I like yours better."

"But of course; I treat it as a serious art form which demands perfection. Others just need to quickly serve and feed their customers and will let a bad dish go out if they had to." Reza said, puffing up his chest a bit.

"And it tastes … I love when you use the more greasy part of the tuna with that small pieces of ginger and hierbabuena."

"But of course. Each ingredient must be in perfect balance and harmony." He smiled cheerfully.

Sabre almost drooled. "Well, your tubes are already clean and filled with water, so new ingredients should be coming soon."

"Living in the host's tiny pool has been terrible." Reza heavily sighed, "and she doesn't even allow me to watch her groom herself." He said, rather disgruntled. "So… can I watch you groom next time?"

"No!"

"I don't see why not. If you would like to see how I groom, I do not mind." He said, trying to think of a way to convince her.

"Just no!"

A tiny, little mew made Sabre's ear twitch back, looking over and seeing Antain sitting by her leg, hugging his blankie while his fluffy tail wrapped around his legs. With a sleepy yawn he leaned against her, clearly ready for his nap but wanting her to join him as he hugged her and purred.

"Of course." Sabre felt her heart melting as Antain gasped and reached up, mewing and grabbing the air for her. She gently picked him up and hugged him, kissed his head and purred back while setting him over her shoulder as she walked out of the room with Antain. "See you later, Rez."

"Goodnight, little kit, Sabre," Reza grinned, holding up a glinting knife for Antain to see as her immediately perked up in excitement. 'Another time' Reza whispered with a wink before putting it away, continuing with his cleaning but deciding on giving that cub a knife and maybe some lessons later on.

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In a different part of the house, Eztli's deep rumbling purrs vibrated Jackie's fingers as she combed through his fur, massaging his chest and shoulders. "Aaahn~," the jaguar groaned, cheerfully stretching himself over her lap.

Jackie smiled, finding his purring to be adorable. Sabre and Jaska didn't let her pet them like this very often and now that Eztli was trusting her more, he couldn't get enough of it. And of course, the host didn't mind it one bit; not unless, of course, he interrupted a nap she was having on the living room sofa but that was alright. His adorable happiness was enough to make up for it.

"Haaaa~," Eztli moaned, rolling onto his hands and knees as he pressed his shoulder and side against her, excitedly flipping his tail around while the host happily dragged her fingers down his back and stomach. "Nnnh-!" He gasped as she scratched at the base of his tail, listening to his piercings jingle together. With a grin Jackie caught one of the dangling fish piercings and watched as he stiffened up, biting his lip as his breathing picked up in pace. He swung his leg over her lap and stood on his knees over her, gripping her shoulders as she scratched and pet his sides more fervently. His eyes slid shut, panting needily as he hugged her against his chest while her fingers pet at the base of his spine some more. "Hooost … ," Eztli moaned, nuzzling the top of her head while his heavy panting continued.

"Yeah?" She smiled, continuing to comb her fingers through his fur. His coat was getting softer and more lustrous as the days went by, proving that his health was improving since coming to live with her.

Eztli groaned, flipping back onto the couch before quickly coming back up to her, laying stretched out across her so his middle was over her lap. Taking the not so subtle hint, Jackie scratched his belly and watched him curl inward slightly, his breathing becoming faster as his lips curled up in ecstatic pleasure.

"Oh yes, yes host-!" He yowled loudly in a very sensual way, grabbing her sides and pushing his head against her lovingly, "more and harder, yes, yes please more!" He panted while licking and lapping at the air as if he was licking a lollipop with his tongue clipping his upper lip each time.

Jackie's fingers continued to comb through his fur as she strangely stared at him, feeling herself growing more and more uncomfortable as the petting continued. His moanings made it sound like he was enjoying this a bit more than was intended. "Um … Eztli, are you alright? You sound a little, uh, am I petting in the right spots?" She gently tugged on his ear, hearing him let out a groaning and needy yowl. Well, at least he wasn't trying to get naked like before.

Eztli quickly stood up on his knees over the host and, somehow, instantaneously discarded all his clothes before pressing himself up against Jackie with a needy panting groan. He rolled his body against her before falling back over her lap, blushing and smiling happily. "Pet me more, host!" He purred, pawing at her shirt and looking rather adorable. Rather than complying, she quickly pulled her hands away and frowned, trying to look stern despite his adorable sparkling eyes.

"Whoa, hey! Put your clothes back on!" Jackie scolded but he softly yowled in pleasure, clearly in too much pleasure to listen to her.

"No~," he purred with a clear and hard spanish accent, spreading his legs to show off his goods while stretching himself happily without a care in the world for who saw his fuzzy naked self.

"T-Then at least put your briefs back on. You need to get used to wearing clothes." Jackie said, pushing his plush cheeks together before rubbing them both in circles. She stared at his face, finding him almost suffocatingly adorable but kept in mind he could be quite dangerous. But then again, all of her charges could be dangerous.

"No." He meowed, softly pawing at her hands and purring loudly, his tail flicking and causing the piercings at the tip to jingle.

"Either put on briefs or no more petting." Jackie threatened with a grin, pulling her hands away from him and putting them behind her back before pointedly looking away from him but not before accidentally catching sight of the space between his legs and thankfully not seeing much. "You need to get used to wearing clothes." She reminded him.

Eztli rolled on the floor with a heavy thud and looked at her like a hurt kitten in a pleasing way but Jackie kept her serious face containing her smirk. Eztli's ears lowered but he quickly put on the briefs before starting at her cautiously. Jackie glanced down, meeting his stare before slightly shifting her gaze away. Seeing the submissive tone of the host encouraged Eztli to very slowly and hesitantly return. "Petting now?" He half meowed rather pitifully, looking quite nervous as his ears flickered.

"Yeah, petting now." Jackie smiled as she held her arms wide open for him. "Come here, Eztli."

"Yay!" Eztli jumped her way.

Jackie smiled and tightly squeezed his adorable furry form as he pressed against her with hugs and kisses in his excitement. As Jackie combed through his fur, she found herself pondering Sabre's words. She mentioned that he was deeply traumatized … maybe he'd want to talk about it now to get it off his chest? While she didn't want to bring up bad memories, she _did_ want to help him if she could. "Eztli, can I ask you something?" Jackie asked, wondering how to go about this delicately.

"What?" Eztli asked among purrs, while tensing and relaxing his posture in the bliss of the sensations.

"You … grew up in an abusive home, right?" Jackie asked, tightly hugging him to reassure him of her presence. "I don't mean to pry but uh, if you want to talk about it, I'm here." Jackie offered, petting the base of his tail.

"Yeah, I did. More like a house than a home," he all too nonchalantly said, the petting making him rub himself on her as he began licking around again.

"And … well, not wanting to get into it, is that why you attacked my guest?" Jackie asked, working in the more pleasant petting around his lower back and chest at the same time, revving up his purrs more deeply. The more comfortable he felt the more he'd talk - or so she hoped.

"Male humans were always rough and bad." Eztli then mentioned quite mindlessly some examples of unusual torture and punishments; the petting of the host were so good he wasn't entirely aware of what he was saying for the most part as Jackie listened in silence, trying to keep her composure. "It was worst with the second host."

Jackie's petting and hugs never stopped as she quietly listened, letting him trail off from there as she ramped up the pets until her arms burned from the physical effort. Eztli clammed up as he nestled against her, his smile fading as he rested his head over her shoulder while she scratched and pet his back furiously. "It's uh, it's alright, Eztli. You can stop if you'd like." Jackie offered, feeling her arm muscles screaming at this point.

"No ... don't stop. I like your petting." The jaguar lolled, thoroughly enjoying the rougher and faster pets than he did the lighter ones.

Jackie glanced back at him, pausing before her arms suddenly shot around him and hugged him, struggling to best not to gush about how adorable he was. It was amazing how cuddly Eztli was now that he wasn't afraid of her. He was like a giant kitten and she was starting to have a very hard time with telling him not to do anything. With, of course, Antain rivaling the adorableness. Jackie's eyes flashed as she ramped up her fast petting, moving her hands so fast through his fur she wasn't aware of its effect on the jaguar.

Eztli's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his lips parted, heavily panting as he pressed his face into her neck, feeling his heart racing. The host's arms screamed from the intense physical effort in petting and scratching his back as she continued, hearing his deep moaning and shortened breaths. Just before her arms gave out Eztli let out a loud and excited yowl, deeply flushing as he sat up rather rigid, falling over onto the couch as he purred and panted, coming down from the cloud 9 sensation. Jackie fell back as well, heavily breathing with her arms limp by her sides. That effort alone to keep up that intense petting was difficult.

"Yay!" Eztli enthusiastically nuzzled against her as best as he could. Jackie smiled and returned to the petting, brushing her fingers through his blushing cheeks. His purring revved up quickly before his moans restarted, a bump forming under his briefs to express just how happy he was. Jackie paused, noticing the bump and simply pretended it wasn't there until his hips began moving in a grinding motion over her thigh and his groans deepened in octave. His bright green eyes stared at her quite happily, leaning forward and gently brushing his lips over her cheek. "Your fingers feel wonderful on me, host."

The tickling sensation made her laugh before she pushed his chest gently, "calm down, Eztli! There's plenty of time for petting, I promise," Jackie grinned. Without much warning, Eztli slid back down the couch, surprising her as he sat on the floor with his torso on her legs, tightly hugging her while deeply purring. Jackie lightly blushed at how adorable he looked before, thinking of something funny, she grabbed his cheeks and pushed them around a bit. While Eztli was distracted Jackie looked over her back, making sure the coast was clear before leaning forward and kissing his forehead. "Who's my kitty?" Jackie asked, in an almost cooing kind of tone, unable to help herself.

Eztli stopped moving and tilted his head sideways, his hands together over her knees as she stared at her. He glanced down, contemplating about the answer before looking up at her in confusion. "Jaska?"

"Try again." Jackie said, sliding her hands over his shoulders and rubbing the sides of his neck fervently and making him pant rather needily as his tail flipped back and forth. His knees spread apart a little while sitting, or rather melting, onto the floor from pleasure rippling through his body.

"Sabre!" He moaned excitedly, nuzzling his head against her legs as he more deeply purred.

"No~," Jackie smiled, gently poking the tip of his nose before running her hands through his head, massaging his scalp firmly but tenderly.

Eztli cuddled against her before stretching his arms up high. "Antain!" He cried, rolling onto her lap and laughing to give her better access to his body as a reward for getting it right.

"One more try." Jackie teased, sliding her hands over his chest and petting his stomach before moving to his hips and sides.

Eztli's ears turned down, looking quite baffled before falling silent. His eyebrows stitched together in thought, opening his mouth to speak before hesitating, answering very timidly, "m-me?"

"Yes!" Jackie grinned before hugging him, scratching into his back while vigorously petting him as a reward for guessing correctly.

"Me! _I'm_ the kitty!" Eztli clapped in overexcitement, his green eyes getting big as he somehow pounced on Jackie, tackling her and rolling to the floor. Jackie's head smacked against the ground as she saw stars, holding still as she regained her awareness while Ezlti rubbed himself over her happily. "Yay~! I'm the kitty, me! Me! I am!" He childishly shouted as though flaunting that knowledge.

Jackie laughed before warmly smiling, feeling him nuzzling against her with a loud purr revving his chest. She was so happy that Eztli was enjoying himself much more now than he was before. It made her feel like she did at least one thing right as a host. As his hands dragged over her, she began laughing as he came across her ticklish spots, "Eztli, Eztli come on!" Jackie complained through her laughter but hugged him back regardless, feeling rather childish. Ah~ his childishness was rubbing off on her for sure.

"Who's mah host?" Eztli laughed as he began rubbing her like she did to him, corresponding the petting happiness with some petting of his own, sitting carefully over her pelvis to hold her still. His padded hands lavishly rubbed her down, making her flinch and jump in response from the ticklish spots.

"Pfffft Eztli~!" Jackie laughed, squirming under his ticklish fingers as she tried to roll away but Eztli sat a little heavier on her, keeping her in place as he leaned down and nuzzled against the side of her face.

"You're ma'host!" He giggled, avidly petting her further around the ribs a little too hard and a quite enthusiastically, so much that his claws began slipping out and scratching her accidentally.

The sudden pain made her suck in a fast breath as her eyes burst wide open. The sensation of pain while being pinned down made her heart began to race, feeling her fearful apprehension quickly taking a stronger hold against her enjoyment and ticklish laughs.

"H-Ha … haa … E-Eztli, wait," Jackie said, feeling him patting her down and rubbing her body much like she would to pet them. His rhythmic hand motions made her heart pick up in pace, not from embarrassment or enjoyment but rather from fear. His hands were very everywhere, touching, patting, hitting, scratching … and all the while she couldn't get up or stop it. She was trapped. Her breathing hitched, feeling his hands sliding up towards her neck.

"Who's ma'host? You're ma'host!" He cried again, enchanted into the play and not restraining his force all that well as his hands reached her neck to rub her under the jaw, brushing dangerously close to her fragile neck. Her panic peaked, feeling incredibly trapped and frightened by the larger figure before her.

"S-Stop!" Jackie shouted, feeling the long skinny fingers of her mother's hands curling around her neck, threatening to squeeze the life out of her at any moment. She knew her mother wasn't there but she could feel it, and had to escape. Her heart raced as she shoved against his chest, hardly moving him but Eztli sat up, giving her some room as she kicked her way out from under him, staggering back as she grasped her neck and haggardly breathed in fright. Her body trembled terribly as she grit her teeth, holding back her distressed tears. That … was the first pretty bad panic attack in a years. She knew he was just playing around but for some reason the cold shuddering over her body would not stop.

The air was thick with the stench of her fear, making Eztli pause as he stared at her hunched over panicking form as she visibly fought off a panic attack.

"D-Did I do something?" He asked quite startled, looking at his host. Eztli hesitantly approached, afraid of having hurting her in any way. Her clothes did have some scratches and her maybe skin was a bit red where he had rubbed her, maybe she had a couples scratches herself too, but she seemed fine except for her scared and startled expression.

"I … I-I … I'm, I just," Jackie started, taking a shaky inhale as she tried to calm herself, "I, I'm sorry, I uh, don't really like to be pet is all." Jackie said with a sheepish and awkward laugh, trying to contain her fright.

Eztli's ears dropped and he laid on the floor completely. "But you always pet me. I just wanted to pet you back." He softly said, looking almost hurt in his confusion. Her lips parted to explain but paused, thinking better of it, before sheepishly looking away.

"I-I know, I know, I'm sorry." Jackie said with a somewhat hurt smile, "it's just weird to be pet; humans don't normally pet each other." Jackie explained before pausing, "oh, but uh, I really do love petting you all." Jackie said, making sure he didn't misinterpret and think that she didn't like petting Extraspecies.

Eztli stared at her, clearly not understanding what she meant but nodded regardless.

"Sorry … uh, I need to go prepare dinner." Jackie apologized as she slipped into the kitchen, leaving him there to contemplate on what just happened.

Eztli remained there not knowing what had happened, so he made his way to whom he trusted could answer. The host was acting very strange but Sabre would be able to tell him what happened. Climbing out the stairs to her den in the attic, he knocked on the entrance politely. "Sabre ... can I come in?"

The door opened and Antain shot out laughing, smacking against Eztli's face before he excitedly climbed down Ezlti's body and zipped down the hall, gleefully giggling and laughing as he scurried elsewhere to play. Eztli watched Antain disappear before he crawled up to see Sabre napping on her hammock. When he entered, he gave a small huffing kitty call to catch her attention.

Sabre opened one eye to look at him and then moved to make space for him on her hammock. Eztli clearly understood the invitation and crawled towards her to lay by her side. They bumped noses and rubbed their cheeks together before licking each other's faces in acknowledgement before Sabre yawned, tired. "What's up?" The conversation with Reza earlier had left her thinking and she was anxious so a conversation with the jaguar could help calm her.

Eztli rubbed her nose below her chin "The host acted weird … ," he said, sounding a little hesitant as he tried to think about what he said or did to her, "why do humans like to pet but not be pet back?" He asked with lowered ears, his brows stitching together in deep thought.

Sabre flickered her ears and nuzzled him a bit more remembering Eztli's past and also what information she had gotten on the host. "You tried to pet her?" She rested at his side, curling her tail in thought, "most human pet because they feel it's nice, petting among them is rare except for lovers and in private. But the host … she doesn't like petting or contact in general because she was raised in an abusive situation." She thought that perhaps if she shared that with Eztli he'd be a bit better. After all, Sabre wanted to help him if she could, even if just a little.

"W-What?" Eztli asked in confusion as he tilted his head, blinking as though to try and make better sense of what she said. "The host was hurt by humans too?"

"Yes." Sabre scratched Eztli's ear. "Remember that male human that came to visit? He was supposedly a friend of the host's late brother." Sabre stretched. "When the host's brother died, her mother went crazy and abusive on her; she was before that too but it was worse after her brother passed away. Not abusing like in some ways you were, but certainly in the violent type." Well, perhaps she was sharing more than a little about the hosts past with Eztli, but he needed to know in order to understand.

"Humans … abuse other humans?" He asked as his ears lowered. "I thought they just abused Extra Species, right? Wait, you know … my past?" Eztli asked, appearing to be rather surprised.

Sabre nod her head, her ears flat as she pulled the jaguar into a hug. He was quite more built than anyone could guess. "Yes, I know about your past Eztli. And no, they have a tendency to hurt everything; especially other humans."

"I-I see … it's strange." Eztli said, shuffling a bit to get comfortable against her as he avoided her gaze, "all humans were scary … big male Extraspecies were scary … but I've never met another bastet before. Not once." Eztli admitted, his ear flickering a bit. He curled into a ball as his tail wrapped around his legs, hugging himself as he withdrew into a metaphorical shell, "I was beginning to wonder if I was the only bastet. I didn't think other Extraspecies could be really nice either until I got into the program. Ms. Smith was super nice." Eztli said with a soft smile and purr, his eyes closing and showing just how comfortable he was, "I met a lot of friends in the program. And now I met Jaska, and you too." Eztli brilliantly smiled, unfurling himself before hugging her tightly. "I'm very happy now. My beginnings might not have been 'normal' but I don't regret the way I grew up. It happened so I could meet all of you." Eztli innocently and brilliantly smiled, almost blinding Sabre with his optimism.

Sabre smiled and rubbed her nose under his chin with affection. "I hadn't met any other bastets before my mate either. For what I know, bastets are actually quite rare, even more than normal big felines." She then sighed, "yes, humans can be terrible, but not all of them."

"Why?" Eztli asked, leaning against her with his tail flipping around. "There are lots of things I've come to understand, but the one thing I still don't know … is why do humans hurt everything. Do you know, Sabre?" Eztli asked, hoping to get some answers to his question.

"For many stupid reasons but most generally out of greed." Sabre looked pretty uncomfortable with those words as she curled with Eztli. "Money, power, trying to prove others wrong or to force them to accept their ideas… human history is filled with savage wars," Sabre rolled over a bit, staring up at him. "There are reasons why Extraspecies agreed to remain hidden from humans for so long; until it was inevitable at least."

" … yeah," Eztli said as he curled into a ball, looking away as he tried not to think about the cruelty of humans.

"Not all human are like that. There is the host for example and there are many others that are nice. But many more are ignorant, arrogant and brutal in their avarice" Sabre crouched "They like to have control, and what they don't understand, cope with, or control, they fear; and fear easily turns to hate." She let out another deep sigh; this conversation was depressing her. "That doesn't mean that all Extraspecies are good or nice either. There are many that are quite terrible themselves," she explained, stopping herself from including herself in that mix, "also there had been a few extra species wars too."

"Mostly for resources or because they had the munchies. I was taught a lot in the program." Eztli said, staring at her and still frowning, looking rather dissatisfied.

"I wouldn't know about the programs, I've never been in one" Sabre shrugged her shoulders and then saw Eztli tilting his head so much that he ended up rolling around while thinking hard about something with those little gears in his adorable head. "Eztli… what are you thinking about?"

"But … the host … she was abused. But why?" He asked with a frown, "the host is nice." He said before gasping, "did someone try keeping all of her pets to himself?!" He asked, his fur raising up to make himself look bigger.

"The host may be nice but her mother was not," Sabre said firmly and get a few licks to Eztli's head to tame his fuzzy fur. She knew a lot about the host; Sabre had researched it deeply and considered Eztli needed to know it so he could overcome his own past too; he may have been an optimistic puff of fur but she could sense he was still battling his own memories at times. "That woman went crazy when she lost her favorite child … or perhaps she was crazy even before that."

"Oh … so her mother was feral?" Ezlti asked. "B-But all I did was pet her and she got scared. I wasn't hurting her like someone feral would." Eztli whined with a deep frown.

"Not feral. Feral is when someone gets overwhelmed by instincts, that woman was just mad and crazy. She harmed because she wanted to cause harm. " Sabre hugged Eztli. "Remember how you reacted to the host getting close at first? The scary hooman thing?" Sabre gave a small nib on the jaguar's ear and hugged him tighter. "The host may not have tried to hurt you, but the memory of being hurt remains in the body for long."

Eztli understood, and he hugged back needing the comfort and sensing Sabre needed some herself. Of course, the host needed some too, but if he had managed to open up to her, maybe she could overcome some of that fear too and he would ask everyone to help just as everyone had helped him. Eztli gave an extra squeeze before letting go, looking as though he was thinking very hard. Sabre could see the gears turning in his head but, alas, when smoke began to float up from his ears he gave up keeping it to himself and looked to her. "What calms you down … when you're scared?" Eztli asked, wanting to help the host but not having any idea as to where to start. "I want to help the host like she helped me."

"Mmmhhh … ," Sabre look up at the ceiling beams and around her room, "I guess Antain. I get calm when I know he is safe and happy, but I'm still scared about other things, even when Antain is around, but I pretend to be though because he needs his mama to be strong." Sabre now was the one who curled into a ball of unsurenes.

"Antain calms you down?" Eztli asked, perking up a bit. He suddenly gasped, the idea clicking in his head. "That's okay! Don't be scared! I've got it!" He cheered excitedly with his arms upstretched in a victory formation, "if you'd like, I can give you more cubs to love. Or maybe Jaska could." He said as an afterthought before gasping again, getting hit with another fantastic idea. "Maybe if I give the host cubs and lots of pets, she'd be all better!"

"Wa-wait! What?!" Sabre almost choked with her own saliva in shock as she blushed madly. How that optimistic ball of fur made that connection she had no idea but it was entirely wrong.

"HOST! HOST I WILL GIVE YOU LOTS OF PETS! AND CUBS!" Eztli shouted before leaping off of the hammock.

In her startelement Sabre flopped off of the hammock, watching as the black feline threw back the trap door and leapt down before taking off in an excited burst of smiles and eager shouting for the host before the host screamed, assumingly having just been tackled by the energetic ball.

Sabre laid there in a dazed shock. Kittens? Cubs? With Jaska? The thought had never occurred to her earlier or at least it hadn't sunk in; but what if she got pregnant? That's what heats were for. Sabre began to tremble in fright as she covered her mouth with a hand over her belly, looking terrified. She couldn't have more kittens; they would just be in danger! Was she pregnant now? She had no idea, but she hadn't gotten pregnant with Aleksey either, right? So maybe she wasn't? Her last heat before this hadn't been that long ago so..

"No-nono … no… it can't be." Sabre paced in circles around her room like a caged cat in a zoo, finally things were topping and she was panicking, she was starting to really consider some possibilities and now she was getting overcome by instincts, instincts that she didn't notice dragged her out of her room to look out for comfort somewhere else, somewhere that smelled safe.

She jumped down the stair and stalked the corridors, suddenly stopping in front of the open door of Kroc's room. Her nose noticed the big pile of clothes on the floor before her eyes did and she crawled in silence towards them. Since Kroc had developed a habit of stealing the warm clothes from the drier and putting them in his room, the pile of clothes held a bunch of calming scents, Kroc's and the host's mainly but also everyone else's scents, which drove Sabre to crawl into the pile to calm down hiding her body under the fabrics while covering her nose with the calming scents.

She had no idea what she was doing, she was just nervous. During the last few days she would have probably gone to curl up with Jaska, maybe, but not that the heat was over the reality that he had never meant to be anything of the like also sank in he, so she contended with burying herself in the warm clothes. Sabre's moments of comfort were interrupted by a the faint sound of scales scraping against the ground. She deeply submerged herself into the fabrics to conceal herself, holding her breath as Kroc entered the room with his water bottle filled to the brim.

Kroc eagerly eyed up the warm pile of clothes he just took from the drier, walking over to them to lay down and soak up the warmth before he paused, spotting a particular thick and fluffy kitty's tail curling and flipping around in the air.

"Sabre?" Kroc asked, baffled at the feline's presence. The Extraspecies hand shot out, grabbing her tail before yanking it back underneath the pile. Looking more closely, he could see her reflective nervous eyes in the darkness as she anxiously munched on her own tail as comfort.

"What are you doing here in my clothes, Sheela? " Kroc asked, tugging on the clothing to try and unearth her but she remained snug and hidden, covering herself back up while remaining silent. She let out a very faint growl of warning, making Kroc frown. "You feral, sheela?" Kroc asked, sounding apprehensive as he took a few steps back to give her some space.

"No … I'm not feral yet," Sabre mumbled quite meekly.

"Then why are you underneath those clothes?" Kroc asked, only to be met with silence. He stared at her, trying to decide what to do. The sheela was wedged under those clothes like a tick. Frowning at his warmth loss, he let out a sigh and walked over to his wrestling mat before laying down with his belly up and throat exposed; the ultimate sign of his comfort in the presence of another predator. "Take your time, Sheela. We can talk when you're ready." Kroc said as he bunkered down, getting ready for the ensuing waiting game.

Sabre managed to nod but she remained quiet and agitated, hugging her own tail while still nibbling on the tip of it.

Kroc patiently waited, staring directly at her and waited for her to make the first move. Being born from a race of ambush predators he could remain unmoving for hours, thus Kroc remained still and silent that only his blinking proved he was a living creature.

Some time later, Sabre finally calmed enough to speak, even if she did so because she simply needed to say it aloud and get it out of herself. "I … I … ," she took a deep breath before closing her eyes. "I'm scared but I need to calm down. I have to go on a mission and it might take days to finish but I need to finish it before … I don't know, before more stuff happens."

"Sabre … calm down." Kroc very slowly rolled and approached her. "Why do you need to go on this mission?"

She flickered her ears and curled the tip of her fluffy tail in thought, trying to find the right words. "There's still a bit for me to hunt down and kill but there is also Antain. He's really the reason why I bother to think about after this mission. I really don't know if I will survive this. My enemies aren't exactly easy prey, and even Smith is a threat."

Kroc remained silent for a bit, staring up at her before his eyes softened. "If you ever need help, sheela, you can come to me." Kroc said with a surprisingly gentle smile despite his array of sharp teeth, "I'd protect you from anyone you don't like." He promised.

Sabre hesitated before crawling out of her spot, moving very slowly. Kroc remained still as Sabre crawled up besides him, leaning against him for more added comfort. "Thanks Kroc, but even telling you what, or who I'm hunting down would get you into trouble and it gives me at least the death penalty. But I would appreciate you taking care of Antain in case of something, well, happens to me."

"Don't think so serious, sheea." Kroc smiled sweetly, "but yes, I can do that if you'd like." He assured her, "I know some great places back in Australia that would make their heads spin if they tried to follow." Kroc laughed with a toothy grin, taking this with a rather light heart. "Can I ask you something personal, sheela?" Kroc asked, glancing over at her.

"I can't tell you of this lil hunt of mine but other than that go on and ask. At this point I guess we both can be honest on almost anything." She smiled wistfully.

"Nothing like that," Kroc waved off, "I want to know what names you are thinking about for your cubs." He asked with a smile, "if you don't want to answer you don't have to, but I'm curious."

"Excuse me?" Sabre blinked in confusion, cutely tilting her head, "Antain is the only name I thought for him. Should I have given him an extra name?"

"I meant for _your_ cubs," he said, very gently setting his palm against her furry stomach, "your heat it over and now you'll be denning here, right? Or would you want to be placed elsewhere?" Kroc asked, curious and admittedly wishing to see those cute small balls of fluff, "if you don't want Jaska helping, I'd help you with whatever your decision is, sheela. It's the least I can do for you after you've helped me so much."

Sabre's eyes widened in shock for a few seconds before she dropped on the floor on her side with hand over her belly and the other on her head. She stared at Kroc, her pupils big and her ears flat before she burst into tears and curled up into a tiny ball of fluff and cries.

"What's wrong, sheela?" Kroc asked

"I … I'm not sure I'm ready to have cubs at all, and the heat, and d***, I need to speed up the hunt, and then getaway, eh, getting away from here would be good." She began taking some deep breaths to calm down.

"Hold on, sheela," Kroc said, gently taking her arm and looking at her in puzzlement, "what are you going on about?"

"I guess I'll have to finish my hunt way faster before I can, because if I got preggers, then I'd have to go away and hide and I'd be easy to capture and kill or worse!" She began crawling in circles and from side to side.

"Sheela!" Kroc hissed, making her jolt in surprise and turn to him, leaning away but he held firm, "take a deep breath." He instructed, not saying another word until she shakily did so, her entire body trembling, "there. Now, calm down. What is the matter?" He asked, letting her go.

"Kroc, not only am I hunting down, I am being hunted down. It's a matter of who ends who first. I don't even know how long will I'll be able to keep active if I am pregnant before I can't go out on fights and mur- uh, hunts. More so, I know I will more likely go feral if preggers gets far enough and if I really am prego, then I definitely won't have cubs in this country. Plus, Smith is desperate for cubs, possibly something to do with the council, but the council doesn't even know I exist, which means I might need to go into hiding and disappear under the waters which wouldn't be that good for Antain or the cubs … and I don't even know how many cubs would be normal but I guess two and then there is the part where I would do better if I just left them with Jaska but I know bastet guys just go their own way after a girl's heat is over and he helped but that's it and … Kroc, I think I'm in trouble." She sniffled, her fur rising with her tension and eyes glistening with the oncoming tears of fright.

"Just relax, sheela. Have you never been pregnant before?" Kroc asked, sounding almost surprised.

"Of course I haven't! My first heat was barely a little while ago with Aleksey and before that I used stuff to prevent the possibility of kittens." She wailed while flailing her arms around in a panic before covering her mouth, trying to muffle her fearful cries.

"Sabre." Kroc stated, sounding a little more serious, "take a breath, sheela, and calm down. You'll be just fine." Kroc said, gently wrapping an arm around her back and gently shuffling her against his chest. "Don't panic. You'll be a great mother." Kroc assured her with a smile, softly rubbing her back to try and negate her onset panic.

"And what about the other problems?" She mewed, hugging his chest as Sabre choked back the tears.

"One step at a time, sheela." Kroc said, nuzzling against her, "panicking won't help with anything so just relax; you might not get pregnant and if you do, that's just what happens during a heat." Kroc shrugged, "it's really nothing to panic over. The only species that really panics over having offspring are humans." Kroc chuckled, hesitating with a slight blush before awkwardly nuzzling her cheek, "once instincts kick in, you'll know what to do." Korc assured her before he very, very gently hugged her in a comforting manner while being careful not to hurt her by mistake, "just take deep breaths, sheela. You'll be just fine."

"I don't think I will, not until I come up with a plan." She tightened her hug, "Kroc … please just hold me a little while, I need it."

"I'll hold you for as long as you need, sheela." Kroc assured her, getting a little more comfortable on the mat before pulling her onto his lap, making the both of them more comfortable, "deep breaths. Everything will be alright." He assured her, feeling that her panicking was a bit silly but understood her situation, even if it was only a little bit. However he wondered what the hell was Jaska doing to prevent him from being here for Sabre's sake.

"I don't know but I'd like that." Sabre very slowly began to relax as she hugged him back, drifting into sleep after a while.

Kroc glanced down at her face, seeing her peacefully sleeping within his arms. Seeing such a small looking sheela in his arms felt very … relaxing. He gently smiled, kissing her cheek again. "Get some rest, sheela. I will hold you through the night." Kroc assured her before picking her up and walking over to his heat lamp. After switching it to the lowest setting he laid down on the pillows in his room, propping himself up a bit with Sabre resting against his chest, sound asleep and her cheeks damp from her crying. He held her a little more firmly, nuzzling against her. "Even if you feel like no one else is there for you, sheela, I'll be here. You're not alone." He gently assured her before settling in to get some rest himself.

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Jaska achingly rubbed his head, stepping into the house after a very long night of finding, catching and organizing the Extraspecies caught in a mission. More and more Extraspecies were being trafficked into the USA recently, which was bad news for the program since most of these were not so good Extraspecies, causing the news to portray every Extraspecies as a 'bad' creature unfit for human society. He heavily sighed; not that he cared about any of that but it made his job that much more difficult.

With a tired groan the tiger slumped towards his room, pausing as he glanced at the stairs to Sabre's room. After such an exhausting night, curling up with his mate would be nice. He paused, noticing the key thought of 'mate' crossing through his mind, making him frown slightly. Well … mate to be, as soon as he really proposed it. Jaska paused, slightly blushing at the thought. As strange as it was, Sabre basically was a mate now. They've mated plenty of times now and she seemed to enjoy it so after this tonight's session was over he'd ask her to be lifelong mates. After all, she was the best he'd ever get with all the experiments done to him and she was a strong and reliable woman and a very pretty bastet. With quiet steps he headed towards the pull up stairs, tugging the string down before crawling up into the attic. He peeked inside, puzzled to only see Antain fast asleep in the hammock. Sabre's not here … which meant she might be sleeping with the host.

Jaska's brows stitched together, puzzled. Or maybe she was curling up with Eztli? But if she was then Antain would likely be with her unless … her heat hit another sudden spell while he was gone? The thought troubled him as he quickly lumbered off to Eztli's room, peeking inside and sniffing the entrance and finding no fresh scent of Sabre. Not here? Troubled further, he trotted off towards the host's room, sniffing the ground before pausing in front of Kroc's room. Her scent was fairly fresh here.

Was it possible that she mated with Kroc to satisfy her heat? His ears lowered, feeling a sharp shiver crawl down his spine with fear and jealousy. It wasn't impossible; the two of them have been rather close from the start and more so lately - something he's been meaning to politely interrogate her about - but not to a mating degree.

With the utmost silence he pushed the door open, spotting Sabre fast asleep in Kroc's firm embrace beneath his heat lamp. The immediate heavy weight that crushed his chest tightened to almost a suffocating degree. So Sabre did indeed go with Kroc to satisfy her lust. She couldn't wait for him to come home?

Jaska stared at them from the entrance, unable to look away as his instincts clashed with his mind. He never did actually ask her to be his mate, did he? Or really hint at it at all either, but that was because he wasn't ready for it. He wasn't ready for her to potentially say no, which was why he said he was 'helping' her with the what all those times they mated. Now he had lost his chance. His ears lowered, a very faint snarl curling up his lips. D*** it, Kroc! Just when he was getting ready to ask Sabre to be his mate, he went ahead and slipped in under his nose? He should have known Kroc would do something underhanded! Crocodiles were ambush predators and good at taking things at the last minute. Unable to hold it in, he threw the door back and angrily roared, expressing his heartache. It was not his fault, it was their fault! It was perfectly logical for him to wait and feel out the situation before asking Sabre to be his mate for life!

Sabre rolled aside in an automatic response while opening her eyes; the sudden loud roar was quite the scary thing to wake her up, and standing at the entrance of Kroc's room' snarling and with his claws out was the culprit. "Jaska? What the hell?" She rose up from her position, barely noticing that Kroc was still sleeping like a boulder.

"What you doing here with Kroc?!" Jaska snapped at her with a loud and very threatening snarl, his fangs baring in a threatening manner.

"I was obviously sleeping. What's up with you?" She carefully asked, her tail moving about anxiously as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. Something was off with the tiger.

"What up? WHAT UP? I back and find you sleep with Kroc? Why Kroc? Why not wait for me?!" Jaska angrily demanded his his ears pulled back and his claws still extended.

Sabre looked confused, so this time she didn't answer. Instead her ears lowered, backing away. The tiger's sudden and bizarre aggression made her extremely uneasy, making her heart race in fright. It was an automatic response, something in her instincts told her to back away.

"Why no answer?!" Jaska roared.

"Because I don't know what you are asking." Sabre said, tacking on her own confused growl towards the tiger, her fur rising.

"So any male do when you in heat?! Any male cure craving? You no care for anyone, you care only for curing heat!" Jaska accused angrily,

"What are you talking about? My heat is over." She lowered her ears but thought that perhaps she was starting to understand. If he thought her heat was still on then he had probably wanted some action after a mission, which now that her mind was clear of all the hormones, hurt her. To him she was just some girl to vent out after all. A willing p****. The realization hurt her as she frowned, feeling her sadness hedging on anger if not despair at the reality of such truth after all they did and shared.

Jaska's eyes widened, lips parted. The heat was over, which meant her craving was over. And now that their heat was over, whatever they were was over as well. Which also meant he lost his chance to become her mate; she made her choice now and since she's not in heat, it's most likely she wouldn't consider him a mate as well. She used him and wanted nothing else to do with him. His pupils narrowed, becoming angry once again as he felt such an intense and agonizing pain that he actually wanted to hurt her back. "I thought you _my_ mate! Why go mate with large scaly lizard while I away?"

Sabre clenched her fist, her voice cracking, "we mated during the heat, no? Is that what you mean? You helped me but …" Sabre huffed. Not only did he used her, he also though he she was some kind of property. "but you were never my mate. You wanted to fuck me, and that ended with the heat." She said with her hands shaking, glaring at him. Her words pained "That's what you wanted, right?"

"You only mate because of heat? Nothing else?!" Jaska demanded, too angry to catch on.

"How could I do anything else? I couldn't even think because I was feral with lust." Sabre was utterly confused now, she didn't understand at all. How could she? He never explained anything. "What do you mean to say? I don't understand." She growled, her anxiety growing by the second.

"You lying lab rat! You know exactly what I say and mean! You cruel female for playing with heat! That what you do to Aleksey? You lie to him like lie to me?!" Jaska angrily roared. He was crushed and heartbroken; angry at Sabre for misleading him, giving him a chance before ripping it away from him just as quickly. "Brother idiot for getting close to creature like you! You snare and cause brother's death, no?!"

Sabre's shocked expression turned to a hurt one, despite she biting her lip so hard that it bleed, and the raging look of her eyes, tears started coming out of her eyes. "Don't you dare insult Aleksey's name! I'm cruel? You used me as a f*** toy all this time!?" It hurt but she finally understood; he thought she'd just go sleeping around and that she was here with Kroc just to sleep with him. The stripped menace clearly didn't think much of her or wanted her for anything else than as some passing fun, not even when there was the possibility of cubs being on their way. "You aren't half the mate Aleksey was and you never will, menage! You made it very clear that you only wanted to 'help' until the heat ended. I don't know what you think I'm lying about but you're only lying to yourself if you ever thought I'd want to get near you after this! My mate is Aleksey, and I regret tarnishing his memory by having accepted your so called help!"

Jaska let out another loud and furious roar. Sabre paused and looked at the exit, planning to run directly to her den to cry her heart out; but as soon as she took a step forward Jaska jumped in front of her. The tiger's eyes were slits and full of rage; he was feral.

Sabre stood rigid with fright before Jaska took the chance to leap at her, barely giving her time to move aside while he pulled her by the tail, digging his claws in her flesh and making her yowl in pain. A frightened Sabre screamed, kicking at Jaska's hand to her tail free and then rolling around. Before she could leap away, Jaska surged forward, grabbing her by the ankle and wrestling her onto the ground with his superior size and strength while she screamed in fright.

His claws dug into her shoulder while she turned and twisted with all her strength as Jaska tried to force her still. When he was about to bite, she grabbed one of Kroc's lighter weights and placed it on the tiger's jaws so he'd bit that instead. Jaska's eyes flashed with rage, biting the metal hard and snarling at her in a livid rage.

"Hmm … ? Sabre?" Kroc widely yawned as he groggily came out of his deep sleep. Kroc patted the empty space beside him before he sat up, rubbing his eyes as he tried to dispel his exhaustion.

Jaska's head snapped up, sneering in Kroc's direction as his grip on Sabre loosened. Her foot kicked his groin hard as she spun around and quickly dashed at Kroc, whipping around behind him.

"HE'S FERAL!" Sabre screamed among fearful tears and sobs. Her fur stood up in disarray and was dirty with her own blood.

"Ah?" Kroc asked in confusion before Jaska surged forward, blindsiding Kroc into the wall. He smacked against the surface with a thundering bang before his eyes burst open, now thoroughly awake as he grabbed the tiger's waist as his teeth sunk into Kroc's side. The saltwater crocodile menacingly hissed, digging his claws into Jaska's sides before throwing the heavy feline off his feet and away from him. His eyes darted over to Sabre, spotting her terrified tears and the blood on her fur before he let out an aggressive hiss and charged at Jaska.

The tiger immediately lunged back at Kroc, smacking into him as they both tried to overpower the other. Jaska's claws dragged over Kroc's scales, leaving minor scratches as Kroc tried to bite his neck but the tiger dipped under the metal jaws and grasped them, holding his jaws shut as they glared at one another angrily. The tense stand off lasted only for a second before Jaska bit Kroc's snout, making him achingly hiss as he grabbed the back of the tiger's neck and slammed him into a wall.

"Are we gonna fight for alpha again? Yay!" Eztli came into the room attracted by the commotion and saw the bigger males fighting, getting excited and happy. After a few moments of jockying for position to leap in and join, he began noticing the murderous intention of the two. His ears lowered, frightened as he turned to flee back into the host's room before he froze, spotting Sabre in the corner of the room crouched and terrified into an expression and defensive position and smelling like blood and fear, something he knew all too well. "Sabre, que sucedió _(what happened)_?!"

Eztli ran over to her, quickly looking her over before Jaska turned to them and lunged at the smaller felines. Eztli's eyes became wide and frightened before he quickly hugged Sabre, protecting her as Jaska's claws swept the both of them into the air and flung them across the room and smacking into Kroc's weight set, both of them hitting the ground painfully.

From the hallway Antain's frightened meow called for his mama, too scared to move from where he was. The cub had seen what was going on and was trembling, scared and calling for his mama repeatedly. Eztli shook his head and forced himself up despite the deep bleeding cuts that would certainly require stitches, but understanding the danger he grabbed Sabre and ran out of the room. Antain mewed in fright, crying as Eztli scooped him up and easily held the both of them with his strength. Antain jumped over his mama while she scratched at Eztli in frightened confusion edging on feralness.

The door to the host's room burst open as the human shot up from the bed, seeing dark figures darting towards her. She screamed, confused before the figures dove under her bed, making her freeze. What the hell was that?! Roars from down the hall made her suck in a fast breath, hearing the heavyweights of her charges duking it out once again. Which, of course, was nothing new but something was very wrong; she could tell their roars and hisses were laced with murderous intentions. They were too loud and fierce to be considered playful.

"W-What in the world is going on?!" Jackie shouted as she stumbled out of her bed and flicked on the light, looking back and seeing reflective frightened eyes looking back at her from Eztli, Sabre and Antain hiding underneath her bed, scared to death of whatever was going on.

"F-F-Feral! He's hurting everyone!" Eztli hugged Sabre all scared while Sabre sobbed hysterically and hugged Antain trying to calm the pup's cries.

Jackie's eyes widened, realizing Kroc must have gone feral. Feral? _Again_?! A sharp shiver shot up her spine as she staggered over to the dresser, pulling out her tranq gun and loading it before hurrying towards Kroc's room. She hesitated by the entrance, listening to the both of them fight before she whipped into the front of the door with the gun up, trying to take aim.

"H-Hold him still, Jaska!" Jackie shouted, trying to get a good aim at Kroc before she paused. Something wasn't right; Jaska's movements were too off beat. Her eyes darted between them, feeling her eyes widening. Jaska was the feral one?! How? He was a trained freaking tiger who directly works for Smith!

"I'm not feral, sheela! Jaska is!" Kroc hissed between his teeth, trying to hold the tiger still but he slipped out of his grasp, clawing at the side of Kroc's face before the saltwater crocodile whipped around and tried to slam him to the ground with his tail. Jaska barely managed to evade it, leaping onto Kroc's back and trying to bite at the base of his skull but the crocodile grabbed the tiger's jaws, holding them open to prevent his neck from snapping.

"H-How?!" Jackie gasped, startled as she tried to make sense of it. Her mind raced, watching the both of them struggle against each other before with a loud grunt, Kroc wrenched himself free of Jaska's claws and slammed the tiger into the ground.

"The safe room, sheela! Open it!" Kroc demanded, claws at Jaska's face and forcing him back.

"R-Right, yeah!" She shouted, stumbling to the side before quickly rushing over to the safe room. She grabbed the handle and twisted it, dragging open the heavy door and leaving it wide open. "It's open!"

"Get back, sheela!" Kroc hissed as she heard the shuffling get closer. Jackie backed away, feeling her heart racing with fright as Kroc muscled the tiger out of the room and into the hallway. Jaska nearly broke free, trying to kick away from Kroc before he managed to get the tiger into a chokehold and drag him back despite his claws digging deeply into his scales.

"Host … what's going on?" Reza asked with a loud yawn, peeking outside of his room in curiosity with his sleeping cap falling at the side of his head.

"D***-! SHEELA!" Kroc shouted in a panic as Jackie whipped around, spotting Jaska making a charge for her.

"R-Reza, get back-!" Jackie gasped as she turned around to run. Faster than she could blink she felt a fast pair of claws latch onto her hand, making her scream as Reza dragged her into his room before throwing her into his pool. In mid-fling Reza whipped around, showing his back towards the lunging tiger before venomously smirking as Jaska landed on the lionfish's back.

The tiger painfully yowled as he slammed on top of Reza, dazing the fish before Jaska leapt off of him and tightly gripped his chest. He staggered back and roared in agony as Reza pushed himself back up, shaking off the rather painful weight that had slammed into him just as Kroc reached the entrance of Reza's room and hissed at Jaska.

"It seems a certain tiger needs to lay off the food." The lionfish huffed, feeling his back aching. Reza clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth, glaring back over some of his broken spines before quickly slipping into the water where Jackie had just surfaced, coughing and sputtering out the water from her lungs.

"I'll break your bones, tiger!" Kroc shouted in a raging fit before charging at Jaska and tackling him over into Reza's shallow fish pool. The large splash made all of the fish scatter and gush out of the entrance and into the large pool, sending Baba into a continuous barrel roll.

"WHA-WAHT WHERE-?!" Jackie shouted, thoroughly disorientated as she spun around and around in the pool before spotting Jaska in the shallow pool with his back to the ground and Kroc on top, punching the living daylights out of the thrashing feline who kept on hitting and slashing back.

"Oh good, you're not broken, host!" Reza happily smiled as he glided up to her side, "I was almost worried that I broke your foot when I threw you." He smiled, wrapping his arms under her knees and shoulders before pinning her to his chest and safely away from his venomous spines.

"Th-Threw-?! _You_ threw me?!" Jackie asked, startled. How in the world did he throw her like she was a small wet rag? She glanced down at his arms, shocked to see just how tightly compact his muscles were. He had a more wiry frame but he was not lacking in strength at all. She had imagined Reza to be physically fairly weak but it was clear she was mistaken.

"Yes? Who else would have?" He said, tilting his head in confusion as her chest huffed and puffed, trying to calm herself. Jaska just nearly took her head clean off. "Hey, you're heart is beating pretty fast," Reza said, leaning down a bit and nonchalantly tapping his finned ear against her chest while the heavy weights continued to struggle with one another. Jackie stared at the fight, mortified by how hard the two were fighting against one another with an all too real killing intent. They looked like they wanted to rip each other limb from limb. Her eyes paid close attention to Kroc's angry gaze, seeing his pupils slowly turning to slits. No, no no-! If he goes feral too then one of them was going to die for sure! "Hey, host, if your heart explodes, can I examine your body afterwards?" Reza cheerfully asked, clearly not paying attention to the fight. Jackie held her breath, watching as Kroc got a firm grasp on Jaska's skull before shoving his head beneath the water. Bubbles erupted from the tiger's mouth as his claws furiously dug into Kroc's scales but his grip did not relent. It was clear what Kroc was doing; he was going to drown the feral tiger.

"K-Kroc, KROC STOP!" Jackie shouted, struggling in Reza's grasp as her heart almost stopped with fright. If Kroc gave in to his instincts, would he go feral as well? Would he really kill Jaska in front of her?

"Hey wait, hold still, host," Reza frowned, not wanting to sting the host by mistake. Seeing her continuous struggling, he quickly released her, watching as she slowly made it to the ledge of the pool before staggering over to Kroc.

"Kroc, stop! Please!" Jackie cried, rushing over to him. His piercing glare shot back at her, startling her as his tail rose up in a threatening manner but she did not stop. "Kroc, let him breathe, you're drowning him!" She shouted, trying to reach his side but he brought his tail up and held it in the air, holding her back before lightly flicking her back. The 'light' smack made a direct hit to her diaphragm, knocking all of the air out of her lungs as she hit the ground. Jackie clutched at her stomach and neck, unable to breathe except in tiny, mouthfuls of rasping air.

Kroc glared back at her, his slitted pupils staring at her gasping and struggling frame against the ground. His heart ached and trembled, the scene of her lying on the ground and unable to breathe sending a sharp pang of fright through his chest before his pupils widened, taking in the scene with a new eye. Fear coursed through his scales, remembering his mother after he ripped out her throat. The image so vivid that he came back to his senses at the fright of a scene like that repeating.

"If you're going to kill him or the host don't worry. I can make plenty of sushi really fast out of them. And not that I'm encouraging it, but if you kill the tiger then you should also kill the host. She won't like the cat dead and there will be problems all over." Reza effortlessly hopped out the water, leaning besides the host as he looked her over with a small smile that very slowly fell, looking over the fear in her eyes as she struggled to breathe, " … can you breathe, host?" Reza asked, looking her over with his panicking slowly growing. "Host? Host! You breathe air so why aren't you breathing well? Did you swallow more water than you could handle? Did my spine puncture you? Host? Can't you scream at us? At all? Host?" He asked, swaying back and forth in place with unease as he continued to lightly paw at her body.

The saltwater crocodile blankly stared at the scene, his frown deepening before he looked down at the barely moving tiger. With an angry hiss he gripped the back of Jaska's neck, ripping him out of the water. The tiger immediately gasped for air, coughing and hacking as he very weakly clawed at the ground. Kroc turned and dragged the weakly resisting tiger over the tiles as Reza climbed on top of the host, staring at the tiger's claws leaving deep scraps in the ground. With his spikes towards the tiger he laid at his ready, hissing as they passed by before Kroc reached the safe room, grabbing the base of Jaska's tail and throwing him into the safe room. The crocodile stared at the tiger, watching as he weakly hunched over, coughing and hacking while tightly gripping the stabs on his stomach which made him yowl with pain.

"Hmph. Weak." Kroc hissed at himself, realizing he could have crushed the host's ribs if he was any more rough. He slammed the door shut and locked it, returning to Reza's room where the fish was laying between the host's legs protectively. Once alerted to Kroc's presence Reza hissed, flaring up his spines.

"I'm not feral, mate. I'm fine." Kroc said, walking closer and nervously looking over the host.

"If you wanted to taste some human, we could have gotten one different than the host." Reza admonished, eyeing Kroc with a frown. "When she's in my room she's in my territory and thus mine, so please refrain from damaging my stuff." He then looked at the host again "Host? You want some sushi?" Reza carefully asked, lightly pawing at her as her breath very, very slowly began coming back to her. "She's not breathing right. Humans don't sound like this." Reza said, turning his attention back to Jackie as he nervously pawed at her shirt, trying to figure out what to do. "Would putting her back in the water help?" He pondered aloud, looking into the shallow pool in wonder.

"Nah, the sheela just had the wind knocked out of her is all. She'll be hurting but will breathe just fine soon." Kroc said, crouching down and gently touching her side. She flinched, her breathing becoming a little more deep as she looked up at him in puzzlement before her eyes widened, looking back to the shallow pool to find it was empty. "He's fine, sheela. Locked up in the safe room." Kroc said as stared at her.

"Reza, call Smith." Kroc said, turning towards him but already found the lionfish on the line.

The merman took out his cellphone. "Hello? Hi Smith. Oh, all fine."

" _What happened now?"_ Smith asked calmly, knowing that with Reza it could be anything.

"Well, turns out Sabre knows this new clothes branch that designs for Extraspecies and she seemed interested in providing samples for the palace. Oh, there might be a possibility, and I'm not saying it is, but the cats may be hurt. "

" _The palace? Clothes?"_ Smith paused for a second considering how enthusiastic was Sabre with her little fashion enterprise, but then she came back to the current issue. " _Not about that. Tell about why the cats may be hurt."_

"Nothing much really, it's just that the tiger went feral and attacked everyone. Even Kroc is bleeding and hurt. The tiger is now calmed down after landing on my back, being almost drown and then tossed in the safe room … oh, that means he's poisoned too." Reza then considered the state the cat was in. "Since he was bleeding a lot … once he bleeds out can I salt him? I think the meat would go well with some soy sauce and lemon slices over a bed of boiled rice … or in sausage, my poison might alter the taste so it's better if he is left in sauce for a while to ferment."

" _Jaska went feral?"_ Smith could hardly believe what she was hearing. " _Put the host on the phone now, Reza I need to speak to her."_ Smith began scrambled from the other end, quickly sending out alerts to various groups in her organization.

"She might not be up for it because she got hurt too." Reza argued. "However she says hi and would probably like some sushi later. Are humans in this country used to real wasabi? I don't think so, but if I could get some … and I'm not saying I may know any illegal importer or anything, but … "

Jackie sucked in a deep breath, trying to speak as she twisted around to see Reza on the phone, "l-l-let me talk to-o her," Jackie barely rasped out before falling onto her side and just concentrating on taking deeper breaths.

"Relax, sheela. Just keep breathing." Kroc said, sitting besides her patiently as he gently rubbed her back, trying to coax the oxygen back into her body. He could only hope he didn't crack any ribs by mistake. He had only meant to push her away but it seems he pushed too hard.

"Well, the host does wants to speak to you, although she doesn't look like she can talk much. Kroc hit her and she looks like when a human is underwater and tries to breath. " Reza tacked on, staring back at her with a conflicted expression as she gaped like a fish on dry land.

Kroc frowned in annoyance, taking the phone from him before gently holding it up to his ear.

" _Is Kroc feral too?!"_ Ms. Smith shouted from the other end as her fists sounded as though they slammed onto the table, ready to call for reinforcements.

"Nah, Smith. I'm fine." Kroc said with a heavy sigh as Reza crawled over to Jackie, staring at her as her breathing gradually became slightly more than just a mouthful of air at a time to pass her the phone.

"Smith?" The host grabbed the phone, talking into it while barely being able to breathe. She was shocked by how much that actually hurt.

"Jackie, tell me what happened this time." Smith demanded seriously from the other side of the line, noticing the host's haggard breath.

Upon seeing the host struggling, Kroc grabbed the phone himself and rubbed the host's back gently.

"Jaska went feral; no idea why but he was attacking Sabre in my room and then attacked everyone." Kroc deeply frowned as Smith remained silent for a few seconds. "The tiger is in the safe room now but he managed to hurt the other cats. The host will call you once she can." He said before hanging up the phone.

Jackie slowly got to her feet with a hand over her very sore chest, taking much deeper and easier breaths than before.

"Are you alright, sheela?" Kroc asked, holding his claws out with the carefulness not to touch her but instead offer support in case she fell.

"F-Fine, fine. And you? And Jaska?" She asked, looking over to him and seeing the deep claw marks in Kroc's forearm that hardly bled.

"He's fine. Trapped him in the safe room." Kroc said, gesturing towards the door with his chin while his gaze lingered on the door. "Host… you should go check on Sabre and Eztli." He suggested.

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 **Chaos-dark-lord: what a cliffhanger isn't it? … yeah, I don't have much to say today. I just wanna get on with the story.**

 **A message from PeekoDeMeeko12 - Team Duckie for Dumisa and Jackie? Really? Chaos-Dark-Lord and I just started laughing and tried thinking of different names for almost an hour XD Don't be mistaken, I'm not making fun of the guest Gemofeurope, we LOVED the shipping name! X3 What other names can others come up with for shipping your favorite characters together here in the story? Just write your answer in a review and we look forward to reading them all! :D**

 **Sorry for the long delay; being in Japan and having such drastic time differences is messing up Chaos's and mine schedules to write together. This chapter was so long it had to be split in two, again! We really need to work on the chapter lengths haha. I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more!**

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	26. Chapter 26

Jackie hurried to her room where the loud crying continued in fright. She approached slowly and cautiously, stepping loudly so they would easily be able to sense her. "H-Hey guys? Are you alright?" Jackie asked, ducking into her room before crouching down to look underneath her bed at the glowing eyes beneath.

Eztli was hugging Sabre and licking her head while Antian was hidden between them, clutching to his mama very tightly and crying too desperately, which only tensed up Sabre even more.

"H-Hey, Sabre, Antain, E-Eztli, it's alright. Jaska is in the safe room and we're safe now." Jackie said, gripping the edge of the bed as she tried to slip under to hold them. "Are you hurt?"

Surprised at the human scent, not recognizing her as a 'safe' hooman smell, Eztli hissed at Jackie and swiped at her hand while clutching the leopardess tighter, moving to cover her and Antian in a proper bastet manly way of protectiveness towards the female and cub.

Jackie's eyes widened as she jolted back, feeling her heart physically ache. Eztli … still didn't trust her. Her eyes quickly darted to the side, taking a submissive approach, "a-are you hurt, Eztli?"

Eztli shook his head, his eyes widened and his ears lowered as he realized what he had done. "Sorry host. I didn't mean to."

Jackie remained silent, pushing aside her own hurt feelings as she turned to Sabre and backed away some more, lowering herself to the ground a bit. "It's fine. Um, S-Sabre, can you hear me?" Jackie asked.

Sabre just wailed incomprehensibly as she continued crying incoherently and terrified, pressing herself against Eztli and hugging Antain, completely unaware of her bleeding wounds as he mewed and snuggled against her.

Eztli swallowed some saliva and looked at the host. "Before she began crying, Sabre said that Jaska came in to sleep with her and thought she had slept with Kroc. Then he went crazy about mating and attacked her after insulting her because her heat ended." Eztli explained with a frown, rubbing Sabre's back. "She thinks Jaska only wanted to use her for … you know … "

"Y-You're kidding! Jaska did that?" Jackie asked, not doubting his explanation but was shocked regardless, "are you alright, Eztli?" She asked, concerned for all of their healths.

"Yes host, I've had worse. It's just some wounds but they'll heal. I'll stich myself later." The jaguar gave another lick to Sabre's head. "Sabre is also hurt, but I'll comfort her for now."

"Are you sure? Is there anything too deep I should patch up?" She asked, moving from side to side to try and see the wounds better.

Eztli nodded. "We'll be fine." Although he felt apprehensive towards the host and his fur was raised, he also felt like a grown up cat now; even if he was barely considered an adult he was feeling the need to be the strong male jaguar at the moment if he wanted to comfort Sabre and Antain now.

"A-Are you sure?" Jackie asked again, desperately wanting to hold them and comfort them. She could tell they were terrified; she wanted to hug them and make them understand she wasn't someone to be feared.

Eztli's tail flipped. "Yes, host. So go away and check on everyone else." Then he looked uncertain, hesitating. "Host? What punishment will they give to Jaska?"

At the new mention of Jaska, Sabre cries intensified again and she curled up into a ball of fear and fluff around Antain while the pup hid under her, his form changing to that of a human for a second before coming back to his usual self, no one noticing it.

"Well … to be honest, I don't know." Jackie admitted with a frown, "it's not as bad as Dumisa's outlash, so I'm sure I will still be his host. He might have to go classes of some kind." Jackie answered, uneasily watching Sabre's reaction. She really was terrified.

Eztli looked down at Sabre and accommodated to cuddle her better "Oh … but will things be back to normal?" He hugged Sabre again and tried to give her some nuzzles while she cowered back, whimpering in terror, keeping herself over Antain.

Jackie's heart ached at seeing Sabre act like this. "I-I'm just going to put a hand in, okay?" Jackie said, very slowly and carefully inching her hand under the bed to help comfort Sabre. As she did so, however, she noticed Eztli's wide eyed gaze and prickly fur, cowering back away as he stared at her hand, so she pulled her hand back, " … Eztli, are you still scared of me?" Jackie asked, feeling her heart sinking to the deepest pits of her gut.

The jaguar bit his lip and looked down "No ... it's just … bad memories, it's not you, host."

"No, no it's fine … I, uh … sorry." Jackie apologized, her lower lip stiffening up in sadness before she turned away and left the room.

Eztli watched the hooman leave the room. He had noticed the host's heartbreak over his reaction towards her and felt bad about it, but he also knew that such reaction happened because of his traumas. Being hurt by Jaska recently just reawakened some of his fears and Sabre's crying state reminded him of himself, thus he had reacted naturally like that to Jackie. That had been bad and he was determined to make it ok later; but for now he needed to take care of Sabre. He knew how much it probably hurt her.

A scraping of scales against the ground caught his attention as he peeked out from under the bed, seeing Reza with a wet towel on his head crawling into the room before their eyes met. In his mouth was a small plate of sushi as he set it down, pushing it over to them, "sushi?" He cheerfully asked, laying down on his belly to get comfortable.

"Rez! Are you alright? Did Jaska attacked you too?" Eztli asked, seeing some of the fish's broken venomous spines.

"Yeah," Reza uncaringly shrugged, inching forward and pushing the plate closer before preparing a small saucer of soy sauce with the chopsticks laying in the plate.

Sabre sniffled, her attention on the sushi almost immediately. Antain meanwhile stretched his hand towards the sushi tray and managed to grab a piece, he was about to put it into his mouth when he looked at his mama and then, without hesitating, shoved the piece in her mouth. Sabre half choked but swallowed the piece and gave an awkward thankful smile to the cub before looking at Reza while pressing herself on Eztli.

"Sabre, why are were you crying so much? Oh, wait, is it because you are hormonal? Mammals look funny when they cry." He then motioned to the sushi peace offering and looked at the cats, "want me to make some tiger sushi?"

Sabre looked at Reza and remained quiet as though considering it, but ultimately she said nothing as she nuzzled back against Eztli's chest.

"B-But I don't want Jaska to get hurt." Eztli lowered his ears.

"So a sampling, then?" Reza nodded as if confirming the food order, even taking out a notepad and writing it down, "any part in particular?"

"Eh … a sample?" Eztli tilted his head in confusion.

"Sampling of my choice it is." Reza cheerfully smiled before pausing, his expression becoming empty as his finned ears twitched, "Smith's team will be here soon." Reza shrugged. "It'll be a hassle if she wants us to get tests and medical exams after so many have gone feral in this house. But no one has died … yet, so I see not why they will bother, unless they want to check for her cubs and see if everything's all right." Reza noted out loud before pointing to Sabre.

"Antain is alright." Sabre had tensed up at the mention of medical exams but she was speaking again which was a good sign. Meanwhile Antian, happy that his mama had stopped crying, was happily munching on the sushi with cheerful humming purring.

"I meant the other ones. Hey, I'm curious, will they be tigers or leopards?"

Sabre went frigid, and after mumbling a quick 'I need to go' she darted out from under the bed and jumped out of the window, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the street jungle.

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Meanwhile Jackie had gone out of the room and into the empty attic. "Smith, I'm back." She had already told Smith everything and SMith had told her to go somewhere quiet.

" _Extraspecies have fine hearing, so be sure to go where you are not heard."_ She ordered, making Jackie uneasy. What was so important that no one was allowed to hear about it?

"O-Okay? I'm in the attic now, everyone is down in my room." Jackie said. She had already told Ms. Smith a more detailed version of what had happened based on what she knew but right now Smith sounded very serious. "what's going on, Ms. Smith?"

" _It's about Jaska. I'll give you a chance to not hear, but if you decide to then you are subjected to the non disclosure clause. Do you still wanna hear?_ "

"Y-Yeah." Jackie said, uneasy with how this was sounding, "please, tell me. How can I help Jaska?"

" _First you must know the reason why he blew up like that and you must understand that Jaska is very sensitive about this subject."_ Smith took a moment of silence but when Jackie didn't speak, she continued. " _Jaska is not a full tiger anymore; he was experimented on."_

"He was?" Jackie asked, surprised. She had never noticed anything different about him at all; but then again, she hadn't had much experience with Extraspecies like that before except for Antain.

" _Yes, he was captured and reported MIA from his country while he got experimented on. In fact, he is still officially MIA because of very important reasons that would make it a very bad idea to let the council of Extraspecies know that he is alive. Even Jaska has personal reasons for it."_ Smith obviously omitted to mention Jaska's old uncle and high member of the council who hated humans.

"O-Okay." Jackie said, still wondering where Smith was going with this. "B-But why would Jaska react so violently?" She asked, more concerned with how she could help.

" _The experiment made changes to him in some ways by adding some arctic wolf's characteristics, but physically the only indications are his extra fluffy coat and … well, his genitalia is shaped like a wolf's rather than a feline's. That is also why Sabre became so scared during their first encounter, to my knowledge."_

"Wolf?" Jackie questioned, sounding a bit baffled. He's got a wolf's _what_ now?

From the phone, Smith sighed. " _Yes, he does and he is very sensitive about it because bastet are extremely picky with who they mate with, thus an average bastet female wouldn't mate with him and his chances for mating or having cubs with his own species are … let's say quite low."_

"But … well, Sabre _isn't_ average?" Jackie asked, baffled.

Smith remained quiet for a moment, " _all I can't tell you is that Sabre wasn't raised as a bastet and thus her views are different but the fact that she was Jaska's brother's mate means she is more compatible with Jaska and thus his chances of successfully mating with her were high; which now blew up for him, or so he feels now_." The coordinator let out a deep sigh " _I'll have to check out Sabre later."_

"I-I see." Jackie said, not entirely understanding it other than Jaska had entirely misunderstood the situation. "S-So what now?"

" _Easy, you go in there and cuddle him. If he is feral you may have to let him mate with you so his instinctual urges are satisfied. Once he is calmed, tell him to call me. I'm not in the country but I'll answer. He will probably have to go to classes after this to clean this mess up_." She heavily sighed, sounding very nonchalant.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Jackie shouted into the phone in fright, feeling her heart leap into her mouth. M-Mate?! Was she serious?

" _Just wait a few minutes and then go in there calmly to soothe him. He may be very tough but his heart is as fluffy as his fur and he is very hurt right now."_ Smith knew what Jackie was panicked about, but played it cool. " _Helping him in any way necessary is part of your contract, isn't it?"_ Ms. Smith asked, sounding almost nervous herself.

"B-But I … w-would he really do something like that?" Jackie whispered, her fingers trembling in fright.

" _It's a possibility but It's fine. I wouldn't tell you to go if I thought it was dangerous."_ Smith assured her.

" … O-Okay. I'll do it. I-I-I'm a host, aren't I?" She said, trying to sound confident but her voice was trembling as much as her legs were.

" _Good luck then."_ Smith hung up fast before the host could change her mind.

Jackie shakily hung up the phone, setting it aside. O-OKay … well, this is going to be terrifying. Jaska might … to her, but … Jackie closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. She was a host and signed up to help them; and that's what she was going to do, even if she was terrified. Making her way back to the living room, she found only Kroc there.

"What did Smith say, sheela?" Kroc asked while still eyeing the door.

"That … well, basically once the roaring stops I'm going to go in and see how he's doing." Jackie said with a stiff frown, trying not to tremble.

"Absolutely not." Kroc hissed, narrowing his eyes, "an Extraspecies feral mindset will attack anyone; you including, sheela."

"I know. I'll be fine." Jackie said, glancing at the door as the growls began to quiet down, sounding more pained and forced. She paused, alarmed as she pressed her ear against the door to listen. What was wrong with his breathing? She suddenly gasped, frightened. "K-Kroc, Jaska was poisoned by Reza's spines!" She said, mortified.

"So? He had it coming." Kroc shrugged, knowing how painful that was and hoping the dose had been far greater on the cat.

"W-We have to give him the antidote right away!" Jackie said, quickly rushing into Reza's room before opening the cabinet where Reza kept the extra antidotes to his poison.

"Bad idea, sheela. He won't let anyone near." The crocodile crossed his arms, "it's too dangerous. Absolutely not."

"He could die, Kroc, before the team gets here! The poison of a lionfish is fast acting and at Reza's dosage, it's lethal if not quickly treated. Please, Kroc?" She pleaded, looking quite frightened.

Kroc deeply frowned, hating the idea quite a bit before he let out a heavy sigh and held his claw out, "fine. Give me the antidote, sheela. I'll crack the door open and give it to him. The wet kitty should still be weak from the near drowning." Kroc said as Jackie let out a relieved breath.

"Thank you, Kroc." She smiled before stepping pretty far back, watching as Kroc tightly gripped the heavy lever to open the door.

"Watch yourself, sheela." Kroc warned, opening the door ever so slightly and letting out a hiss of warning as a snarl was returned. The saltwater crocodile peeked inside of the room, blinking as he searched the floor at the far corner. His eyes narrowed, knowing the tiger had to be hiding at the farthest part and bunkered down, hopefully unconscious.

Jaska didn't even growl. As soon as he had heard the noise of the door he had jumped towards it and when it opened, the tiger was already on it. His strike was hard over the crocodile's face with his razor claws, putting a scar over his eye, nearly ripping it out had it not being because the crocodile had been looking down.

In an instant the door burst open, revealing a furiously roaring tiger crashing into Kroc. Kroc let out a loud hiss and stabbed the antidote into Jaska's side, trying to shove the tiger back into the safe room but Jaska clawed over the crocodile and made a lunge at Jackie. The host screamed in fright and dropped to the ground as the tiger landed over her, lunging at her throat with his jaws wide open before an explosion of a catnip bomb hit him square in the face.

"You can't escape my aim, feline," Reza grinned from down the hall, preparing a few blades before rearing back to throw them at the tiger.

Kroc took the chance to grab the feral tiger and tossed him back inside the safe room. He had missed, however, that Jaska managed to grab Jackie's leg and drag her in with him just as the blades dug into the ground where Jaska had been standing.

"SHEELA!" Kroc screamed as Jaska slammed the door shut and it locked automatically as it was programmed to do. Feral or not, his training was so rigorous he could still take advantage of minor human technologies.

Jackie shivered in fright as she held absolutely still, unable to see in the darkness of the room. Yikes … this reminded her of the time she was trapped in here with Kroc. A low and aching hiss filled the room as she leaned away and lowered herself towards the ground, submitting as her heart pounded with fright. This … was terrifying. She talked tough with Smith of course but this was truly frightening, especially given how violet Jaska was.

A paw smacked into her side rather hard, making her cry out as she skidded across the ground in the darkness. She rolled onto her hands and feet, barely getting her bearings before Jaska's teeth bit her shoulder, drawing blood. It was a warning and a show of dominance, if he had bitten hard she wouldn't have had a shoulder or arm at all.

"OUCH!" Jackie shouted, frightened as she tried to shy away from the tiger's snarling jaws before his tongue lapped at her wounds, seeming almost torn between ripping her to shreds or grooming her. Her teeth wildly clenched as she held back her fright, holding and trying to protect her neck the most. Tigers killed by going for a neck bite. Even though she knew her hands would do nothing to prevent him from biting her neck if he wanted to kill her, it gave her some comfort in at least trying. "J-Jaska." She softly called out, trembling and not moving. "Jaska, can you hear me?" She asked through her trembling voice, hearing his growling and hissed through the darkness. She couldn't see anything but she could sense him over her, staring at her with his barely reflective eyes in the darkness.

Jaska shock his head in confusion. He jumped away and rolled onto the floor before jumping back besides Jackie to headbut her all around while licking at the air, haggardly panting while crawling over her and looking around the room in a dimmed haze. His senses were clouded and colors became bright and vibrant all around him, making him paw at the air at nothing.

"Jaska." The host softly called, searching the darkness for him. Where did he go? "Jaska, it's alright. You're safe here." Jackie's voice trembled, hearing him but unable to pinpoint where he was.

Hearing a familiar word, the tiger went back to investigate. He sniffed the hooman at the familiar scent, pawing at her and making her roll over before burying his head between her breasts. His growls mingled with purrs as his clawed fingers rubbed at her body, savoring the soft and fragile flesh while tearing her clothes to be able to locate the scent better.

"J-J-Jaska." Jackie trembled, feeling his wrists and very firmly pet him so he could feel it, "Jaska, please stop." She shakily pleaded, working her hands up to his shoulders and deeply pet and scratched into his fur. Maybe … m-maybe he wasn't aiming for … th-that. Perhaps some petting would satisfy his feral self. Desperate to tame his feral self she deepened her petting, sitting up a bit to scratch his ears and around his neck where she knew he liked it the best. "Jaska, come back. Come back, alright?" She shakily breathed, feeling his clawed padded paws kneading against her and scratching her skin.

The tiger let out a soft prusten and leaned onto the petting, making her slide across the ground until she was pinned up against the wall with nowhere to go. Now that the source of the good feeling was no longer moving away, he leaned against her with most of his weight, almost crushing the petter against the wall while trying to cuddle up against the feel good object.

"Jaska, Jaska … it's alright. Jaska." Jackie softly called, hugging him tightly and petting him furiously. Her life depended on petting him well right now and petting him well she shall do. His chest rumbled with a deep set of purrs, rolling his back against her as she scratched at his stomach and chest, trying to squeeze herself out of the wall before managing to crawl on top of him. She leaned down against his broad chest, scratching his neck and shoulders as his hands kneaded against her hips, softly yowling with pleasure.

After some time Jaska's purrs ceased and some harsh, shaky breaths were heard. Those sniffs soon became full blown out crying, startling the host. Without realizing it, the tiger went onto hugging the host, burying her into his fluff while trying to bury himself in the embrace.

" … Jaska?" Jackie quietly called, clinging to him tightly. "J-Jaska, are you alright? Are you still feral?" The host softly asked, scratching at his neck and lower jaws.

"I no feral." Jaska barely rasped out between his aching voice and heavy breathing, remaining where he was as he hugged the host quite tightly.

"It's fine. Jaska? Are you alright?" Jackie asked, trying to get a feel for the situation as she rubbed his cheeks and tried to encourage an answer from him.

"Niet." He barely croaked out before he curled up in a ball and then buried his face against her shoulder, making her suck in a fast breath but she held back her grunts of pain.

"Jaska," Jackie softly hissed between her teeth, gently running her hand through the fur on his shoulder, "you can talk to me, Jaska. What else am I here for?" Jackie asked, leaning over him a bit as she rubbing his back and started working her way up to his weak points.

Jaska sniffed and smelled blood; not only did he smell it, he tasted it against his tongue as well. The host's blood on her and over his fur, he didn't need to ask to know he was the cause. He could taste it. "I sorry, host! I hurt host too." Suddenly, Jaska pulled Jackie into a tight hug and cried out, burying Jackie into his fluff and almost crushing her before quickly licking her wounds to stop the bleeding of the larger cuts, only managing to hurt her a bit more with his tough textured tongue before he used the back of his tongue instead.

"GAH! G-Gentle, more gentle-!" Jackie begged, barely pulling her head out of the fluff to breath as Jaska trembled tremendously, holding her tight while breaking against her shoulder and smelling the worst of the scent coming from a very clear bite mark he left on her shoulder.

"Host-! Stray rejected me!" He wailed, holding her tightly with his ears lowered. "I never find a mate! No female bastet ever want mate like me! Even stray never think I as mate," Jaska began spilling his guts. "She only take help for heat! She too cruel, too cruel-!"

Jackie froze, looking up at his face in complete and utter shock. Jaska, who was normally very calm and collected and was a fully trained operative of spetsnaz and normally very professional, was sobbing his big heart out. "W-Wait, wait, Jaska, calm down!" Jackie started, trying to worm herself out of his grasp but his arms locked around her hips, pressing his face into the crook of her neck as he tightly held onto her while emitting very loud and mournful bellows. She gasped in pain, trembling from the aching torture in her shoulder before Jaska softly lapped at it with the back of his tongue, nuzzling a little too roughly against her head.

"I no good, I know. I just failed bastet now. I have humans and experiments only ... I hate being alone." Jaska whined, clenching his teeth as big tears rolled down his cheeks.

This … was Jaska's breaking point, even if he had misunderstood Sabre. After so many years all else was just suddenly coming out; Jackie could understand that much. Although she thought it was very strange seeing such a big man … well, Extraspecies, cry, she let out a sigh and firmly hugged him back with her good arm. She wasn't sure what would be the best way to comfort him but holding him seemed to be working the oversized kitten.

"Jaska, look at me, alright?" Jackie said, trying to make him look at her but he instead pushed her over, moving his nuzzling all over and licking her wounds while continuing to let out very loud bellows, of the which she could feel the reverberations through her whole body while her ears ached. Rather than trying to pull away, Jackie took a deep breath before returning the hug and tightly wrapped her arms and legs around him and squeezing tight so the big burly tiger could actually feel her hug.

Jaska returned the hug and leaned into it, just feeling the warmth of the embrace but still tears came out, knowing that he had no chance of getting a true mate to hold him back. He closed his eyes tightly and sobbed. "I no good, host."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jaska." Jackie said, petting the back of his neck and head while tightly hugging his waist with her legs. Ms. Smith told her that the only way for a human's strength to help big predators feel secure when they're down was to wrap around them and squeeze as hard as she could. Nothing she could do would hurt him and the harder she squeezed, the better the comfort. "Just calm down, alright? And you're perfectly great." Jackie said, kissing the top of his head before squeezing him more tightly with both her good arm and legs.

"I not, host. I experiment and no bastet would want experiment like me as mate." Jaska confessed, waiting to be pushed away by the human host. "I disgrace for family, I failed bratja, I failed uncle, I failed self. I failed experiment."

"Well not if you keep pouting like this." Jackie said, only evoking another loud bellow of despair from the kitty before she more tightly hugged him, petting his upper back thoroughly as he firmly held her in his grasp. "Look, Jaska, calm down … tell me what happened from your perspective." She suggested, hugging his shoulders with one arm while the other pet his neck. She needed to sort out what the misunderstanding had been.

"I-I … I come home late … early morning." Jaska choked out, breathing rather hard as he let out a pained whine. After some hard scratching, she helped coax out more. "I … I plan to ask Sabre to be mate." He admitted, surprising Jackie. She thought they were already mates but for the sake of learning more, she kept quiet. "Bu-But Sabre, she no want to be mate. She sleep with Kroc while not in heat as proof." Jaska explained, barring his teeth and swallowing the lump in his throat. "Sh-She use me. I thought … I thought we more, but not case." Jaska lowly bellowed, pressing his face against her collarbone and trying to drown himself in the smell of the host with her blood tainting her usually neutral scent, making her smell more of prey that was lost among the faint scents of everyone else in the household.

"I thought you were mates already." Jackie admitted, rubbing his neck and gently kissing his forehead again. "Didn't you ever talk about it? Sabre … told me that you never did. That you kept saying you were only helping her through the heat." Jackie hesitantly added, unsure if her words would help or hinder the situation. As a protective measure she scratched his back comfortingly, trying to comfort him the best she could.

"No … we not. I help with heat, she satisfy and end of that. Once female satisfy, she leave, normally." Jaska explained through his grievous sniffling and low grunting. "I … want permanent mate. I try ask, but she say she never considered me permanent mate." He explained with lowered ears, trembling with the weight of absolute rejection on his shoulders.

"Well, Jaska, how would she knew if you never told her? Still, rejection is no reason to go feral," Jackie slowly said, gently petting his ears as she tried very hard to think of what to say to him, "you keep saying that because you're an experiment you can't find someone but that's not true." Jackie said, petting his cheeks now. She couldn't see anything that was wrong with him and he acted just fine as he was.

"It is. Bastet not mate permanently unless perfect mate is found." Jaska said with a very depressed frown.

"You keep using that 'because I'm an experiment' excuse. Have you ever thought that you're pretty amazing rather than just being an experiment?" Jackie pointed out, poking his nose and wiggling it around a bit.

"No matter. Stray accepted help because I similar to brother, and no bastet will accept permanent mate for me."

"And you're also at fault for helping by allowing her to think that." Jackie said, rubbing him quite lavishly to help get his mind off things, "you are your own person … Extraspecies." Jackie corrected herself, keeping her legs locked tightly around him and squeezing in a comforting way.

"And now host think differently, da? That something wrong?" Jaska accused with a soft hiss, "now you know, host. What now?" Jaska rather defensively growled but Jackie kept up with her petting, nonetheless.

"Why in the world would I think differently about you at all? You're still the same tiger that came to join my little family up here." Jackie pointed out, gently gliding her hands over his jaws.

Jaska let out a growl, "no lie, host. Now you know I experiment you no have me here, da? You want me leave?"

"Jaska, you're being ridiculous." Jackie said with a frown, pushing on his cheeks and making his face squish together a bit, "why would I care if you're an experiment or not at all? I know you as Jaska and whether or not you're an experiment doesn't change that. Did you honestly think I'd be so shallow as to kick you out of the house for something like that? That's stupid, Jaska." Jackie pointed out with a frown, annoyed that he thought she was shallow like that.

"Host ... ," Jaska opened his mouth but then closed again and swallowed, hesitating before he looked away. "Did I kill anyone? Sabre?"

"She's fine, everyone else is fine. Kroc was a bit beat up and so was Reza's spines. Eztli is a bit roughed up but Sabre … but she's very hurt, Jaska." Jackie said, continuing to pet him lavishly.

Jaska swallowed again but didn't say anything at first. "I f***ed up. Hurting mate in bastet culture … very taboo. Very bad. Never will bastet have me, for good reason." Jaska softly muttered, hugging the host against his chest while his ears lowered, silently mourning his loss.

"Jaska, you went feral. And, well, neither of you agreed to actually become mates. It's alright, Jaska." Jackie comforted, hugging him tighter before flinching, pulling her injured arm back. Ow … that hurt.

"Even if casual mates during heat, hurting mate is very bad. Too few bastet left to endanger bastet and cubs" Jaska dropped his ears. "Punishment hard too once found out"

"Well … Jaska, you didn't kill anyone. That's good at least." Jackie said, looking at the bright side of things, "of course you shouldn't do that but you went feral from holding your feelings in for too long. Don't do that again, alright? If you don't have anyone to talk to you could at least talk to me so you're not shouldering everything by yourself." She suggested with a bright gleaming grin.

"No matter. It happened" Jaska's ear flickered and then he looked at the host, noticing she was half naked with her clothes ripped and torn with many more scratches than he had realized. "Host? I hurt you too so bad?! Did I abuse too?" He flipped her over his legs and quickly move down to sniff her crotch, finding no scent of mating against her before letting out a deep breath of relief, "I no mated host. That good." His ears lowered down, feeling his chest tighten in pain, "but I f***ed up second part of contract too. I'll go away?" He looked at Jackie for a response

"H-How so? Jaska, I don't think you've done anything to hurt the second part of your contract." Jackie admitted, not exactly knowing what he was doing but was too sore to move away. "And why would you go away? I like having you here." The host said as she sat up, feeling Jaska lowering her legs as she sat back up on his lap. "I-If you're worried about the others, it's fine. Dumisa's attack was worse than anyone else's and he'll be back not too long from now. So please don't leave, Jaska." Jackie pleaded before hugging him around the neck with her good arm.

Jaska stared into her eyes, judging the host's sincerity and, much to his both amazement and annoyance, found her to be genuine. He would have been able to smell a lie; and he didn't smell any alterations to her scent at all. "Host … you still consider me for contract? Second part?" He asked, suddenly much more alert now with his ears attentive towards her.

"Well, yeah. I don't see why I wouldn't." Jackie admitted, not sure exactly what he was referring to about a 'second part' of her contract.

Jaska's eyes widened. "You do?" He pulled her into a hug again and began purring, suddenly rolling to be on top, and then he began rubbing himself over her before grabbing the scraps of her clothes and his own to bandage her wounds.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Jackie asked, blindly watching as she felt fabric press against her deeper wounds.

"I bandaging host wounds." Jaska said, looking ashamed and roughed but being very careful and gentle.

"Oh, thanks." Jackie said, letting him bandage her up. She self consciously, patted her chest and bottom, feeling her undergarments mostly there but torn up to the point they could fall off at any moment. Yikes … that really was pretty scary, but at least things worked out.

"Then I can still get mate." Jaska grinned with hopefulness.

"Y-Yeah?" Jackie said, making a mental note to read over this 'second part' of the contract. She mildly wondered if it involved some kind of breeding program where females could come to her house for a bit for the males or the other way around. Maybe?

After finishing with the basic first aid, jaska stood up and went towards the door, knocking on it rhythmically and hard a few times and then unlocked it before jumping back to the far edge of the room at opposite end of the host. "I wait in room until Smith gives orders. You go out of room, host."

"Oh … okay. Um, guide me towards the door." She said, getting up and wandering towards the center of the room. "Am I going the right way?"

"Da, host. Straight up."

A few moments later she touched the door, finding the lever before cracking it open and trying to push the extremely heavy door open as it inched forward slightly. Through the crack of the door she spotted Extraspecies in military attire with their guns at their ready, startling her. "Whoa-! Wait, wait it's fine! He's not feral anymore, everything is fine!" She called out before the door opened up quite fast with a hand snatching hold of her arm and quickly yanking her out before the door slammed shut again.

Note to self: Always ask about an Extraspecies feelings to avoid unnecessary feral attacks.

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Message from chaos-dark-lord: Ho,ho, complications and more complications. I bet you didn't expected this turn of events right? I'm sure that by now you are seeing some of what's happening behind the curtains. Any guesses was to what's to come?

Any questions or suggestions you can tell us in the reviews or send us a message to either peeko or I. We'll try to address concerns and fill any hole with potted plants.

Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Things are crazy in Japan and with the time difference but we hope to have these chapters coming out to you faster! **10 REVIEWS** for the next chapter! :D


	27. Chapter 27

The ringing through the room drove nails into the ears of everyone who heard it, making them all sit in silence before it clicked into Jackie's voicemail. The host's bored and completely uncaring recorded voice played for what had to have been the 10th time in the past 15 minutes as everyone very silently continued their work.

 _This is Jackie Penske's residence, please leave a message after the beep_.

"Ugh … really, again Ms. Smith?" Jackie groaned aloud, also not daring to pick up the phone as she patched up Kroc's left eye which now have 4 defined scars running over it. He was lucky he didn't lose an eye. "Are you feeling better, Kroc? The pain medicine should be kicking in my now." Jackie said, worriedly looking over the future scar. He got that wound because she insisted on giving Jaska the antidote. While she wasn't going to apologize for saving Jaska's life, she was upset that Kroc got hurt in the process.

"Thanks, sheela." Kroc gruffly thanked while continuing to glare at Jaska sitting on the couch, rubbing the host's blood out of his own fur. The longer Kroc stared at the tiger the angrier he became as he let out a very lower and threatening hiss, making everyone in the room tense up and take aim at him. The host, however, continued to patch him up and sew his skin together with a diamond needle made specifically for Extraspecies with thicker skins.

"Kroc, hold still." Jackie said, trying to get his attention off of the wounded tiger but even she wasn't so sure if she'd be able to stop Kroc from attacking Jaska. In a vain attempt to help prevent the inevitable, she sat on his thigh and continued to stitch the crocodile's skin back together. She hadn't remembered there being this many deep scratches on the saltwater crocodile.

"I should have drowned you when I had the chance, cat." Kroc threateningly hissed, tensing up as his tail slid over the ground a bit. He hated himself for allowing Jaska to drag the host into the room with him while he was feral, especially the number of wounds the host came out with. And although the wounds were mostly superficial, there were a few deeper ones that required stitches.

Cyan, the masked member of the Extraspecies protection group, stood in front of Kroc with his hands ready, threatening to take him down once again if he proved to be a threat. Kroc had the muzzle over his jaws to prevent him from biting anything but that hardly made anyone in the room feel any safer.

"Feh. Perhaps drown some sense into kitty, da?" Griffin deeply laughed as his powerful wings shuddered. His tail excitedly flickered, grinning over at the saltwater crocodile as though he was begging for the Extraspecies to make a move.

Jaska growled at the crocodile, blaming the reptile at least partially for the terrible turn of events. "You want start something, Kroc?"

Kroc silently glared over him, hissing again as his jaws parted in frustrated anger towards the feline. "You hurt your mate and the host and you sit here expecting nothin' to happen to you?" Kroc asked with an angry, almost feral, hiss, "I'll kill you for that, Jaska."

"So you took away mate? Can't find one and control self to not hurt, so you steal other's mate?" Jaska narrowed his eyes and hissed. "This _your_ fault."

"I'll rip you to shreds, you bl**dy w*nker!" Kroc roared as he jumped to his feet, pushing Jackie back onto the couch rather harshly as his pupils narrowed angrily.

Cyan immediately stood up as Griffin wildly grinned, walking over to the Kroc and getting ready to have a good fight with the large menace before they all heard the click of the phone, whipping around to spot Reza on the phone with a cheerful smile on his face.

"Hello? Ah, hello Ms. Smith!" Reza's voice said delightfully as everyone gasped, mortified he had actually answered the phone. "Eh? No, it's just that no one wanted to speak to you and they left the phone on the floor while the tiger and the crocodile were about to attack each other just now."

Everyone's expressions paled as Cyan walked over to Jackie, helping her to her feet before trying to lead her out of the room due to the impending fight about to happen. "W-Wait, wait." Jackie said, pulling free before trotting over to Kroc. "Kroc, that's enough. Get your rest." Jackie said as the saltwater crocodile angrily hissed but stayed where he was, knowing that charging at the tiger would only injure her.

"Oh, the host is trying to calm the crocodile right now. By the way, I'll need a few new sets of knives. Kroc went feral when Jaska dragged the host inside the room so I had to stab him a lot and a bunch of my knives bent. Can I buy the sets through the internet? I wanna try a few new distributors." Reza happily chatted away as Jackie pushed against Kroc's chest, trying to tame his fury so much that she pushed all of her concentration into trying to pet the angry saltwater crocodile.

Cyan stood close by, ready to grab the host in case petting negotiation failed while Griffin stood by Jaska, smirking over the crocodile. Griffin's blood was boiling; he missed the most exciting fights before getting here but he was determined to get something out of this mess. "Jaska." Griffin grinned, glaring down excitedly at the tiger, "what you do to make such fun fight happen, neh?" He smirked as his tail flicked back and forth before his grin turned dark, "it not like you to feral so easy. This woman really important enough to be so angry, da? Perhaps I have fun since she on market." He laughed with a thicker Russian accent than Jaska had as Kroc's hisses became louder.

"She not on market. It only Stray." Jaska growled.

' _No fighting'_ Cyan's notepad said as he held it up between the two cats, blocking each other's view of one another but their glares easily penetrated the paper.

"Oh, Hellcat?" Griffin said before loudly laughing, holding his gut, "you, really, with Hellcat?" He asked before laughing even harder and louder with his voice booming through the hallways. "What joke! You not take Hellcat, funny kitty. Hellcat too bastet for likes of experiment." He darkly grinned.

Jaska roared, very angry as he stood up to Griffin, showing his fangs, "go ahead! Take stray! She take anyone, even mythical half cat with bird brain!" Jaska roared.

"What, you go feral again, little kitty? Go, go and try," Griffin excitedly egged him on, leaning in with his eyes shining like a little kid's on christmas. "I dying to fight real you, experiment. Hellcat worth fighting for, no? So I fight. Good excuse, da, experiment?" He wickedly grinned.

"Eh? No, no one is dead but someone is about to be dead since the bird cat called our cat an experiment just now." Reza squinted his eyes. "Yes, Jaska is about to go feral again. Do I stab him too? ... oh, ok, I don't want to go to extra classes so I won't. Sure, I'll tell them about that they'll be taken for extra classes for anger management." Reza looked at the host, "hey host, Smith says that the cat and the reptile are going away to anger management and some extra classes." He leaned towards the phone for a second, listening to the other line briefly, "Smith says they should pack for a couple weeks. They'll be away for at least two weeks if not the entire month."

"I heard." Jackie called, marching right up to the so called 'help' that came to break up the feral fighting. Why in the world would the agency bring in only two Extraspecies for help and, even more disturbing, one of them is even trying to pick a fight! "That's enough out of you." Jackie snapped as she grabbed Griffin's tail and yanked on it, "what are you trying to do here? You're supposed to be helping the situation, not making it worse." Jackie snapped at him while holding his tail like a leash.

Kroc's eyes narrowed as he saw a good opportunity. He stepped forward but once he did, Cyan appeared in front of Kroc and grabbed his muzzle before pulling himself up to Kroc's eyesight. After a moment of scribbling, he held the notepad in front of Kroc's gaze.

' _Please refrain from fighting. You are too heavy for me to carry by myself and the situation will worsen if you attempt to engage'_

After a few moments of glaring he let out a stiff, annoyed huff before turning and heading towards his room to pack while Cyan tailed after him to keep an eye on him. Jaska meanwhile growled and turned around, heading to his room to pack as well while Griffin was distracted with the host.

"Oh, little experiment run away?" Griffin evilly laughed before Jackie stepped in front of him, pushing against his chest.

"Seriously, what is your deal?!" Jackie snapped at him, forcing the griffin to finally pay her some attention. "You're supposed to be helping! Stop trying to pick a fight with _my_ charges!" The host protectively snapped at him.

"What? I look for fun fight is all." Griffin toothily grinned as he leaned down, lightly nipping at the air. "You think you give good fight to me in experiment's place?" He laughed as her hands shot up, grabbing and rubbing his ears.

"I'll have you purring on the ground in a mushy mess in less than 5 minutes." Jackie confidently challenged as Griffin let out another booming laugh.

"HA! You think so?" Griffin laughed as he leaned down, letting her have full access to his body, "then show skills." He cheekily grinned as she quickly began petting him all around, hunting for his weak spot.

"Ooh~ our host is challenging the bird cat." Reza excitedly grinned as his gaze slowly turned towards Jaska, eyeing the tiger's swaying tail.

" _Reza? Reza speak up, what is happening over there?!"_ Ms. Smith demanded as Reza quietly set the phone down as he slowly submerged into the tank, making sure no one was paying any attention to him before slipping into the tubes back towards his room with a rather violent and excited grin. This was a good chance to perhaps prepare that special sushi order.

Back in Jaska's room, the tiger quickly grabbed his ready to go duffle bag with some clothes in it that he used for extended missions, hesitating as he deeply frowned. He really did f*** things up. He knew going to anger management classes was Smith being light on him. He almost killed everyone in the house for something as foolish as getting upset at being rejected. Who cared if the stray rejected him? No … _Sabre_ rejected him. She was no stray … and she rejected him because he never implied more. It was his fault. He let out another heavy sigh before his ear perked up, hearing something cutting through their air.

The tiger immediately ducked, receiving a decent scratch on his neck that would have certainly cut his jugular if he hadn't moved. He leapt back, throwing up a small wooden table as three more blades dug into the surface. Who threw such precise knives?! He touched the wound on his neck, finding himself bleeding and shocked the knife was thrown hard enough to slice through all his layers of thick fur and skin.

"So you really are a trained operative, huh? Could have fooled me with your display of emotions earlier. Getting angry at your own mate when you aren't even around and going feral." Reza lightly laughed, "I even saw the tear streaks when you came out of the room. But, that's okay. I'll call it even if you give me your tail now."

"Reza?!" Jaska hissed in anger, listening for the lionfish as the tiger's gaze turned towards his duffle bag. He was at a disadvantage with a long range user. And judging from the wounds on Kroc earlier, Reza had to be a long ranged fighter. Jaska hissed under his breath. This was a skilled opponent if he was able to take down a feral crocodile of Kroc's standards. How could such a well trained operative be living in the same house as he was and he not notice? "You from the council, da?"

"Nah. Council is boring. Never liked them much, but that old cat looks a bit like you. Or maybe it's simply that I can't distinguish between mammals all that well." Reza grinned as a few more knives dug into the wooden protection, splitting a third of the tiger's cover off as Jaska quickly turned, laying the flat edge against the ground while more knives plunged into the wood. "But who ever knew Nikita's nephew would be in a place like this. Usually this sort of thing bores me but I'm curious as to what tiger sushi tastes like. Is it tender?" He asked as threw more knives hit the same point in Jaska's shield, making another third of the table snap off. "Or is it juicy? You won't mind, will you? After all, hurting a mate is a punishable taboo in most Extraspecies races. Not that I really care though." Reza noted while smiling. "Even if you're that cat's family I doubt you'd be forgiven without punishment."

Before another knife scratched his shoulder and narrowly slicing his tendons, Jaska jumped aside and darted behind the large tree for cover as a trail of knives stuck into the ground just at the heels of his paws. The tiger's eyes narrowed. The mere mention of his uncle's name could cause some to shiver, and if Reza had discovered his location and were to leak that out to the wrong people it would mean trouble for the program, "You spy for merfolk then? Or worse, the company?" The tiger roared.

"Nah." Reza said as he skittered across the ground, forcing Jaska to move around the tree trunk base and avoid the knives being thrown at him. "I don't know anything about a company. Is it a fish company?" He asked before rolling a few feet from where Jaska was, breaking off part of his own spine before narrowly stabbing Jaska in the thigh to poison him.

"Then why you attacking?" Jaska leapt out of the way before he was nearly stabbed with some more spines Reza broke off of his own body and chucked at him, barely missing him each time. Jaska growled, trying to think of a good angle to hide from the attacks. He couldn't try killing the fish yet, not until he extracted more information.

"Hm? Oh, I just thought this was a good time to try some tiger sushi." He brazenly grinned and whipped across the ground startlingly fast moving his body like a snake and 'slithering' over the ground with aide from his claws. He threw the shorter spines like darts but the tiger evaded by rolling away. "I especially offered some samples to the other cats. Mmhhh … maybe I'm getting a bit attached to living creatures after all to make such an offer to them. It's weird but oddly nice. But, in any case, I offered and promised it and I _do_ want to know what tiger meat tastes like."

Jaska jumped and rolled in the air, barely avoiding a direct hit against his chest but when he landed and jumped forward a blade stuck out of his thigh. The tiger snarled, removed the knife and threw it towards his ceiling light to make the room dark because he has advantage seeing in the dark, "Why you really attack!?" He jumped at a side while throwing his bag to the other to cause confusion as to where he really was.

" … oh shoot, out of knives. Oh well." Reza laughed in a rather carefree manner before the scraping of scales darted across the ground. While his vision was slightly impaired, his finned ears flickered about, sensing his location almost immediately while he slyly grinned. "I told you. I'm here for some tiger sushi." Reza answered with a smile, "I'm sure you don't have any complaints after what you did to everyone. I don't mind what you did to me, but their feelings are quite hurt." He cheerfully said, throwing more blades he collected from the walls. Since the first ones struck something that didn't scream, Reza threw the other ones towards where the second heavy thing had landed, forcing the tiger to dodge again and toss a knife back at him.

Not having weapons close by and remembering how painful the fish's poison could be, Jaska grabbed a table, "you want revenge?" Jackie growled as he made a charge at the fish with the makeshift shield in front.

"No; just some ingredients." Reza said, slipping his tail beneath his body before springing high up into the air, startling Jaska as he flipped the table up to block. Reza grinned as he made a fast grab at some of the knives he had thrown at the table earlier, arming himself once again.

Jaska slid to a fast stop as the fish took the knives, taking the change to lunge at the fish and slam the table into him. Reza folded up his spines and rolled away, slipping into the small pool in Jaska's room for a brief recovery. The moment Reza hit the water he leapt back out again, throwing the recovered blades at the tiger. Jaska tossed the table down to defend himself but the blades cut right through the wood, obliterating the poorly made shield before he leapt out from his hiding spot. "Phew~ It's been so long since I've had a good fight! But … I don't feel like playing around anymore." Reza dangerously smiled as he pulled out a nearby knife from the wall.

Jaska then grabbed a chair, and while moving sideways he slammed it against Reza, sending the fish crashing to the other side of the room before breaking said chair in the process, ending up with only the legs in his hands. The tiger threw the sharpened edges towards the merman, effectively hitting Reza in the chest and shoulder as the fishman's body moved with the hits, lessening the damage done while smirking back at the tiger and grinning.

The tiger then grabbed another chair and threw it towards Reza before jumping in the air to land right over the chair once it struck the fish. Reza grinned, pinned under the chair before he curled his tail up to stick the tiger with poison, forcing the tiger to move away and flank the fish while holding onto a piece of chair to use as a bat. Reza rolled in Jaska's direction as fast as he could, trying to strike the cat with his spines but Jaska used the makeshift bat to block the poisonous fish but lost it in the process as Reza swiped at him with his claws while flaring his spines, threatening to stab the tiger if he dared to attack him back in the same fashion.

"W-What in the world is going on?!" Jackie shouted by the door, startled as she saw the two of them fighting. She left Jaska alone for 5 minutes and he was already attacking Reza?!

Both fighters ignored her and jumped or rolled away from each other to gain some distance, contemplating their next move before clashing again with mostly dodging and minimal attacks.

"S-Stop fighting, the both of you!" Jackie demanded but neither of them stopped trying to murder each other. Catnip won't work on this one, Jaska would remain unaffected by it since he had some today and who knows if that stuff would work on a fish. She struggled to come up with a solution before gasping, remembering her last secret weapon against cats. While it would work for Jaska she wasn't sure if it would work on Reza but since his eyesight took in mostly lights he should be affected by it as well. The host ran back into the kitchen, grabbing the secret weapon before rushing back into the room to see them attacking each other again. She immediately shined the powerful laser pointer between them, making a little red dot appear. "That's enough, STOP!" She shouted, moving it around a bit to make it look more appetizing.

Both fighters twitched towards the distraction of the red dot but both were too focused on their enemy to pursue the strange new object. She tried some more, moving it over over each of their bodies and while both of them twitched towards it here and there, they ultimately remained unaffected while in the midst of trying to murder each other.

Crap, it wasn't working! What now? She could try to go scrape that useless lump of feathers and fur off the ground in the living room but he didn't even wake up even when Jaska roared earlier!

"Mew!" Antain grabbed Jackie's pant and pulled on it a couple times to grab her attention on a Christmas decoration which was stored in the attic; a fist sized disco ball tree ornament. The little fox then looked inside the room, shuffling in place, "fishi mama, tipped mena?" He then mewled again to catch their attention but when they didn't, Antain tossed the ball inside the room.

Jackie grabbed Antain before he could chase after the ball and pointed the laser at it, immediately filling the entire room full of tiny red dancing dots. The two fighters immediately separated with a startled gasp, seeing the bright flashing lights everywhere around them in the room. Both of them, as though caught in a trance, began to immediately smack the red dots in their immediate vicinity, jumping back and trying to catch them all. Antain excitedly giggled and ran into the room to join the fun as Jackie put the laser pointer down, keeping the flashing red lights still on the disco ball before she ran up to Jaska.

"Jaska, come on!" Jackie said, grabbing Antain while pulling on Jaska's arm and directed him towards the exit with his disorientated senses.

"Da," Jaska shook his dizzy head and quickly grabbed his duffle bag as it was, picking the host by the waist and pulling her out of the room before closing the door behind and leaving the fish trapped in his room. Jaska let out a heavy and irritated sigh, glaring at the doors where he could hear the fish having a field day inside with the ball and lights. He was already in enough trouble as he was and he didn't want to anger Smith even more by adding this fight to the list of today's irritating incidents.

The host let out a shaky sigh, setting Antain down as he meowed and pawed at the door with clear intentions of getting back inside to play.

"J-Jaska, what in the world was that about? Why were you attacking Reza?" Jackie demanded with anger clear in her voice. "You're already in enough trouble as it is so why start stirring up the pot with him?!"

Antian looked at Jaska with annoyance, clearly upset he was not longer able to get into the room. "Tipped mena!" Antain accused with a small hiss before hopping away elsewhere to play.

Jaska understood the 'stripped Menace' the little fox had tried to say, irritably growling at that before looking at the host, "I know. Fish came and attacked." Jaska snarled, a bit hurt that the blame had been placed immediately on him. However, he had no right to complain; not after the trouble he caused today.

"Really. Reza, _the fish_ , came and attacked _you_ , on land?" Jackie asked with a narrowed gaze in his direction, feeling particularly pissed off. What most likely happened was that Reza said something smart to Jaska and he attacked him, dragging that poor fish out of his pool! "I thought I told you in the beginning, all of the cats, to _not_ eat Reza! I don't care if he said something to upset you, you're both charges here." The host scolded.

"He want to eat _me_!" Jaska huffed, "fish crazy, want to make sushi of tiger tail."

"You're tail, _really_?" Jackie snapped at him, "who in the world has ever heard of tiger sushi?! You didn't get pricked trying to eat him, did you?" The host suddenly gasped, checking over his fur and finding it all roughed up with patches of wet fur. She was unable to tell her blood from any new potential blood, making her anxious.

"I not tried to eat! You not believe, host?" Jaska growled again, trying to walk faster but his injuries made him limp on his way; in particular the stab wound to his thigh. "Maybe I _do_ need time away."

Jackie gasped as she saw him limping, "you _were_ poisoned! Wait, come here. I need to give you the antidote! _AGAIN_!" Jackie said, grabbing his arm and trying to drag him over to the kitchen.

"I not need. I have dose from earlier in blood." The tiger growled. While walking up ahead and letting the host believe what she wanted to at the moment. He was a bit pissed that she didn't believe him but he was busy thinking about the other things the host had said.

"Are you sure?" She asked, feeling particularly anxious. Her little family was falling apart at the seams. First Dumisa was taken to be sent for classes and now Kroc and Jaska too. If this kept up, would she not be allowed to be host anymore? Or worse yet, would Ms. Smith try to take Jaska and Kroc away? The thought made her chest achingly squeezed. She was a perfectly good host! But … with all this trouble lately, it sure didn't feel like she was doing well as a host. If anything it felt like she was failing horrendously and it would be her charges who suffered the most for her failures.

"Host?" Jaska noticed the host was about to cry before hugging her. "Don't cry, host. All fine. It not intention to make you cry, so please don't cry." He asked before gently licking her cheek. He knew he had to have terrified her earlier and this must be her finally coming to terms with what was happening.

Jackie sniffled a bit as she tightly hugged him in return, keeping her grasp tight. "Am I a bad host?" She asked, feeling her emotions beginning to take over her a little more harshly than usual. Usually this sort of thing wouldn't bother her but … but was she a good host? She was trying her best and yet all of these horrible things kept happening. Her charges kept getting hurt and it was all her fault that she couldn't prevent any of them. This sudden burst of tears startled even her but she supposed it was long incoming.

Jaska's ears perked before lowering, "why you ask that host? You excellent host. Your food fine and your pets nice. You brush fur well."

"All these bad things keep happening a-a-and I'm not good enough to stop them. Just look at what's happened! First Dumisa had to go away for classes and now you and Kroc have to go to! If I was a better host none of this would have happened!" Jackie cried, tightening her grasp on him as she softly sobbed into his fur. She was absolutely terrified of losing any of them or, worse yet, any of them getting hurt because she wasn't strong enough or smart enough to think of a way to prevent it.

"Shhhh, hush," Jaska passed his hand along her back, "you good host. You take care house full of predators and so far no deaths. Accidents happen but accidents on our part, not you, you busy taking care of everyone."

"B-But if I was a better host, you all wouldn't fight so much." The host sniffled, trying to rub the tears of stress out of her eyes. It was absolutely killing her how this entire house seemed to be falling apart and she felt like there was nothing she could do to help them all. If all of the petting in the world could resolve this she would happily pet them until her fingers bled. Anything just as long as they were happy.

"If you bad host, we kill each other by now. We predators sharing a small territory, easy for us to get on edge, but you good host who keep us calm. We adapting well to human world." Jaska assured her. "But some problems you no solve."

"I-I know, I know that but … b-but I want to help you all so badly it's killing me whenever you guys are hurting." Jackie softly cried.

"Heh … little host too nice. Make good prey for predators." Griffin's voice thickly laughed, walking over and eyeing Jaska, "we leave now, kitty."

"Da." Jaska said, his features quite stony. With a small glance at the host full of all he didn't say, he followed Griffin out of the door and into the other car before driving off. All alone, the host watched the cars disappear into the night while trying to come to terms with herself. Being so emotional like this wasn't helping anyone; she needed to get a hold of herself.

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Jackie heavily sighed, feeling her limbs moving heavy as she sluggishly cleaned up the house the best she could from blood, dents, scratches and other damages around the house. One bad thing right after another … this sucks. With yet another depressed and heavy sigh she rinsed off a bloody rag, letting it soak in the sink as she stared into the water. The whole house was unusually quiet with Dumisa in lessons, Kroc and Jaska off to take anger management lessons and… that only left Reza, Eztli, Antain and Sabre in the house, with Sabre, Eztli and Antain most likely still under her bed scared and hurt. It felt horribly empty.

Speaking of Reza … he was still in Jaska's room. This would be a good time to let him out now that Jaska and Kroc were gone. The host trotted over to Jaska's room, lightly knocking on the door. "Hey, Reza, how are you doing?" She asked before seeing the door creak open. Puzzled, she peeked inside, seeing nothing. "Reza?" She called, noticing a small water trail leading to the lionfish's room. She could have sworn Jaska locked the door so how did he get out? She walked along the corridor following the water trail all the way into Reza's room and walked right on in without an invitation.

"Hello host. Are the tiger and croc away already?" From the edge of his pool, Reza looked up in the direction of the host's voice with a cheerful smile on his face. In his finned hands he was holding the small disco ball, tapping it in and out of the water as Baba tried to eat it.

"How did you get back into your room?" She asked, unable to see in the dark, she flicked on the light to find Reza save and sound inside his pool somehow. Reza was splashing around inside his pool in the dark while tossing the ball into the air and using the laser pointer sealed with a plastic covering to light it up, exciting him as the dazzling lights flashed and warped through his room while Baba tried to eat the red dots.

"By coming in obviously." He tossed the ball again, quite charmed by the object. "This is fun, what is this?" He asked, flicking the ball into the air and hitting it with precision with the laser pointer while admiring the lights shining around the room. "I like this object. I think I'll keep it." The merman cheerfully smiled.

"That's a Christmas ornament; it's a disco ball." Jackie said before smiling, "if you like it that much then I don't mind if you keep it." Jackie paused by Reza's room and glanced inside. She mildly wondered how he was doing after seeing Jaska go feral like that. Would he have be scared seeing such a big predator go feral? She would imagine so, especially since Jaska was a cat. Not to mention earlier when Jaska was fighting with him. "Hey, Reza, you doing alright?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Reza tilted his head at the host. "Although, and I'm not requesting it, just saying … that I could use some grooming. I wouldn't mind it if you helped. The others seem to find enjoyable being pet." Reza looked at her from his spot on the edge of the swallow poll, his hand moving back to remove a broken spine that was barely hanging on.

The host paused, noticing the broken spines down his back before her eyes burst open. He was hurt! "Holy crap, Reza, are you okay?!" Jackie frantically demanded as she came inside, closely inspecting the broken stingers on his body. They looked rather painful. While his side fins were mostly fine, his spines down his back looked mostly broken.

"I'm ok? Do I look not ok? Thinking about it, I don't think I feel ok." He moved, causing a pop from his sore bones before with a slight groan he laid down again and slowly stretched his arms and back. "I'm not saying that the down from adrenaline is bad but … ouch, yes, that's the correct word, ouch. It seems I haven't exercised as much in a while."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" She asked, gently pressing a hand against his back while being wary of his spines, "where do you hurt? Your spines?" She asked as she hesitantly stepped into the shallow water to get a better look at the snapped spines.

"I told Baba that maybe getting into fights with the others more often would serve as exercise." Reza blinked, then another spine fell on its own and the merman grabbed it to examine it. "My spines?" He reached back, poking a yet another spine before firmly grasping it and plucking the broken spine out. Jackie watched in amazement as he stared at it, lightly tapping it in his palm, "No, they grow back like claws or scales but it hurts the skin over them if it's too close at the base. What hurts is my back; the cat is admittedly heavy. You really should put him on a diet, host. He won't be getting rice or rich fat fish in his sushi … if I ever give him any again. I'd rather make him sushi. The other cats would appreciate that, I think."

"Where did you hurt you, exactly? And how?" Jackie asked, puzzled as she looked over his back. And indeed, she could begin to see violet spots blossoming over his back.

"Oh, right after I tossed you to the pool he landed on my back and broke some spines. It's a surprise he wasn't impaled more thoughtfully. I guess all that fluff served him well." Reza tossed the spine away carelessly with a shrug. "The rest happened with Kroc and then with the cat again"

"He _landed_ on you? How are you still in one piece?" Jackie asked, shocked as she stepped around his long dorsal spines and looked over his back, "you didn't break any bones, did you?"

"I'm sturdier than I look. Plus I have more cartilage than bones." Reza shrugged and then twisted around a bit, showing off his flexibility.

"You do?" She asked, sounding perplexed, "doesn't cartilage break easier than bones?" She asked as she looked around his sharp spines, finding them almost painful to look at.

"Oh yes, but it heals faster and it's flexible. That's why it's not broken," Reza touched another damaged spine and it broke easily. "Besides, we merfolk can withstand the pressures of the deep ocean. The weight of that tiger is not enough to kill me." He miffed.

"Huh. I didn't know that." Jackie admitted, staring at him. Her eyes continued to look over his body and ears, taking a moment to examine his body more thoroughly. An Extraspecies fish body was a lot different from reptiles or mammals. And him being durable enough to survive Jaska almost crushing him is amazing; but then again, to survive at deep depths he would have to be sturdy.

There was actually quite a lot she didn't know about Reza. Being so preoccupied with all the others and considering the fact Reza was more independent, she really hadn't gotten to know him all that much. She then paused. Was there ever a time where she had sat down and pet him? Her face paled a bit at the realization of her neglection towards him. A part of her contract is to 'pet' her charges and tend to their needs; and she really hadn't done that with Reza because he had never asked. "Hey, Reza, have I ever pet you before?" Jackie asked, sounding puzzled, "I don't think I have, have I?"

"No, you haven't host. Should I consider that rude? Can you even pet me through my spines? I'd like you to try." Reza thought about it. "Sabre licked my ear. Would you lick my ears?"

"Lick your … ears?" Jackie asked, estranged by the request, "why do you want me to lick your ears?" She asked, now wondering where his weak spot could be.

"Because it felt strangely good when Sabre did so, and I was wondering how it'd feel with a different kind of tongue." Reza explained while extending his hand.

"Uh … well, yeah, I guess?" Jackie said, sitting on the edge of the pool. Reza took the cue and swam up to her and set his hands on either side of her before raising himself up high enough for his ears to be level with her mouth.

Reza grabbed her tongue and examined it just how he had done so to Sabre's. "Yours is quite plain. It doesn't have any noticeable texture although it has these micro bumps. Can you lick my ears now, host?"

"Why do you want me to lick your ears so badly?" Jackie asked, eyeing his finned ear curiously.

"I already told you host. Are you sure you weren't hit too hard?" Reza looked at her head. "You don't look like having a concussion."

Jackie stared strangely at him, thinking how she has done weirder things than lick a fish before. "Uh … wouldn't you rather be pet instead?" She asked, offering her hands up instead.

"Like you pet the cats? They always seem to enjoy it." Reza though back to the cats being pet into mush, and not that he'd say maybe that had got him a bit jealous, but he definitely had gotten curious. "Why don't you pet your non furry charges? That's neglectful."

"Well, Kroc doesn't really like to be pet so I figured you wouldn't like to be pet either."

"Why don't you try treating me like one of the felines. I'm a 'lion'-fish, am I not? Why don't you try that host." Reza suggested.

"I would have to pet you differently than the cats but I'm sure I'd get the same result. Apparently I'm really good at it." Jackie said, glancing down at her fingers.

"Not to say I'm curious about how the cats end up like a mushy pile of fur but I could let you try to"- He dropped his face as he was "start whenever you can host; I won't move."

"Hmmm … alright." Jackie said, wondering how petting him would work. "Reza, you like warm water, right?

"I've never been in too warm of water before. As long as it's not boiling it should be interesting." Reza scratched his chin. "Not sure if it'll be that different but, mep, why not?"

"Sounds good." Jackie grinned as she stepped out of the small pool and walked over to one of the side pools that was left empty. She turned on the water and began filling it with the steamy hot goodness before she left.

Reza looked at the host and then crawled over, looking into the pool curiously and poking it with a fingertip to examine it and understanding why he was told not to use this pool for anything "It's hot, not warm. You sure it's not to tenderize meat or remove scales?"

"You'll like it, I promise. Just be patient." The host answered with a grin as she hopped back inside of the room with a large bag draped over her shoulder.

"The water is steaming." Reza noted, crawling over to the edge and watching as Jackie poured some salt into it and used a large wooden paddle to stir it into the hot water for him. Reza's lips carefully curved into a curious smile as he reached down and skimming his fingers above the water. "It feels good." He said with his eyes flashing. Before he could crawl in Jackie blocked his path with the wooden paddle.

"Not until it's ready." Jackie said, lightly tapping his arm back and making him patiently wait by the side as she continued to add ingredients to the mix.

"Are you planning to boil me slowly host?" Reza chuckled, "or do you want to know if I'll boil like a frog without noticing? I won't … I think."

"It's just a mixture of bath salts to soak in. It will help make you less sore." Jackie explained as she watched most of the salt disintegrate and mix with the water.

"Bath salts? Are those different than my normal salt water or the salt is simply form some specific place in? ... shouldn't you add other cooking herbs or spices? Simple salt might be a bit simple." Reza tilted his head. "Or perhaps the concentration of salt is different? I heard about the dead sea. It's not a real sea, just a big lake but it's extremely salty, is that it?" He began peeking from left to right overly curious. He wanted to experience whatever it was the host was preparing for him. He glanced at her, waiting for her to look away before he crawled into the water. The immediate hot embrace made his skin and scales tingle in the strangest of satisfying ways, making his eyes roll into the back of his hea. Reza had never experienced this sort of sensation and it was quite … interesting. He sunk into the bottom, embracing the warmth over his body as he melted into the relaxing mixture. If she was planning to cook him, he would not mind it.

The host stared into the tub, watching his still figure underneath of the water. Was the water too hot for him? " … Reza?" Jackie called, unsure if he was alright. She reached in with the paddle, gently poking his back to get a response. When he did not move, she wedged the wooden paddle underneath of his stomach and gently leveraged him out of the water just enough to speak with him. "Reza, are you alright?"

"It's only rhetorical … maybe, or maybe not, but let me get get cooked in this beautiful mixture, host." Reza moaned, rolling his shoulders and trying to roll back into the confined space but could not find the power to do so.

Jackie stared at his languid state, laughing at how lazy he looked. This was oddly adorable for him. "I can make it better if you'd like." She teased with a grin.

"Go ahead, host." He waved his tail lazily and let her do as she wished. "I can hardly see how this sensation could be better."

"Sit up and give me your back." She said, holding her hands up.

"Must I sit? The water is just fi~~~ne." He complained, bothered he wouldn't be fully submerged if he did that but did so anyway out of curiosity.

"Just stay still and don't sting me." Jackie's hands gently caressed and massaged his shoulders and the back of his neck, feeling him tense up a bit but hum in pleasure soon after. "How's that feel?" She asked, rubbing his jaws and feeling his head slightly tilt from side to side.

Reza didnt even managed to gain enough concentration to talk, he just laid limp like a willowy piece of string while she massaged his shoulders, neck and ears. Before long he started thrumming against her, feeling his mind beginning to drift away from him. Ah … it had been a while since he has enjoyed the pleasures of getting high. The heightened sensations only intensified the immense pleasure rippling through his body as he rolled his head back, thoroughly soaking up every big of it.

Jackie smiled and rubbed his skin more thoroughly, leaning forward and rubbing his chest. His head turned slightly and nuzzled against her arm while sighing contently. "Reza, are you sleeping?" She quietly asked, pausing before trying to retract her hands.

Instead of answering, his eyes rolled back and settled onto the host before Reza grabbed Jack by the waist and yanked her into the water. She floundered in surprise, trying to move away from his and his spikes but he pulled her onto his lap where it was safe from his poison. "Enjoy the warmth, host." He tightened his hug and had her lean against his shoulder to use like a pillow as her belly pressed against his, making him hum at the comfortable softness of her body.

Jackie heavily sighed and tried to get comfortable, realizing she was quite trapped. Trying to get out now would more than likely get her poisoned and it didn't look like Reza was going to release her anytime soon. With a heavy sigh she resigned herself, leaning against him to get comfortable. Reza, taking the chance of her leaning on his shoulder, took some of her hair in his mouth and began nibbling on it. The texture was quite odd against his tongue but oddly soothing.

She leaned back, estranged by the sounds he was making before seeing his somewhat hazy and enlarged pupils. Her eyes widened, feeling her heart skip a beat. Was he going feral? Remembering the last time he went feral when he tried to rip out her throat, she positioned her hand right at the base of his ear and got ready to grab it. "R-Reza, are you feral?" She nervously asked.

"No host, I'm not feral but you are soft." His words sounded incoherent but expressed what his hands began to feel when he checked up her hips and legs. "You are ridiculously soft. Softer than a sea slug."

"Well, yeah. Humans are normally a lot softer than Extraspecies." Jackie remarked, uneasily staring into his gaze. "Your uh, your pupils are a lot bigger than they usually are." She said, relaxing a bit. He didn't sound like he was on the edge of going feral. She gently caressed his cheeks, watching his finned ears tremble excitedly.

"The salts are relaxing … host, I'm not sure if this part is soft or not that much." He noted as he grabbed her butt and squeezed, checking the consistency. "It's firm, but still soft enough."

"Uh, can you not touch there?" She uneasily asked, jolting a bit but knowing he wasn't touching her in a purposefully suggestive manner. He always was curious about her legs so it was only a matter of time would he would be curious about her butt, as strange as that may sound.

He squished her rear again, appearing pleasantly puzzled. "But I can't determine its right consistency, a good filete could come out of this … but I'll say you are soft, at least softer than other humans I've met. Not only physically but mentally too so that makes me curious, like with Baba."

"...please don't keep me around just to see how I die." Jackie said, knowing full well how he thought about Baba. "And don't think about what kinds of cuts my meat could make."

"No, you aren't as resistant so that wouldn't be much fun." He nuzzled her and placed his ear in reach of her mouth. "Host, lick my ears."

After a couple of persistent taps against her cheek, Jackie sighed and cradled his head. He wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted so might as well. After bracing herself, she began very slowly licking his ears and feeling him convulse against her while panting against her skin, getting quite excited.

"Oohhh … ," he trembled slightly, leaning into her. "Your tongue is not textured … but you are doing fine, could be better but you can practice until you make my heat comes."

"Heat?" She paused, pulling back slightly to look at his deeply blushing face filled with ecstasy. "Fish can go into heat?" She asked. His hazy eyes stared at the ceiling while his breath stuttered, showing just how excited he was. Were his ears really this sensitive?

"Oh yes, we do, well, mermaids do, and it affects everyone, or so I thought, well, It affects humans, thats for sure, I'm not saying it is affecting you yet until it is set and present, but when it does… can I finally check between your legs?" Reza hummed.

Jackie twitched. Well, it was time for her to leave. "Nope." She said, sliding her hands around his neck and holding up his jaws before she stared at his ear. I wonder if sucking on them would make him submit faster? Her lips pursed together before taking in the tip, giving a light suck before dragging her tongue up the finned ear, making Reza scream in pleasure and happiness as he tightly held her.

"Mmmhhh … host, I might get attached to this." Reza inhaled deeply and began panting loudly. As the tip of his tail trembled, showing how excited he was getting, he quivered among small hums and sounds, his fins vibrating and his gills moving fasts with his intensified breaths. " … too late, I already am." He murmured as his pupils enlarged, clearly excited.

"Does this feel that good to you?" She asked, making a mental note to massage his ears the next time she pet him. Her hands gently pet his finned ears, giving him a chance to come down from his high.

"I'm not saying that yes but _yes_!" He continued to squirm and laugh, blushing and panting before nearly fainting in sheer blushing happiness. "Host, suck me more… and harder!"

"Only if you let me go after this." Jackie said, hesitating before pinching one ear and sucking the other finned ear harder. Well if this was what he wanted then fine; it was weird but she supposed this was how you were supposed to pet a merfolk.

"Maybe," Reza hummed, pinching her butt again, "it's fun to pinch this but I think I like your legs better. They are funny." The merman said while nuzzling against her, shifting again and making small splashes around.

"Hm," Jackie merely half hummed, turning to the other ear before taking most of it into her mouth and giving a very long, drawn out suckle to his ear while pinching the other one. After this one she'd just run.

With a heightened expression of utter pleasure and silent bliss, Reza became paralyzed before falling limp against the tub. Jackie quickly pulled away, surprised as she stare at Reza's wildly blushing and lewd face. " … Reza?" She called, poking his cheek but he was unresponsive. "Reza? Hey, are you alright?" She asked but he only slouched own, nearly spearing her leg with a small spine before she leapt up and fell back out of the tub. Reza slipped into the bottom of the tub, remaining still as his breath came in at an even pace. Did he … just pass out. She hesitated before grabbing the wooden paddle and poking him, finding him completely out but with a big satisfied smile. Huh … so sucking on his ears made him pass out. That's new.

 _Note to self ... never give Reza bath salts … and don't suck on his ears_.

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Hours later the host was cleaning up the house some more before finally finishing. With a heavy exhale she slumped onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling with a smile. Finally done … maybe she could try to work in a quick nap.

…

It was too quiet.

The host sat up, looking around the house. It was _way_ too quiet. Hmmm … the cats should be getting hungry around this time of week. But since Eztli was clearly still scared of her, maybe it was best to not go in just yet.

… but that doesn't mean she couldn't lure them out. With a cheerful grin she hopped over to the kitchen, pulling out a special grade tuna can before holding the can opener and turning it on. Hardly a few seconds into the whirring of the blades, the skittering of claws dashed over the wooden paneled flooring as both Eztli and Antain burst from the hallway in an excited frenzy, looking around for the source of the treat. Pffffft. Before she spoke up she hesitated. Would Eztli be alright letting her prepare some food for him? Or did he still want some space? Maybe it would be best to be a little less hands on for now.

Eztli and Antain came rushing in, barely managing to avoid trampling her as they looked around with their fur fluffed up and excited. "Host! I want some of that, I don't know what it is but I want it!" Eztli screamed in a frenzied excitement, looking around to try and locate the source of the sound and smell permeating through the air.

"Meow! ood!" Antain 'roared' as he danced around in a circle, not knowing what the commotion was about but wanting to be a part of it.

"I want it! Host, what is it?!" Eztli excitedly cried as he threw himself at her, mistakenly tackling her onto the ground as he hugged her tightly. His chest huffed and puffed excitedly as Antain jumped on top as well, pawing at her for attention as Eztli leaned in and fervently smelled her. "You smell so good! What is that?!"

"W-Whoa, Eztli, Antain calm down!" She loudly laughed, hugging them both back before pausing. Would Eztli be alright with this? Jackie let him go, pulling her arms back and letting the two felines cuddle over her with an excited purr. "Here, get off and I'll dish you up both some. Eztli, do you want your mixed in with your bottle? The spices might be a little strong for your stomach at the moment." She asked without thinking about it.

"It's alright host, I can take it, I'm hungry because I only ate sushi before. And sushi is making my stomach stronger." Eztli assured her while Antain pulled out his baby bottle and held it up excitedly with glowing eyes of happiness.

"Yes but this is one is has a lot of spices in it. I'd rather be on the safe side than have you throw it up. Grab your bottle and put the milk in a small pan. I'll mix it all in." I said, scoping out the tuna onto a plate before gently mashing it up.

"Ohh … ok," Eztli smiled and took out the pan and special mixed milk before pausing, studying her with a flickering tail. "Hey host ... you are a good host."

Jackie paused, surprised before looking at Eztli in confusion. "O-Oh. Uh, thanks," she awkwardly thanked with a small embarrassed flush on her cheeks. "And I'm happy you are my charge." The host grinned and pushed the tuna into the pan, mixing it in with the milk while turning on the stove to warm it all up. "Um, so, Eztli, how's Sabre? Is she doing alright?" Jackie asked, wondering if she should bring some more food to Sabre.

The jaguar lowered his ears, seeming hesitant, "her feelings were uh, hurt. She's alright, but she's, ummm … not okay?" Eztli answered as his tail nervously twitched. Sabre left but he didn't want the host to freak out about it. If the host found out Sabre left, then she might get in trouble when she came back. His eyes narrowed slowly as his ears lowered. He wanted to help protect Sabre too. So he'd make sure the host didn't figure out that Sabre left until she came back.

"Oh … okay. I should go give her some of this tuna too; I'll be right back so don't let Antain touch the hot pan, okay?" Jackie said, grabbing a small can and can opener before heading to her room to check on Sabre. Now the host was very worried; she'd have to cuddle that poor kitty until she wasn't scared anymore.

"Wait, host!" Eztli hopped in front of her, making her waver back. "Don't go!" He said, holding her shoulders and preventing her from leaving.

"What's wrong?" The host asked, frowning.

"She … she needs some time. Alone." Eztli said, remaining very tense and hesitant. If he said the wrong thing then the host might catch on. He'd have to distract the host for now until Sabre was ready to come back, she just needed to calm down and maybe wait until Jaska's scent thinned enough.

"A-Are you sure?" Jackie asked, feeling uneasy with leaving Sabre all by herself. But then again, maybe the host was smothering Sabre too much before. Maybe some alone time is what she needed.

"Yes, she'll come out when she's ready." Eztli assured before he delicately turned Jackie around and directed her back towards Antain and his sippy cup.

"Well … I, I guess that's alright. But after you're done with your bottle you should bring her some food." Jackie said, pulling out a frying pan and setting some thawed diced up duck onto the pan to slowly cook in the spices she knew Sabre liked. The host turned to the milk, making sure it was lukewarm before taking it off and slowly filling their bottles with the tuna and milk mixture.

"Here you both are." Jackie grinned, handing Antain and Eztli their bottles. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go get changed." The host said, frowning over her damp clothes. "Uh, don't worry. I won't bother Sabre I just want to get changed." She said as she headed towards her room.

"Mmhhh … and if I bring your clothes for you?" Eztli said, already walking towards the corridor.

"Nah, it's fine. I won't bother her and I need to change out of these wet clothes." Jackie

Eztli looked as if he wanted to say something, but Antain held the piercing of the jaguar's tail and Eztli smiled, moving his tail and then making the piercing jingle for the pup. Eztli finished his meal and then began playing tag with the cub, entertaining him like a responsible big bastet while his mama was away. Sabre wouldn't be gone for long; and in that time, he would take care of Antain.

Jackie smiled at their adorable playing before she slipped into her room. With a soft sigh she changed into some sweatpants and a tank top, comfortable clothes for the time being before she paused. The silence was killing her and she knew Sabre was under the bed still scared. "Sabre … um, I know you want some alone time, but just know I'm here for you whenever you're ready." Jackie spoke up, making a concentrated effort to not look under the bed. After laying her clothes out to dry Jackie peeked into the bathroom mirror, involuntarily seeing under the bed at this angle but there was no one there.

"S-Sabre?" Jackie called, surprised before she whipped around and looked under the bed. Sabre wasn't here? But then where was she? Hmmm … she had to have gone back to her room at some point when she wasn't paying attention. Jackie uneasily frowned, troubled as she slipped into the hallway to find Eztli leaping and dancing circles around Antain as he ran around and tried to bat at it, taking a few moments to munch on the contents in his sippy bottle before continuing to chase Eztli around in circles.

"You seem troubled host." Eztli looked at Jackie through the corner of his eye while evading an 'attack' from Antain.

"Uh … yeah, a little bit. But I'll be fine." She unconvincingly said with a stiff shrug, heading into the kitchen to busy herself with the duck cooking. She'd just have to make an extra good batch of duck for Sabre.

Eztli knew that the hooman was worried for Sabre; as nice and touching as that was, if she found out Sabre wasn't there then she'd only get worried. So he could at least do something to distract her until Sabre came back and then neither the host or Sabre would feel bad. "Umm.. host? Can you pet me and feed me my next bottle? I hit my paw when Jaska slammed me against those weights."

Antain mewed and hopped up to her excitedly, grabbing at her pants and holding up his bottle as well.

Jackie stared them both before warmly smiling, taking their bottles, "yeah, sure. Let's sit on the couch and I'll feed you there." She said as she headed over to the couch. She sat down, watching as Eztli cheerfully hopped on beside her but Antain never hopped on. "Antain?" She called, looking up before spotting him grabbing some cookies from the cookie jar while she was distracted. "Hey, Antain no! You'll spoil your dinner!" Jackie admonished as Antain perked up, realizing he was caught before making a mad dash down the hall and up the stairs. She heavily sighed as she handed Eztli the bottle, "here; I'm going to go wrestle those cookies out of his arms." She lightly laughed, staring for the hallway.

"Let him be, host." Eztli smiled, "I don't think he's gonna eat all of those, he probably wants to give some to Sabre." That wasn't technically a lie. The little munchkin was probably saving up some food for his mama's return.

"True." She heavily sighed, falling back onto the couch with a depressed frown. What kind of host was she if she couldn't even help one of her depressed charges? Maybe some alone time would do her well but it was killing Jackie that she couldn't do anything more to help. There was only so much a host could do.

Eztli then gulped down and meowed, crawling over Jackie and headbutting her, grabbing her hand in his jaws and softly nibbling on it while blinking slowly in her direction. "Host … I'm sorry I scratched you early. You can hit me if you want to, it's fine, I won't do anything, I promise." He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the hit.

"Eztli, I would never hurt you like that. Why would I?" She asked, very gently cupping his cheeks before kissing his forehead. "You're a strong bastet, Eztli. Don't you ever forget that. I'd sooner hurt myself then let anything bad happen to you." She smiled before tightly hugging him.

"Since you won't fight anyone and no one fights you but you don't hit me … does that means I'm alpha now?" Eztli cutely asked, folding his claws at his front.

"In a way I guess." Jackie lightly laughed, giving him an extra small squeeze, "but I'm still alpha of alphas here. Now drink your dinner like a good alpha." She teased, popping the bottle into his mouth.

Eztli lowered his ears with a soft smile as he cheerfully drank his dinner, leaning against the host with a soft thrum rumbling in his chest. The host's fingers danced and scratched over his back, making him lean heavier on her with a soft groaning smile.

"Isn't that a good alpha, Eztli?" Jackie teased, scratching at his chest as his tail flicked back and forth. Eztli softly moaned over Jackie's lap, flipping his tail around and enjoyed the undivided attention of the host. He had just asserted dominance by making her feed him his baby formula and distract her from finding out about Sabre. He was the _best_ alhpa! And now that he was sure the host understood that he was alpha, he was free to use her as he pleased and that meant as much cuddling and snuggling whenever he wanted.

Once the bottle was empty she popped it out of his mouth, watching him nip at the teat to try and milk out just a little bit more before she set it aside. "Sorry Eztli, it's all gone." She smiled, finding his adorable smiling face too cute to ignore. Her hands ran over his body, scratching and petting him as he playfully squirmed in place while rubbing against her. With a grin she scratched the base of his tail, watching his eyes roll into the back of his head. So cute … Eztli was _so_ cute!

"Harder, host … more, pull on my tail, yes, just like that," he groaned, twisting and rolling around as her dancing fingers scratched at the base of his tail. He wouldn't give up this pleasure for anything, that was for sure. She might be a hooman but her petting was quite lovely.

"Jaska and Sabre don't like having their tail pulled as much. Why do you like yours getting pulled so much?" Jackie curiously asked, tugging on his tail while digging her fingers into the scruff of his neck and making him deeply reverberate with purrs and a smile. Instead of answering he hugged her waist, licking her shirt and nibbling on it as she took the brush and swept it through his fur. Eztli let out deep, low moans as he licked her shirt and left a patch of saliva on it. "Hey, no licking." Jackie laughed, pushing his face away a little bit but the jaguar only hugged her tighter and smiled as he continued to lick her shirt. A sigh slipped past her parted lips as she ran her fingers through his head, enjoying his silky soft fur. So soft.

"Harder, host. I love your pets." Eztli deeply purred while breathing against her shirt quite happily.

Without warning Jackie leaned forward, squeezing the purring furball rather tightly for a moment before she grabbed his plush cheeks and squished his face a bit. His eyes slid shut, purring deeper while her fingers danced through his furry face. The silence thrummed against her nerves as she nervously laughed, trying to think of some small talk.

"You know, it really is funny how male Extraspecies resemble their animals selves more than females do." Jackie noted, gently poking the tip of his nose and watching it twitch. Well, that was about the most random thing she could have possibly asked about.

"Hrm~?" Eztli moaned, barely paying attention to the host's rambling.

"From most of the pictures I've seen of everyone, there is generally a lot less scales and fur on the females than there are on the males. Why is that?" Jackie asked, running her hands down his back.

"Female's fur is just shorter and softer I think, I wouldn't know. I haven't meet much Extraspecies save our household." Eztli answered while tugging on her shirt to hold it closer as he buried himself in her scent. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just something I noticed and was wondering if there was a better explanation for it is all," Jackie said with a shrug, sliding her hands down and petting his hips some more as he deeply purred before he stretched. His hands unlatched his belt, shuffling his pants down a little bit so she could reach more of his hips but she held it up, "hey hey, I know my petting is good but keep your pants on." Jackie teased as she scratched his belly.

"But I want you to pet me all around," he softly yowled, stretching again and showing off a bit of his flexibility before cuddling over her lap more than happily. "Maybe males need to show their wild sides more?"

"Hm … well, if you don't know maybe I'll go bother Reza for a bit." Jackie lightly threatened, curious about the answer but also a little worried about Reza. He had been in that bath for a while now so she wanted to go check on him. As she tried to get up, however, she was met with a powerful resisting force clinging to her.

"Nooo … ," Eztli softly cried, hugging her very tightly as he deeply purred with a blush. He still felt bad about his small display of distrust from last time, so he wanted to let her know in every possible way that it was fine and that he didn't hold anything bad against her. This was a good hooman and he liked her.

Eztli cracked his eyes open, staring into the host's face as she softly pet him. This host has actually been a very good host for him and for everyone and he considered that he should do something to make her feel better; especially after his little fearful outburst when he was under the bed. And, more so, if he did something significant to show his trust, it might distract her since she kept casting worried glances towards the corridor that led towards the attic's stairs. With a new resolution, he spoke. "Host … ," Eztli groaned, getting onto all fours as he partially leaned over her with a blushing smile, "I want … I want to show you my appreciation for helping me," Eztli said, leaning forward and nuzzling into her neck. "You are a nice host and not a bad hooman."

"Yeah? How?" Jackie asked, curious. Eztli took a deep breath, a little nervous as he pushed himself to straddle her lap. With a gently touch he caressed her cheek, flushing as he continued to gather up the courage to continue. Jackie leaned back, unnerved as he loosened his pants. "W-What are you doing?" She questioned, flickering her gaze down before back up to his face.

"I've … never willingly topped before. Forgive me if I'm rough," Eztli apologized with lower ears, leaning in with puckered lips to kiss her deeply.

Jackie's eyes widened as her hand popped up, catching his mouth, "whoa, Eztli, what are you doing?" She asked, carefully studying him. What was the matter with him?

"Letting you do me." He said with a slightly trembling voice. He took a deep breath as his tail nervously flickered. "I … never thought I would trust a hooman enough for that, not after what those hoomans did to me … b-but I trust you, even if I'm still a bit scared." Eztli admitted as he gently began stroking her sides. His ears were down and his gaze was off to the side, showing submission as he trembled.

"Eztli … ," the host softly called before pulling him into a tight hug, making Eztli's fur ruffle with unease but he held still, "Eztli, stop. You don't need to do that." Jackie softly smiled, kissing his forehead. "Just relax, alright? I don't want you to be scared." She said while rubbing his arms to comfort him.

"It's alright host, I ... I care for you, s-so I can even let you top if you want, that's more scary but … but I can take it." Eztli pushed the subject, clearly nervous.

"I'm very happy you trust and care for me but there are other ways of showing that kind of love." She explained while gently petting his back. "I don't want to take that kind of love from you."

"B-but I want to give it." He looked surprised and hurt. "Am I really not a good Alpha?" Eztli's eyes began to water. He felt the rejection hitting hard. "I just want to be good and make things good and move on."

"You are a plenty big strong alpha, Eztli." Jackie smile and scratched his sides. "It's just … well, I'm not ready for affections like that. There are plenty of other ways you can show your affection for someone besides sex." She explained, unsure what to say to make him feel better. "In fact, right now what I would love for you to do is lay down and enjoy the petting. That's what would make me really happy right now." She grinned, scratching the base of his tail.

"But I want to pet you." He sniffled, curling up into a black fluffy ball of sadness. "I'm pretty useless on many stuff, but I ... I have a lot of experience with sex." He looked away, his lower lip quivering. "I can at least do that."

"You're underestimating yourself, Eztli. There's _lots_ of things you can do. And I don't want you to do something that you're scared of doing." Jackie said before kissing his cheek, hesitating before licking his ear. Blech, "if you want I can help teach you how to do lots of other things like general maintenance on human technologies or, well, stuff like that. Would you like that?" Jackie offered with a cheerful smile.

"But I'm not scared of doing that with you, host." He closed his eyes and nuzzled her cheek and neck. "And I'll try to learn whatever you want to teach me because I know it won't feel bad and it won't hurt me." Eztli said, hesitating before kissing her neck. The host immediately shied away, looking up to him with a frightened gaze; a similar frightened gaze he remembered from when she was afraid of thunder. "Are you afraid of me, host?"

"No, no it's not you that I'm scared of." Jackie admitted with a slight twitch to her lip. Ah~ touchy subject. But considering his past it would have come up sooner or later. "I … am scared of _that_. A lot." She admitted, petting him now more so to comfort herself. "So you may want to show me those kinds of affections but I-I'm not ready for that."

"Can I help you to not be scared?" Eztli allowed her to pet him, because he noticed it was more comforting for her than if he tried petting her again.

"No. I … I'm not ready, that's all." Jackie sheepishly smiled as her fingers lightly trembled against his fur. "Can I just keep petting you? Would you mind?" She asked, somewhat desperate to distract both him and herself from this awkward conversation.

Without saying more, Eztli let out a long sigh and laid so she could pet him to her heart's content. When she was ready he'd be there, so for now, as long as she felt comfortable and better he was fine with not doing anything.

"Thank you, Eztli." Jackie smiled softly as she enjoyed his silky soft fur between her fingers. Well, that was awkward but sweet of him to offer. While she didn't understand his past entirely she knew it was a rough one where he was abused and taken advantage of, to put it nicely. Eztli was so strong trying to overcome his fears for her. She sweetly smiled, pouring her heart into the petting until his purrs came to a constant continual rhythm.

 **MWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMWMWM**

The house ticked by without Jackie realizing it before the ringing doorbell caught her attention. Someone at this late hour? After a few moments of silence there were a few knocks as well. Who was here at this time of night?

Jackie started to get up but Eztli clung to her, muttering something incomprehensible as he tried to cuddle closer.

"Leave it .. ," he pleaded as Jackie twisted his ear, making him yowl in pleasure before rolling around on the couch and falling off the edge into a pile of mushy purring fur.

"Relax, I'll pet you when I'm done." Jackie said, walking over to the door and opening it to find a young woman with platinum blonde hair curled to perfection and perfectly combined high end attire. The sight of such a person in this part of town admittedly left her speechless. The woman looked at her oddly, as if expecting some sort of greeting but Jackie was too pulled up short to make one.

"Um, excuse me? Jackie Penske, isn't it?" She asked with an awkward smile. The smell of her perfume quite hard on Jackie's nose.

" … uh yeah, yeah?" She said, startled that she knew her name, "who are are?"

"I'm Ms. Smith's directive assistent I'm here concerning the whereabouts of a Eztli, the black jaguar." She clarified before she smelled something burning.

"Oh, oh crap the stove!" Jackie shouted, rushing into the kitchen before looking back, "y-yeah, come on in- OH NO NOT THE DUCK!" Jackie shouted, throwing herself into the kitchen to salvage Sabre's snack before the woman's cherry red lips curled up, striding quickly past her and into the home. Her pin pointing gaze searched the grounds before pausing, hearing a loud purring in the living room. She wryly grinned with a psychotic glint in her eye as she walked into the living room, seeing Eztli lying more than happily on the floor while deeply purring.

In his bliss, he did not think twice about the clacking of heels nor the choking scent associated only with pain and torture. Only until the smell became so close that it invaded his senses did his eyes crack open, glancing up at a curly blonde haired woman before the feelings of bliss and safety sank into his gut, his eyes widening in fright with lips curled into a silent scream.

"Hello there, my baby kitty."

Jackie set the heavy pot of noodles aside and took off the steak, deeply frowning at the fact that Sabre's treat was now burnt. Well that's just great, now what was she going to make for Sabre? At least the bigger eaters were all gone leaving just Antain, Eztli and Reza here. Eztli hissed frozen in fear from the other room before he loudly roared, startling the host.

"Eztli?!" Jackie called, startled as she rushed back into the room and spotted Eztli on all fours glaring at the woman she had left at the entrance; his fur was on edge and his claws out, ripping tears into the carpet with his chest huffing and puffing in fright.

"You were dead!" Eztli roared, his voice full of fear and pleading as he backed away, his tail swaying from side to side with his ears glued to his head.

"What's wrong, little kitty? Upset things aren't going your way?" A cutesy voice asked with a cheeky and vicious grin in his direction.

"What in the world is going on here?" Jackie asked, looking between the blond woman and Eztli's wide, frightened eyes while his entire body trembled in fright.

"Oh, my apologies! I was just coming by to recollect Eztli Balam; here is the papers to verify it. Could I please have your signature here?" She sweetly asked as Jackie took the papers, baffled.

"I didn't hear anything about this." Jackie said, puzzled as she glanced over the paperwork. She would have been told about something like this.

The woman shrugged. "You probably missed the notification. I just got the papers ready, it's all up in the system."

"She's _lying_!" Eztli screamed, looking on the verge of running but held his ground like a strong alpha, "host, don't let her take me!" He roared, backing away further before stopping, digging his claws into the ground and roaring again to try and frighten her.

"E-Eztli why are you so scared?" Jackie asked, watching as the woman turned to him with a kind smile.

"Because he is a naughty and ingrate cat boy." The woman coldly smiled as she advanced towards Eztli, "come with my, my adorable cat boy! Let's go home." She smiled.

"No!" Eztli roared, backing away against the wall and shaking so hard his body thumped against the wall. "I'll finish it this time if you get closer!"

"HOLD UP." Jackie stated as he immediately swooped in between them, blocking the woman from getting any closer to him. "I don't know who you are and frankly, I don't care. Come back with Ms. Smith later." Jackie said as the woman grinned.

"This doesn't concern you, little girl," the woman said, pitching her hip to the side while curling her manicured fingers around her waist with a smile. "Are you going to efy the company? You'll get lots of extra fines if you do."

"Uh, yeah, this actually kinda does require my concern. This is my home and I am Eztli's host. Who are you?" Jackie demanded, keeping firm between the woman and Eztli.

"My name is Olivia and I'm Eztli's _real_ host. The kind of host who does not take too kindly to those who steal her property." She sweetly smiled as she pulled out a long thin chain from her purse, drawing closer. Where in the hell did this psycho get a _chain_?!

"Back off and get out of my house." Jackie threatened with her arms raised up, tightening her fists. Olivia paused, seeing her defense before laughing quite loudly. "H-Hey! I'm serious!" Jackie shouted back at her as Olivia let out a groaning grin and looked up at Eztli who very weakly snarled at her, eyes wide with fright.

"Do you remember the punishment for growling at me, Eztli? Should I do _that_ to your host too?" She asked with a sickly sweet smile, sliding her fingers over the chain. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Maybe I'll even let you get f***ed by your host after I punish you."

"Get away Olivia or I'll call Smith. Get close and I'll snap your neck again." Eztli barely managed to respond, his back was arched and his pupils narrowed slits on the verge of going feral.

"You think that degenerate woman scares me?" Olivia asked with a raised eyebrow and smirk before she sweetly smiled, gesturing towards him, "come back to me, Eztli. Didn't you _like_ being a toy for everyone's pleasures? Out on the stage, down in the basement or exposed for the world to see? We had such _fun_! Come on back to me, Eztli. I am the only one you can rely on in this world. Everyone else will just leave you." She enticed, holding out her arms to embrace him while a crazed grin pulled her lips up.

The demented grin on her face sent shivers down Jackie's spine as she briefly saw her mother in this woman. Very suddenly the danger of the situation became much more real. Olivia took a step forward toward Eztli and when her heel hit the wooden floor, the feline turned tail and ran away crying in fright after succumbing to all the horrible memories.

"E-Eztli!" Jackie called, startled that he actually ran away before she quickly turned her gaze back to the woman. The shock of Eztli actually fleeing in fear from this woman struck Jackie hard. Something in her switched, triggering a powerful response from the host's natural maternal instincts to protect him.

"Hmm … shame. Tell me, host. How does it feel to f*** an Extraspecies? Aren't they interesting beasts in bed?" Olivia asked with a sadistic grin on her lips. "I wanted to avoid getting violent but I supposed beating you within an inch of your life will teach that b**** of a coordinator to not step into my business."

"You're disgusting." Jackie hissed back at her, starting for the phone but the woman whipped the chain down, hitting the phone with startling expertise before Jackie turned back to the woman with widened eyes. "What the hell?!"

"Tsk tsk, little host. No need for anyone else to join our fun." She grinned before tightening her grip on the chain. "I was nice enough to come alone to have some fun, wasn't I?"

"What is this, some kind of sick game? Get out of my house!" Jackie shouted at her before barely dodging the chain coming down near her, watching it put a decent sized dent the wood. The host's eyes bugged out in shock, hardly able to believe the damage done. That kind of hit would have broken bones-!

"I'll get out as soon as I get my cat back." She said with a sly grin, "so will you help me draw him out or do I have to make you scream first?"

"You _psycho_!" Jackie shouted, diving for safety as the psychotic woman tried to hit her again.

"I'm the psychotic?" He brilliantly laughed with a bubble gum pink voice before sliding her lethal gaze over Jackie. "Do you want to know _how_ Eztli learned to lick anything placed in front of him while he's being pleasured?" She asked, swinging the chain around before slapping the chain against the wall. Jackie ducked out of the way, running towards the kitchen before stopping in front of a pole. That weighted chain will get stuck on this thing. "He finally mastered licking c****s after I starved him from water for about a week. Such a stubborn kitty … it was fun breaking that feline in. He was the star of my shows, the best I had ever trained!" She excitedly laughed, "his expressions and sounds were marvelous, you should have heard him! He brought in so much money … and I won't let him go that easily. I finally tracked him down here and you don't have anyone here to protect him anymore, you stupid woman." She shouted with a wild laugh before swinging the chain around. Jackie dove to the side as the chain wrapped around the post, hooking around itself and getting stuck. "What-?!" The woman shouted before Jackie charged and tackled her over. Both women tumbled over the ground before she grabbed a fistful of Jackie's hair, grabbing her by the neck and holding her against the ground with startling strength. Olivia widely grinned, tightening her grip on Jackie's neck as the host dug her nails into the woman's arms.

"Ooh … you might be fun to tame after all," the woman said while licking her lips before grabbing one of Jackie's larger breasts and squeezing, "you've got a wound in your heart that I can see … heh. I've decided. I'm going to chain you down and have Eztli f*** your brains after I punish him for snapping my neck. Maybe I'll even train you for some fun videos. R***s are a f***ing turn on in Extraspecies, p****," she wickedly grinned, trailing her finger down Jackie's collarbone and poking her chest, "we have plenty of time today … no one is scheduled to come here to this household for a few days now. That is plenty of time to have some fun-," she started before Jackie punched her in the throat. The woman gagged in a gasp, gripping her neck before Jackie grabbed the remote and jammed it into her side. She shoved Olivia off, staggering to her feet and into the kitchen to grab another phone.

This woman was insane-! Who the hell was she and where did she come from?! If the host didn't call Ms. Smith soon then this psycho was going to hurt Eztli. Hard pounding caught Jackie's attention as she looked up, seeing Reza in the tank above her and hitting the glass to get her attention, looking entertained and curious with his pupils still wide from getting high off of the bath salts and somehow sporting a night cap with a string to prevent it from floating away.

"R-Reza, go hide!" Jackie shouted before seeing him pointing. A hard tackle against her side made the host fall onto the ground hard as she tried to wrestle for dominance while Reza swam away, but not before Olivia caught a glance at him. Her eyes widened, shocked to see him.

"Ah, there is the lionfish here! How beautiful! Golden chains would look so nice on him. It would be interesting to see what piercings I can put on him." The woman said with a blushing sigh before Jackie grabbed the woman by the hair and slammed her head against the cabinets.

"You will _not_ touch my Extraspecies, you sick _freak_!" Jackie screamed as her legs locked around the woman with the intention to subdue her. The host could hardly believe what was happening; where did this perverted psycho come from, how did she know about her check-in schedules and how did she know that Eztli was here? Had … had she been spying on the building somehow?

The woman's claws grabbing and hitting her pulled Jackie from her thoughts as her mind switched to survival mode, attacking the woman with everything she had. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted Reza by the corner, staring at them with a wet towel around his body. As he played with the little pompom at the tip of his night cap, he shifted and wavered, clearly a little off his rocker with his pupils still quite large. "Mmhhh … is this a situation where someone invades the territory and we can defend it as best as we can or should I call someone for it?" He asked with an uneven gaze, slowly licking his lips and seeming out of it, "But if this is a territorial fight then should we wait and not interfere? I don't get how this things work with human, for what I know their territorial fights include bombs or something equally stupid that also destroys the territory they want to get … how curious."

He waited for an answer but it was clear he was being ignored by the fighting women. He tilted his head, emptily watching them as they rolled all over one another. Jackie barely managed to wedge her foot up, kicking the woman away as the woman landed a very hard backhand across Jackie's face. The host staggered back, holding her cheek and furiously glaring at the woman. "You won't touch my charges, you sick f***." Jackie hissed between her enraged teeth. It had been a while since she had been in a fight; she was getting sloppy.

"I've trained an awful lot of Extraspecies, girl … humans are rather boring but Extraspecies are so much _fun_! They're perfect for slavery play. Ah~ just thinking about it is making me horny." She deeply laughed with an excited blush, making Jackie shiver in disgust, "if you're lucky I'll make you a dominatrix too … but you seem more suited as an adorable c**dumpster than anything else." She said with a lick of her lips and an unstable glint in her eyes.

The host's breath staggered, feeling fright creeping down her spine. This woman's eyes, they were just like _that woman's_ eyes-! With a forced exhale the host visibly shuddered. "EW! _Creepy_! You're _so_ creepy!" Jackie shouted, getting disgusted chills up and down her spine. People like this actually exist in the world?!

"And you don't know how much my kitty is worth for those who want to f*** him or get f***ed by him. Cats are quite rare as it is, especially well trained and broken ones like him." Olivia laughed as she grabbed a glass of water from the counter and threw it at her. Jackie dodged out of the way, stepping back as the woman grinned.

"Should I take that as a yes or as a no?" Reza asked and then spotted Jackie's phone. "Or should I just call someone. I guess I can call Smith like always but I have nothing interesting to report ... well, Baba got a bit fatter I think, he tried eating a starfish for some reason. I really do wonder how is Baba still alive, he kinda lacks the basic intelligence for well ... existing."

"Reza are you kidding me _YES F***ING CALL SMITH!_ " Jackie screamed at him as Olivia's eyes flashed at the opportunity. With a short laugh the woman leapt onto the counter, grinning evilly before Jackie grabbed the frying pan with the hot oil from the duck still inside. With a fast turn she swiped at the woman in mid-jump, splashing boiling hot oil all over Olivia's face, neck and arms while some of it burned the host's arm as well from the overly harsh swing.

" _AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH_!" Olivia shrieked at the top of her lungs in agony holding her face and landing on top of Jackie, toppling them both to the ground. As Olivia rolled over the ground in pain, the host staggered back before freezing, seeing Reza crawling steadily towards them.

"R-Reza?! What are you doing?" Jackie asked, seeing his throwing knives in hand.

"I'm crawling my way over; I don't think wiggling would serve, that is more for seals. It could also hurt my scales. Maybe I should try slithering around?" He tried doing so but he didn't managed to move forward very much. "No, it seems my tail isn't as long as the snake's."

"Reza, no! You can't hurt her!" Jackie shouted, standing between him and the creepy lady.

"Since this is an attack I can retaliate. Don't worry, Jackie. We can get rid of the corpse later. Although I don't think she will serve for any dish. She smells rotten." He miffed, sounding disappointed. "But then again maybe with a really potent kind of sauce might take one's mind off of the crazy human meat. Oh, wait, does she have that one disease like rabies that human's get?" Reza asked, tilting his head curious. "If you hurt her she will sue and I'll lose you all forever!" Jackie shouted before the woman rammed into her, literally picking her up and slamming her against the wall. The host's head smacked against the hard surface, dazing her from the hit.

"You'll be lucky I don't fillet you for that, you wretched inbred!" Olivia screamed, punching Jackie in the head towards her blind eye.

"Get off me _before I break your f***ing arm_!" Jackie shrieked back, surprising Reza with the host's own apparent rabidness as she grabbed the woman by the shoulders and slammed her against the ground before slamming her forearm against the woman's neck. Olivia grabbed the host and punched in the gut, both of them rolling over and trying to get on top of the other.

"But if she is dead how can she sue? Can dead people sue? They can vote, so it's a maybe? Would she come back as a ghost Extraspecies and try to sue you?" Reza asked, watching both women tumble around and wildly claw at each other as he tried to think of how to get around the baffling human legal system. "And thinking about it, I have heard of ghost Extra species but I have never seen one or meet anyone who has ... Weird?" After a brief sigh he picked up Jackie's stray phone and called Ms. Smith to ask for her opinion.

The moment he heard the click he began speaking immediately. "Are there really ghost Extraspecies?" He tilted his head in thought. "Oh yeah, that can wait for later because ... let's say, and I'm not saying there is, but if it were to happen that an intruder broke into the host's house and the host is fighting to the death with the intruder. Would that be a situation where we have to watch or we can defend our territory? And if such situation happened, and the host was worried about legal stuff, would there any way legal I could help? And again, this is just a what if, but I'm sure corpses cannot sue… well, not unless they are zombies, but I mean normal dead ones. Can humans turn into ghost Extraspecies? I've never seen a ghost Extraspecies. Do they actually exist?" He asked as Jackie let out a short scream before grabbing the frying pan just barely within reach and smacking the woman in the head.

"F*** OFF!" Jackie screamed as the woman grabbed the pan, fighting for control over the club of a weapon.

" _WHAT!? What intruder?"_ Smith said, pausing and listening to the screaming fight in the background.

Jackie barely managed to slam the woman's fingers into the tiles, forcing her to release the pan as the host drew her arm back and slammed it over the woman's head.

"AUGH!" Olivia shouted, holding her head before Jackie hit her again and rolled over, straddling over her stomach and using her weight to keep the woman pinned down. Olivia threw her arms up as a defense as Jackie slammed the cheap hot metaled weapon over the woman's arms again and again with every intent on breaking them.

"GET. OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE. YOU. PSYCHOTIC. _B****_!" Jackie screamed loudly, bringing the hot pan down hard between each word.

" _Is that the host screaming that?!"_ Smith demanded, startled.

"I'm gonna take my d*** f*** toy back, and then I'm going to break your bones and drag you into a room with feral sex starved Extra species for them to practice and f*** you until they kill you!" The woman shouted back reaching around her and grabbing Jackie's breast before painfully digging her fingers into the mound of fat.

"JUST TRY IT, B****!" Jackie thundered as the woman threw the pan out of Jackie's arms. The woman grabbed Jackie's neck as the host punched the woman across the face, both of them tumbling across the floor in an attempt to usurp the other.

"Separate them without violence? Does she want a one hit kill?" Reza pondered aloud, watching the two woman clawing at each other as Jackie's blind eye began to swell shut. "Maybe you haven't noticed, host, but your eye is swelling shut. It's not pretty, kinda looks like of those drawings of cartoons … what was called the old sailor that liked … what was it? Basil? Spinach? No, I think it was carrots … or really it was spinach?"

The rolling woman slammed Jackie into the cabinets, leaving the host dazed as Olivia ripped her chain off of the pole and viciously glared at the host. Jackie's head spun as she staggered to her feet, holding her aching head. Ow.

"Host … the intruder has a chain, but don't worry, by how she's waving it like a maniac I don't think she knows how to use it properly." Reza unhelpfully pointed out before looking at the phone in his hand and hanging up. "That Ms. Smith hardly helped with any answers. Oh well … I seriously wonder about ghost Extra species. I have seen zombies, vampires and undeads but it's not the same."

Before Jackie could get up the woman kicked her in the gut, making the host fall back against the counter before Olivia wrapped the thin chain around Jackie's neck and yanked on it. The host's airpipe closed as she gagged, clawing at the woman's arms as Olivia tightened the chain. Jackie's glare hardly let up as she grabbed the chain, trying to loosen it while her other hand searched the counter for a weapon. "Choking you will be nice, I'd have prefered to have you cock s*** some Extraspecies d*** but as long as you die it's good!" She darkly laughed before Jackie grabbed the bowl of seasonings for the duck, slamming it into the woman's face. "MY EYES!" The woman screamed as Jackie drove her fist into the woman's gut, forcing her to loosen the chain to the point the host ripped it off, gasping for air.

"Reza, go hide!" Jackie barely rasped out before achingly coughing, turning towards the woman before lunging at her. The hard counter hit the woman's back as Jackie took her to the ground again, tightly gripping the woman's hair before punching her in the face and feeling the woman's nose break under her fist. "I bet you didn't think I'd fight back, did you?" Jackie viciously hissed.

"Just die already!" Olivia then turned, trying to kick or hit Jackie however she could.

The phone rang again and Reza answered. It was clearly Smith due to the ring tone of overlord satan. "Good evening. You are calling the Penske household. The host, Jackie Penske is busy at the moment fighting another human to death in a territory dispute on the kitchen floor. Would you like to leave a message?" He asked with a proper tone. "did I answer right?"

" _Reza, what in the hell is happening right now?!_ " Smith demanded, wanting to facepalm at how she had told Reza he ought to answer phone calls.

"I don't really know. I swimming in my tank to sleep off the bath salts that got me high when I saw Baba looking at Eztli screaming and running around in circles before running away. I heard more screams and swam up the living room's tube section and found the woman and the host arguing before they began attacking each other. Is the intruder trying to take over Jackie's territory?" Reza asked, puzzled as he watched the two women rather pathetically fight but they looked as though they were fighting for their lives. Hm. No wonder humans die so easily, they didn't have any fighting skills whatsoever.

" _Back up be there soon! Try to make them stop but don't kill anyone!_ " Ms. Smith ordered with a frantic shout.

"Then how am I supposed to stop anyone?" he asked, baffled but the call had already been cut. He frowned. Again, no helpful answers.

Jackie let out a startled scream as Olivia smacked her over the head with a tall glass. Jackie's eyes rolled back with a pained groan as she rolled to her side, head spinning as the woman grinned.

"F*** you, b****," Olivia grinned before spitting on the host. Before her spit reached the Jackie's face, a flash of silver startled Olivia before following it, seeing a sharp blade dug into the couch with her spit trailing off the side of it.

"Touch the host and I will skewer you with blades." He threatened with a cold gaze before pausing, looking perplexed. "Well, not with all the blades, just one or maybe two. And not the good ones either, those are for good ingredients but you get common knives."

"Oh my … perhaps chains and hot wax will do you good?" She asked with a grin, standing up without the least bit of fear, "Hmm~ or perhaps letting you soak in a tub of c** and tabasco sauce will do that sassy nature some good?"

"If you can touch me at all," Reza challenged, stiffening up his spines to give himself a rather wild and frightening appearance. His lips parted, exposing his fang-like teeth given through evolution as he angrily hissed at her.

"Oh no, I wouldn't worry about her at all. It's _you_ who should be concerned now." She evilly grinned, taking a step forward. A sudden grasp on her belt made her pause as she looked back just in time for an elbow to swing around. The hard bone smashed in her nose as she shrieked, stumbling back with Jackie standing up and breathing hard with a wild glare in her eyes.

"Oh, we're _not_ done yet, you sick, f***ing pile of s***!" Jackie aggressively shouted, standing between Reza and the woman as she reached up, feeling her broken and bleeding nose. Jackie too wiped her hand over her mouth, seeing blood from where she bit her tongue before glaring at the woman. "Get out. _Now_." Jackie warned with an angry glare in her direction.

"I came for what's mine. And I'm not leaving until I get him, and maybe even a little extra." The woman wildly clenched her teeth and lunged for Jackie.

"You will never touch him!" The host hissed back and met her head on, wrestling with her as they both tried to throw the other down.

"That cat is _my_ toy! You stole my cat and I'm getting him back, and when I have him again, he'll wish he never escaped!" Olivia screeched, fuming and raging as she tried to trip the host but she slammed the woman against the wall while trying to jam her thumbs into her eye sockets.

"So you think you own Eztli? Since he is part of our territory then that means he is ours, I think. Would you like to challenge us for him?" Reza now looked pretty wild and he was deciding if to get a knife and throw it to towards the woman's heart or across her neck.

"You think a fish is enough?" Olivia miffed with a loud laugh. "You can barely move on land. You're defenseless."

"Oh, no it's not Reza you're fighting, lady. It's me." Jackie said, putting her fists up and glaring hard at the woman. "You're not leaving this house. You're going into the safe room and waiting for the police to get here." Jackie threatened between clenched teeth.

The woman grabbed the bowl on the counter and slammed it against Jackie but she threw her arm up to take the hit, running right through it before tackling the woman into the hard counter. With a bear hug she picked the woman off her feet, throwing her down and smacking her head against the counter on the way down while the woman kicked Jackie between the legs.

Jackie took the hit with a short shout of pain before falling on top of her and punching the woman in the throat, making her scream and starts pulling on Jackie's hair.

"It was fun watching, but you should use this not necessarily lethal weapon and finish this, host!" Reza took the frying pan and twisted it in the air before sliding it with accurate precision towards Jackie.

Jackie grabbed the frying pan stained with blood, lifting it up and slamming it over the woman's head again. She screamed as she put her arms up, defending herself as Jackie violently battered the woman's arms once again.

"YOU. WILL. NEVER. TOUCH. MY. _FAMILY_!" Jackie shouted. She was so deep in a blood rage that she was unaware of the front door being broken down with a loud, alarmed hiss.

Dumisa shot into the house, tasting the blood and hearing the commotion before seeing Jackie violently beating the living daylights out of her opponent. His eyes widened, startled to see such a passionate sneer on the host's face as she continued to beat the woman senseless, not having noticed him at all.

"Oh, hey Dumisa. The host is in a territorial fight. Did you know humans fought over territory like this? I thought they just use papers, but I guess they also use fists at times like these." Reza said, staring at the righting with a soft hum of approval.

"Jackie!" Dumisa shouted before his tail shot out, coiling around Jackie's waist and separating the two women. The host bulked, startled before looking back at Dumisa.

"D-Dumisa?! What are you doing back?" Jackie asked, startled as he yanked her into a tight hug.

"Are you alright? Did that other squishy human hurt you?" He asked, checking her over and finding tender red splotches all over her body along with blood. "What happened host?" he said, tightly and protectively squishing her in his hug while relishing in being in her presence. The classes he was forced to take were dreadfully boring and mind numbing and seeing her face alone was enough to make it all worth it. He did not like, however, how he arrived home to find her so hurt.

"Hurt the host? Nah, well, not much, the host got into a territorial fight with that other human who tried to take the males of the house for herself. It was really funny, they don't seem to know how to fight." Reza stupidly laughed, rolling around on the ground a bit, "I think we'll need to train the host … or not, it was really funny how she used that frying pan."

"Wh- _what_ happened here?" One of the drivers for Dumisa's van, the human, asked in deep confusion, standing off to the side before both the troll and human drivers looked to one another in baffled confusion. Both of them were shocked at the sight of the two battered humans and very obviously high lionfish Extraspecies.

The woman achingly groaned and rolled over the tiles, spitting up blood as her arms collapsed, leaving her wheezing against the tiles. Jackie sucked in a fast breath, turning back and glaring at the woman. "Wait, wait Dumisa! I'm not done with her yet-! I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS, YOU _PSYCHO_!" Jackie shouted, kicking and trying to break out of Dumisa's grasp before grabbing a nearby plastic bowl and throwing it at the pained woman. "You stay down! You stay down or so help me I'll strangle _you_ with that chain!"

"Wait, what-?!" The troll driver that brought Dumisa back started but his human companion's phone started ringing. The man answered the phone immediately while the troll looked nervous, clearly having recognized that ringtone.

"Yes, Ms. Smith?" The human grunt said on the phone. "Yes, we are currently at the Penske household. We just delivered the lamia bak but there seems to be some sort of problem here … ," he trailed off, listening to her for a few moments.

"Yes! The problem is that you two soft skulled morons need to drag that ugly and smelly corpse away." Dumisa hissed at the fallen woman, slapping his tail against her back while holding his squishy human away from her.

"D-Dumisa, calm down! I'm fine, really." Jackie sorely assured him before hearing a faint dragging of scales. She paused, seeing Dumisa's boy coiled up under her, leaving only one other Extraspecies to make that sound.

"Ack-! No-!" The woman's voice hissed as Reza held himself over her.

"Oh nuuuuuuuuuh … ," Reza sarcastically and dramatically drawled, 'falling' over the woman with a broken spine in hand before puncturing her. "No dooooooon't you'll stab yourself struggling oh nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh," Reza softly cried, flipping onto his back over her while jamming another spine into her leg 'by mistake', "how horrible, the human is trying to commit suicide with my poison … stop, no don't do thaaat," Reza continued, breaking off one last spine before sticking it into the woman's back.

"The lionfish said she was attacked or something. Currently the host is being … errr ... hugged by the lamia to prevent her from fighting another woman who is in the floor- _Hey_!" The man barked, seeing Reza languidly rolling over the woman and stabbing her, "lionfish, stop doing that!"

"But I'm rolling because it's fun, this woman is throwing herself over my spines, she's even breaking them with her horrible lump of tasteless meat." Reza pointed out and rolled once more over her. "If you would please keep her from stabbing herself on my spines that would be great." As Reza tried to stab her again the woman caught the spine, struggling to push it away but with a glint in his eye and drove it rather violently into her arm. "Nuuuuuuuuuuuh stop, humaaaaan."

"O-Oh, yes Ms. Smith, it's just that the lionfish seems high and just rolled over the woman ... no, not the host, the other one, the attacker. Yes, that one." He answered before the human turned to his Extraspecies partner, "don't just stand there, go pull him off! He'll kill her!"

"REZA-!" Jackie barked, mortified. "Reza, stop! Don't do that!"

"But she's making me, host. Her struggling is making my roll … oh noooooooo not again, Ms. evil woman … nuuuuuuuuuuuuh," Reza softly and fakely cried, jamming another poisonous spine into her side, making the woman wildly thrash against the ground in gasping agony.

"H-Hey, stop that!" The troll said, hopping over Dumisa's tail and making the ground shake with his weight before he danced around the dangerous fish, trying to figure out what part was safe to grab.

"GET HIM OFF HE'S KILLING ME!" The woman shrieked at the top of her lungs as the troll jolted, startled before grabbing Reza's tail and slowly began pulling him off. Reza mischievously smiled, keeping a hold of the woman's hand and dragging her with them.

"Let go of me, you wretched filth-!" The woman screamed, pulling her arm back and punching Reza in the head. She pulled her arm back with a scream, however, as one of Reza's very long spines were driven through her arm and out her forearm. The horrific image made Jackie gasp and cover her mouth with fright. Ouch. But, considering all of the agony she put Eztli through and what more she would have done to them all if she had gotten the upper hand, it was fitting.

"Oops, but you get that for attacking me. I wasn't even retaliating, to be so stupid to impale yourself on my spines. Stupid." Reza sarcastically purred before the troll managed to drag Reza back over the floorboards by the tail, dropping him as he rushed over to the woman and yanked out the spines stuck in her.

"Hold still, miss." The troll said, yanking out the spines but leaving the one rammed through her arm alone, as it was too deep to pull out.

"T-The antidote-!" Jackie started but Dumisa covered up her mouth with his hand, kissing the side of her head.

"Quiet host." Dumisa placed his hand over Jackie's mouth and then whispered in her ear. "Let her suffer."

"Do you require medical assistance, Ms. Penske?" The man asked, looking her over, seeing the snake covering her mouth. "Mr. Mamba, if you'd please let her verbally answer my question we will sooner be on our way and leave you to canoodle your host all you'd like. So, if you'd please?" The man politely asked.

"Fine. I'll allow it." The lamia hissed, lowering his hand but squishing her body tighter. In reality he was worried about the host's state.

"N-Not really, it's mostly her blood." Jackie admitted. Most of her own wounds would heal up in a week or two and she had everything necessary to cover them. "What's going to happen to her?" Jackie asked, looking over at the woman.

The man, who had just barely hung up the phone, bit his lower lip before answering. "We're taking her into custody for questioning. Ms. Smith will take care of it"

"Am I going to be fined at all for beating her?" Jackie asked, "my charges will be just fine, right?"

"Given the Extraspecies testimony is more likely that this woman will be the one paying … if she even is that lucky." He mentioned with a shrug of his shoulders.

The troll, who had come back from tossing the woman into the back of their van, came to present Jackie with a few papers. "E-Excuse me, Ms. Host, I know this is improper timing but please sign these release forms for Dumisa's classes. We will take the woman away now to be treated immediately in the program's hospital." The troll said, holding up papers to her as Dumisa continued to smother her.

"Hey? Can I squish the host too? I think her already soft meat was tenderized even more." Reza approached, extending his arms trying to get in with the cuddling of the host. "I want to feel it." He purred as he crawled closer.

"No way, fish! I have to make up for all the lost time with the host." Dumisa coiled his tail around her completely, barely leaving a small part for her face to be visible amongst the forced snuggling.

"Then make up while I check her." Reza, in a very fast move, crawled onto Dumisa and began pulling at the snake's coils to untangle the host from the snake's grasp.

"No! Get away from me with those disgustingly weak poisoned spines!" Dumisa shouted, uncoiling his tail and moving the host away from the poisonous fish while holding her away from Reza's reach. "Go come down from your high first!"

"Ms. Penske, if you please." The man said, holding up the papers to her.

Jackie quickly grabbed the pen and very messily drew on the page with something similar to her own signature before Dumisa pulled her away and slithered into the living room before shooting up onto the rails above where Reza couldn't reach. As Reza pouted about Dumisa monopolizing the host's attention, Jackie let out a very heavy sigh as Dumisa continued to constrict her tightly in the hug.

 _Note to self …_

…

 _No note to self. I have nothing for the horrors that have occured throughout today._

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

Phew! What a great chapter :D 10 REVIEWS to see what happens next! How do you think Jackie will react to finding out Sabre is gone? :D

Chaos-dark-lord: I admit I love Reza. And I bet no one expected (the spanish inquisition!) Eztli's old host, but now his past is more clear, right?


	28. Chapter 28

"Ah~ host, it was dreadfully boring at the classes. Not a single good meal was found to be there either. I swear I must have dropped 50 pounds while being there." Dumisa heavily sighed while keeping a very tight and firm grasp around the host, running his fingers through her hair while the rest of his body was firmly and tightly coiled around her. Jackie barely managed to poke her head free of the massive hug of a snake in need, silently working at least one arm free before grinning up at him.

"Well, you could afford to lose that weight." Jackie playfully smiled, poking his cheek. Dumisa turned his head towards the host, softly kissing her finger before leaning in towards her with his lips first, pausing before pressing his head against the crook of her shoulder. It was pretty clear just how much Dumisa was holding back despite the vice grip he had on her. Either those classes really must have been bad or maybe it was the fact his jealousy and annoyance almost caused her death. Either way she was relieved he was exhibiting at least some self control.

"Now you'll have to restock my weight with your tasty food, host." Dumisa playfully grinned and cuddled with her, laying down on his side while coiled around her. Dumisa leaned back a bit, looking down at her with such soft and passionate eyes Jackie's heart almost skipped a beat. " … I really missed you, host." He softly whispered, flicking his tongue out and gently tickling her ear while his hand slipped under her shirt. The adorable moment popped as Jackie's hand whipped down, catching his wrist and trying to push it away before he leaned against her, wrapping his arm around her waist beneath her shirt but not doing anything else. "Just give me this much, host. I miss the sensation of your soft and hot skin." He murmured, gently tightening the tip of his tail around her hands to restrain them.

Jackie's cheeks touched with red, "I thought those classes taught you not to manhandle your host so much."

"More so how to contain my passion." Dumisa said, leaning down against her chest before twisting his head up and smirking at her, "to a degree."

"Just a degree, huh? Maybe you need more classes then," Jackie sighed off to the side as a joke, catching a glance at Dumisa's panicked gaze before he more carefully studied her. Once he figured out she was joking, he nuzzled up against her some more and deeply inhaled her scent with his teeth clicking together in annoyance.

"I don't want more classes." Dumisa hissed in annoyance, narrowing his eyes. "I did my time, and now with those other two out of the way I can have you to myself." Dumisa announced with a snarky grin.

"Those two?" Jackie asked, looking up at him, "who told you Jaska and Kroc were away for anger management lessons?"

"The bothersome fish told me while you were taking a nap." Dumisa lazily smiled, "you look cute when you sleep, host. Very plush, very soft and very tasty." Dumisa cooed, kissing the corner of her jaws before pausing, remembering his lessons and pulling her into an even more all consuming hug. "Human courtship is annoying. Just accept being my mate already." Dumisa pouted.

"I'm not going to be anyone's mate, Dumisa. I'm just a host." Jackie reminded him, gently poking his forehead.

Dumisa frowned in response, dissatisfied. The host didn't know about the second part of her contract; that much he knew for sure. But if he brought it up now there was a possibility she might not choose him. In his absence the host might have thrown herself at one of the other charges and if he brought the second part of the contract up now then there was a chance she'd choose him over himself. So, for now, all he could do was quickly make up for lost time and make her fall in love with him again.

"Why are you staring so hard at me, Dumisa?" Jackie asked in annoyance, trying to lean back away from him. Dumisa let out a sigh, hugging her again.

"I'm right here wanting attention, host. Don't go paying attention to those who aren't here; that horribly small, pathetic excuse for a room was too cramped. Since there is room to spare, I'm going to rest here." Dumisa sighed, relaxing his body over the entire living room while keeping her on his hips, hugging her and enjoying her warmth.

Jackie let out a faint sigh, letting Dumisa soak up the hug for a little bit before she began to wiggle around. "Dumisa, can I please be set free now? I have work to do." She complained, petting his jaws just how he liked it. While she was happy to have Dumisa back, and how calm he seemed from his usual self, she still needed to clean up. Although without everybody else in the house, there was a lot less to do.

"No, I want to let you bask in my presence after not having the privilege of being around me for so long." He said before he squished her in the hug and buried his head against her shoulder, taking some extra deep breaths of her scent. His body slowly began to uncoil and relax the more he buried himself in her smell.

Well … at least Dumisa seemed to be doing alright, not like her other charges. Poor Eztli was still under her bed in her room, refusing to come out. Jackie let out a very heavy and tired sigh, resigning herself to her fate. Well, if she was being honest she missed his hugs too. He was a good hugger. Horrible personality, but good hugger.

A few sniffles caught her attention as she looked over at the hallway, seeing Antain stumbling down the hall while tightly hugging some gleaming knives. Her eyes bulged open, watching Antain stumble before catching himself, hugging the knives by the handles and looking around the hallway. "M-Mama, mama!" Antain cried with his ears down and his tail between his legs.

"Antain, let go of those!" Jackie nearly shrieked in horror, now struggling seriously in Dumisa's grasp. "Dumisa, let go! Antain, put those down!"

Dumisa looked up and his eyes widened, seeing the kit in danger as well. With his tail he grabbed Antain around the waist and pulled him towards him and the host so Jackie could remove the knives, not without some crying resistance from the kit, before the pup decided to instead cling to Dumisa's tail while continuing to cry.

"Mama! Misa-mama, mamma ere?!" Antain whimpered while cowering his face on the snake's scales.

"Antain, what's the matter? Come here." Jackie said, reaching out for Antain but he shied away, not wanting the host to take his most recent object of affection as he continued to cry. "Dumisa, let go. I need to hold Antain." Jackie said, mildly wondering why Sabre wasn't with Antain. Usually when he started to cry Sabre would come flying to him at an impossibly fast speed. Was Sabre really that hurt that she wouldn't come out even for Antain's crying?

"Hello, has someone seen my knives ... oh, there they are." Out of nowhere Reza popped out in the tube's exit in the corner of the living room, extending his hands towards the knives that Jackie had confiscated from Antain. "Ah~ seems like the little kit took them." He sighed, turning to Antain, "if you want more knives to play with I can give you some but leave the cooking knives alone. Practice with the one I already gave you." Reza lightly scolded, seeing Antain crying against the snake in fright while muttering about his mama and the various other mamas who weren't home.

"Reza, what was Antain doing with your knives?! And what have I told you about keeping your knives out of reach from Antain?" Jackie questioned, trying to crawl out of Dumisa's hug but he only tightened his grasp around her.

"I am not done with my hugging, host." Dumisa complained, coiling more of his body around her.

"Well, he keeps hugging them, so he probably likes them." Reza then looked up and scratched his chin, as though remembering something. "But he also has been hugging anything really, a baby shark, the cheese grater, pillows, Kroc's weights, books, the heat lamps, wrenches… He probably misses Sabre a lot, I suppose."

"W-What do you mean, he misses Sabre? She's up in her room, isn't she?" Jackie asked, feeling her heart skip a beat. " … isn't she?"

Reza blinked at the host and then took a double look before blinking again and looking away. "Oh, Antain also had a strange big soft blue feather with a strange scent on it. It's strange because I have never seen a feather than big on any normal parrot … thinking on it, parrots don't taste that well."

"F-Feather?" The host questioned in confusion, "how does that relate to Sabre?! Where is she?"

A sharp yip from the fox made everyone whip around towards him, spotting Antain stiffly standing and looking surprised while his fur stood straight up like a large puff ball. The sight was so strange the host found herself preoccupied as Antain suddenly began laughing and giggling, leaping onto a long single blue and black striped feather as he leapt back off with a surprised and excited yelp but continued the process with his fur looking like it had static electricity.

"A-Antain, what is that?" Jackie asked, confused as to how Antain became so fluffy out of nowhere.

"See? I told you, the feather is strange. I once tasted a macao but the feathers weren't that big. And now that I remember, I wonder what an ostrich tastes like." Reza rambled in thought, sliding closer to the feather, "but why does Antain's fur look like that. Will my scales fluff up if I touch it?" Reza asked as he poked it. The moment Reza touched the feather his entire body seized up with a violent jolt, letting out a vicious hiss before he shot back across the ground and into the water so fast the host barely had time to register what happened.

"R-Reza?" Jackie called, troubled before looking back at the feather in confusion. Why did Reza react like that?

Dumisa laughed "That was funny." He grinned, tucking the host under his arm before tapping the feather with his nail. A slight jolt made his arm jump as he blinked in confusion. "This feather … why did it shock me?" He asked as his brows stitched together in confusion, poking it again before Antain leapt in front of the snake, taking the feather into his mouth before excitedly running around the living room with it, his fur getting puffed with static electricity.

"Antain, hey! Wait, where did you get that feather?" Jackie asked, worming out of Dumisa's hold as she ran over to Antain.

"Aki ost!" Antain excitedly giggled, trying to run away from her but she caught him in mid jump and hugged the little troublemaker to her chest as he excitedly giggled and nuzzled against her with a purr.

Jackie swiftly took the feather out of his mouth, jumping slightly as she felt the static electricity within it shock her finger tips. "What in the world is this?" The host asked, baffled by the strange presence.

"More importantly, where did Antian got it?" Dumisa asked with narrowed eyes. He had never seen a feather like this, but it was clear it wasn't a normal feather.

"Aki ost." Antain called, probably trying to say 'Jackie host'. He half petted Jackie's head before reaching out to the feather and whining, clearly wanting his toy back.

"Hold on, Antain." Jackie hushed, turning to Dumisa, "this didn't come from your wardrobe, did it?" She asked, wondering where the feather came from. There was nowhere in the house that he could have gotten this feather and if he didn't get it from in here, then the tricky fox must have slipped out of the house at one point … unless, maybe, there was a rare exotic bird of some kind in the attic.

"Of course not." Dumisa furrowed his eyebrows, offended she thought he'd wear something so brightly colored like that. "The color is tacky and feathery hats went out of style centuries ago."

Indignant at having his toy taken from him, Antain playfully bit her hand and grabbed the feather in a single motion. "OUCH!" She shouted as Antain jumped out of her arms with the feather in mouth and ran over to the door. "Ouch, Antain, no biting!" Jackie scolded, watching as Antain leapt onto the dresser by the door. She stared at the little fox as he leapt onto the handle, making the door crack open before her eyes widened. "Antain stop, wait!" Jackie shouted, running after him but the slippery fox already leapt out of the door, heading down the fire escape with the feather in mouth.

"Hey, Jackie wait." Dumisa called as he easily slithered down after her, staying behind her as she hurried down the stairs after Antain, "don't go; let me grab him," Dumisa said as he crawled over the railing, bending the iron bars and landing with ease on the ground while waiting for Antain to reach the ladder. The little boy stopped by the ladder to the alley, shuffling back and forth before making a fast and desperate leap off, narrowly avoiding Jackie's grasp.

"Dumisa, catch him-!" The host shouted in a panic as Dumisa's hand shot out and easily caught Antain, holding him to his chest.

"You think you can escape me, little prey?" Dumisa teased with a snarky grin.

"Misa, mama!" Antain bit him, making Dumisa hiss before the fox lithely jumped around the snake and out of his loose grasps since he didn't want to hurt him.

Antain scampered farther away before running out of the alley quite quickly. Before Dumisa could give chase he paused, glancing up at the host as she tried to unlatch the emergency ladder. There was just something in the host's attempts that made her look 'cute'. Weak and useless also but definitely 'cute' too. He reached up, gently grabbing her as he softly smiled, "let's grab the little prey, shall we?" He offered with a sweet and gentle smile, holding his arm out for her to take.

Jackie hesitated, surprised that he had even stopped for her before she took his hand. "Yeah, let's hurry." She said, surprised at the ease and gentleness he held her as he shot down the alley giving chase to the little fox.

Antain kept on a certain direction, sniffing the air and stopping every so often to ensure the host and snake were following him. Once he realized the chase was certainly on the pup gasped in excitement, sniffing around the air as if following some trail before continuing to run through the maze of allies.

Dumisa hissed in annoyance, suddenly shooting forward at unpredictable moments while grabbing at the little fox. Each time he attempted to grab the little fox his grasps were too gentle, letting Antain struggle free within just a couple of seconds before bouncing off his large body and quickly running away again. The black mamba was perfectly able to catch the fox; however, it was catching the fox without hurting him that was the issue. He had to admit too, that Sabre had been training him well especially about evading an enemy.

"Hold on, host. He's not getting away from me this time." Dumisa angrily hissed before hastily dropping Jackie onto the ground. She tumbled a small bit, watching as Dumisa shot down the final stretch of alley and shot his arm forward to catch the little fox. Without warning Dumisa suddenly dove to the left as a figure shot out of the darkness, sinking its claws into Dumisa's body.

A heavy electric current traversed the black mamba's body, making the lamia scream at the top of his lungs, thrashing about against the ground as his large body caved in trashcans and knocked against the buildings as he spasmed against the ground. Her eyes widened, startled as he made many small and hard convulsions against the ground with only the stranger holding onto him.

"Dumisa?!" Jackie shouted, frightened as she ran forward but was forced to stop due to his wildly flailing body that would otherwise easily crush her. Her eyes set on the Extraspecies holding onto him, seeing his large black and blue wings pulsing with light in an odd fashion, intensifying when Dumisa's screaming grew louder. Why wasn't Dumisa trying to bite him amongst the thrashing?! She grabbed a nearby brick, throwing it at the Extraspecies. "You, let go of him!" She shouted as the brick hit the bird's wing, causing a momentary lapse in his balance.

"You seem to want to die, human." The Extraspecies coolly smiled, flashing his bright white teeth before he tackled Jackie and pinned her against the ground. Before he could shock her as he did to the black mamba, Antain leapt onto the stranger's back and loudly mewed, tightly clinging to the male's feathers. The figure froze, glancing back at the fox with a warm smile curling up his lips. "Move away, little fox. You'll get hurt." The Extraspecies warned, trying to gently remove the fox from his back.

Antain hissed and then jumped over the bird in a very precise manner, biting the bird's feathery neck. When the fox's jaws closed he didn't bite on flesh, but rather only on the feathery fluff, where Antain held onto while emitting small adorable growls, mumbling a new muffled roar as if claiming that he had caught this big prey.

The bird Extraspecies loosened his grasp on the host, staring at the fox for a few moments before his smile deepened. "Oh? Are these your friends, little one?" The Extraspecies cool voice questioned as Antain munched on the fluff of feathers on the back of his neck in a predatory manner. His little growls thrummed through his chest as the Extraspecies wobbled slightly, hunching over the human while shakily breathing.

"G-Get off!" Jackie shouted, trying to push him off but he remained limp over her, breathing in her scent. Now that he noticed it, the human girl smelled like the fox and other Extraspecies. His eyes appeared to soften before he took a deeper inhale of her scent, the smile never leaving his lips although the motion appeared forced.

"W-Who are you?" Jackie asked, startled as she struggled to push him off before recognizing his blue and black striped feathers. "A-Antain had one of your feathers in his mouth earlier. Why?" She asked, startled as she continued to try and push him off but now with less force.

"Are you a host?" He breathed fast, dizzily leaning against her.

"Y-Yes? Why?" She asked, looking him over. "Did you lose your host?" She questioned, wondering if he was lost in the big city by chance.

"I appears my strength is failing me … please help me." He softly pleaded before slouching over on top, his breath slowing before it was clear the Extraspecies was unconscious.

"Ugghhh." Dumisa shook off his fatigue one last time before looking back, spotting the bird over his host. His eyes widened before he quickly slithered toward the downed bird, hissing with his jaws opened angrily and ready to strike. "Release my host!"

"Wait, Dumisa! Don't!" She shouted, hugging the bird and putting her arm up to stop Dumisa's advance.

Antain let go of his bite and jumped over the bird a couple times before mewing one of his prideful 'roars' once more. Then, all smug at his big catch, Antain started to pull on the bird's tail to try and drag him but obviously he couldn't, and after walking around his prey a couple times, he crawled over to Jackie and grabbed her pants, pulling on it, "aki ost." He looked up at Jackie and pointed out of the alley before pointing at the bird again, "mama ood." He said with what she could only guess he meant to say 'food'.

Dumisa huffed, scratching the back of his head. "Looks like Antain caught a big prey for us all. Sabre will be proud." The snake then shoved the unconscious bird, slamming his body into the wall and off of Jackie, "but unfortunately, it seems the fox isn't strong enough to finish the job. No worries, I'll take care of it." Dumisa said with a predatory smirk, approaching with his jaws towards the fallen Extraspecies.

"W-Wait, Dumisa! Don't hurt him; he's just lost." She said, hurrying over to him and checking him out before noticing the cuts and scrapes on him.

"So? He attacked us. Also its Antain's prey and Antain clearly labeled him as food." Dumisa crossed his arms. "It's impolite to deny a predator his rightful prey."

"We are _not_ eating him! Help me take him back to the house. I need to do first aide on him and call Ms. Smith." Jackie said, very gently feeling his arms and legs to check for any broken bones.

"It's not my prey nor yours. It's up to Antain to decide. You didn't let Antain eat that rabbit either." Dumisa looked at bird and at Antain. He had to say he was impressed somewhat by the cub. "If he can catch big prey then let him eat it at the very least."

The host bitterly frowned in his direction before turning to Antain. "Antain, do you really want to eat the big fluffy bird?" She asked, "I'll give you lots of treats if you don't eat him."

Antain once more tried pulling in the bird, failing to move it so this time he went to Dumisa, located the tip of the snake's tail and gave a couple tugs to get his attention. "Misa-mama?"

A shiver crawled up the snake's long spine as he turned towards Antain, seeing him pulling on the sensitive tail. "Careful; what do you want?" He asked, pulling his tail away as Antain's grip remained firm and was taken into the air a little bit, dangling off of the tail.

Antain smiled at Dumisa and pointed at the bird with his other hand, "mama, ood."

"So you want to give this prey to Sabre, huh?" Dumisa rolled his eyes, "fine." He then moved his tail down and Antain let go of it before jumping onto Dumisa's chest to give the snake a hug. Dumisa moved him aside and then unceremoniously grabbed the bird by one of his wings and tossed him over his shoulder.

"Thanks Dumisa." Jackie smiled and then looked at the bird, touching it's wings and noticing one looked strange. Her hand reached it and she gasped as she felt a defined break on one of the bird's four wings. "H-His wing is broken!" She cried, mortified at the wrong way it was bent. The skin was not broken which was a relief but she needed to put a splint on it and fast.

"Let's just go home host. You can call the old hag there." Dumisa said with a shrug as he reached for her.

"B-But you can't move him without putting a splint on his wing, you could injure him more!" Jackie snapped at him before Dumisa picked her and Antain up in his arms while holding the bird carelessly.

Dumisa started moving away of the alley. "And surely doing so wrong could be worse. No matter, its just a prey but if you want him healthy then get the old hag to sent a medic for when we arrive." However he accommodated the wing so it would hang straight. He of course didn't mentioned that it was the wing he had grabbed to toss the bird over his shoulder that was the broken one.

"J-Just be really careful, alright?" She anxiously nagged, looking back over the unconscious Extraspecies. He didn't exactly seemed scared … he looked more so anxious than anything. Was he really an Extraspecies lost from his host?

.

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Once they arrived home Dumisa smacked the door open, ducking inside and setting the host down on the couch before tossing the bird face up onto the floor in the living room. The feathery Extraspecies rolled in a crumbled heap of feathers, certainly catching Reza's attention as he perked up at the sight of the unusual bird.

"Dumisa-!" Jackie shouted in a reprimanding manner, quickly untangling the bird so he laid on his back with his wings spilling over the ground, still very much so unconscious.

"Is that a bird?" Reza asked curiously, crawling out of his tank to come take a better look at it. "I've never cooked one"

"Yes, it's Antain's prey." Dumisa smirked. He had to admit that he was feeling slightly proud of Antain's achievement in his hunting skills.

Jackie glared at him before rushing into the kitchen, starting to look around for the large medical pack. She had to learn how to make splints for bird Extraspecies a while ago while in orientation since birds tended to break their wings more often than anything else but luckily, bird bones healed fast. She was grateful she at least knew what to do but she needed to perform first aide on the poor Extraspecies before calling Ms. Smith.

Antain jumped over the bird's chest and bit on the feathers of the neck, sitting there and purring in delight, looking at Reza and showing up his mighty prey, "mama ood!"

"Is that so? Well done, little kit!" Reza chuckled and then looked pensive, "I think you need to drop boiling water on them to remove the feathers … well, since it's Antain's prey … hey Antain, would you like me to try different dishes to see what is better for bird meat?" Reza politely offered.

Rather than answering, Antain ran around and froliced on the soft feathers, giggling and rolling around in it while messing up the feathers and breaking them in his excitement.

"Hey! Antain, off. I need to make a splint for his wing." Jackie said, hobbling over and tossing the heavy case down before opening it up and pulling out 2 large light weight metal rods before trying to straighten out the wing. She found it strange how he had four wings, a very large set on his back and his arms being a smaller set of wings with a few extended fingers at the elbows of the wings. She knew no birds had 4 wings so he might be what Smith calls a 'Special Case' Extraspecies, or maybe a mythical Extraspecies.

"What are you doing, host? We can't roast it with those small rods." Reza pointed out. "And you're tying it on wrong. You can't roast him over a fire like that by the wing."

"You're not eating him!" Jackie snapped at him in annoyance, "Reza, go call Ms. Smith and tell her to send an ambulance for a bird Extraspecies." She ordered while trying to determine where the break was. Luckily there was nothing sticking out so she merely extended the wing and when she tried folding it, it moved fine although with no force, so the fracture was linear but without knowing where it was there was little she could do. So she merely placed the rod along the bone before bandaging it firmly but not too tightly, immobilizing the wing until a radiography could be taken at the hospital. At least this way his wing wouldn't be further damaged.

"Mama ood!" Antian exclaimed as he tried to pounce on the injured wing but Jackie caught him, setting him down before messily petting his head.

"No, bad Antain. No trying to eat another Extraspecies." She growled, petting Antain into submission as he became a giggly and happy ball of joy, lightly nipping at her hand as she pet his chest and belly.

"Oh, I see. We are waiting for Sabre and you want her to get the living prey." Reza nodded.

"Just boil him or whatever, Sabre will like it more in different dishes, it will be faster if those are ready. I'm hungry too." Dumisa shrugged.

"I said no, Dumisa! How can you all be hungry, you ate not too long ago!" She snapped at them in annoyance as Antain rolled away free, playing with a large stray feather on the ground.

Antain let the feather on the ground before jumping back, stalking the big bright feather, and jumped on it sticking with precision, then he grabbed his target and came to Reza and show him the feather, wielding it like a knife to show off his skills. "Fishi mama!" He jumped up and tried to strike the feather over Reza's neck in a stabbing or cutting motion at the sides but the little taps were just adorable little recreations of horrendous ways to murder someone.

"No no, Antain. Here," Reza said, sliding a nail over his jugular artery, "is how you bleed out prey the fastest. Try aiming here." He suggested as Antain giggle, leaping up and hugging the fish around the neck as his tail wildly wagged before 'striking' the jugular.

"Fishi mama!" Antain struck again exactly where Reza told him. And then stopped, purring with pride at his own achievement.

"Ugghhh," the bird on the floor groaned painfully, trying to incorporate himself but barely managing to sit down and look around with mild confusion, a very small smile on his face. "This place … where am I?" He asked, dazed as he felt a small tug on his tail. Antain had a firm grip on some of his tail feathers, intent on trying to drag his prey to the pile for his mama stashed up in the attic. The bird, not knowing the cause of the tugging, unleashed a small controlled electric shock that made Antain jump in surprise and flee behind a couch, his fur a giant puffball of static while the sneaky fox went unnoticed by the others.

"Oh good, you're awake." Jackie said, walking over to him and helping him sit up. The Extraspecies's feathers puffed up a bit as he gently rubbed his temples, trying to dispel the headache before noticing his arm was outstretched, "how are you feeling? Do you need some pain medicine?" She worriedly asked, looking him over in concern.

"Who cares about how he is feeling? He's about to become food regardless of how well he is feeling." Dumisa responded with a snarky smirk, his eyes gleaming over the Extraspecies.

"But since he is awake we can at least be courteous and ask him if he'd prefer to be made sushi or sashimi … or perhaps be roasted." Reza crossed his arms "Besides, the less stressed he is the tender the meat."

"Oh dear, it seems my wing is broken. Strange, it was not broken when I escaped." The Extraspecies playfully pondered but offered no other comment except a soft smile. "Did you patch me up, host?" He asked, curious.

"Yeah, I did. You'll have to get an X-ray later but I just wanted to make a splint so the break didn't get any worse than it already is. Are you hungry?" Jackie asked, flustered and trying to think of how she could better accommodate him. He was certainly hurt but she was too busy thinking how to make him more comfortable than how he became so injured in the first place.

The blue bird blinked at the human and then his smile became more natural looking. "Thank you very much. I am in deep debt and gratitude to you. I'm afraid I will have to take you up on that offer; its been some days since I ate anything and any meat would help my condition."

"Yeah, sure. Do you want anything in particular?" She asked, wondering what kind of seeds or nuts or berries she had in her pantry for the bird Extraspecies.

"Any kind of meat would be fine, if it's not too much trouble." The blue bird politely asked with soft and gentle eyes.

"Oh, good you're carnivorous! I've got chicken, duck, steak or pork. Which do you want? Since you're hurt it would be better to go light on the seasonings." Jackie said as she began thinking which slab of meat would be best, preferably the softer meat which was easier to chew.

"Any would be fine. It would be impolite to be picky." The intruding Extraspecies smiled.

"Wait right here, I'll go get it ready." Jackie said before leaving the room, not noticing the shared stares Reza and Dumisa has towards the newcomer; and their staring was not at all friendly.

" … he's ignoring us." Reza said, tilting his head towards the bird. "It's not polite for prey to ignore us. Maybe birds of prey culture are different?" He asked aloud as Dumisa narrowed his gaze.

"Or he simply hit his head too hard to recognize bigger predators." Dumisa opened his mouth and showed off his fangs with a twisted grin.

"I can hear you perfectly fine." The Extraspecies smiled over in their direction, taking in the presence of the black mamba and lion fish. "Thank you for sparing my life, black mamba. I appreciate your consideration towards my life."

"Who said I spared you anything?" Dumisa sneered.

"And where do you come from?" Reza asked while sharpening a knife. "We would need to clean up your skin in any case but better to know just in case you have some disease."

"Isn't it more polite in 'human' culture to ask for one's name first?" The four winged bird smiled at them.

"Well, it would depend on the human culture and that would depend on the country of origin. I've seen humans misunderstand each other about that, not to mention that some of them and even some Extraspecies prefer the old and extremely boring and pompous traditional way of presenting each other with titles, affiliations and lineages," Reza rambled on before blinking, "but yeah, out of courtesy and before I slice you up for sushi, you can tell us your name?"

"My name is Niyol. You can make sushi?" Niyol asked with a very bright smile, "how lovely! I have only heard about of sushi. I've never had the privilege of trying it myself." Niyol smiled as Reza's eyes widened in horror.

"WHAT?!" Reza screamed in horror, pointing at the bird. "How can you not have tasted sushi! Not ever?" Before Niyol could answer Reza jumped back into the tube and submerged for a second before coming out for a brief moment, "I will correct that! Prepare to be stuffed, bird!" He then disappeared towards his room, taking it upon himself the challenge of giving the bird his first sushi ever.

Dumisa's eyes narrowed over the sly bird, twitching his tail back and forth in thought about this new strange Extraspecies in his territory. He did not like his presence one bit. Especially since the host was now doting on this stranger more than she was on him. His tongue flickered out, tasting the air once again; not that they were in familiar territory, he knew for sure it was this Niyol that smelled of human blood.

"Excuse me Mr. Snake, but I'm assuming such strong glare is derived from the presence of a stranger in your territory?" Niyol tilted his head in the weird way only birds of prey could. "I assure you I don't have bad intentions." He then motioned to his broken wing. "I wouldn't be able to in any case."

"Where did you come from? You taste like blood." Dumisa hissed with narrowed eyes, remaining tense and defensive.

Niyol blinked and smiled, "I was brought here against my will by some what I believe are called 'traffickers' but I managed to escape and found myself lost in this big city. "

"What?!" Jackie shouted from behind him, making his feathers fluff up before the tiny fibers of soft synthetic hair immediately rose straight up, electricity the couch. The sight of the suddenly fluffy couch made everyone dart their gaze to the furniture, surprised before Niyol let out a soft and bashful sigh.

With a small blush, Niyol scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry for making your couch be full of static electricity. I'm a thunderbird, you see, and sometimes I can't control it. Especially since I am not in my best condition." He apologized with a smile on his face.

"Th-That's fine, but what do you mean you were brought here against your will?" Jackie asked, walking around and handing him the metal bowl filled with diced up raw meat.

"Exactly as I mean. The kind gentleman who came to our village told us he was recruiting for a hosting program in Italy. I wanted to join the program and so I went with them, and not too long after I was inside of a crate. I managed to get free after breaking the lock but then some humans chased me. I fled and ran into a small fox pup wandering the streets and followed him to a place of safety before I collapsed. Where is he? I want to thank him." He said, looking around the room for Antain.

"Th-That's horrible! And this just happened? Tonight?" Jackie asked, flabbergasted about what she just stumbled into. Extraspecies trafficking?! That was horrible! She needed to tell Ms. Smith right away.

"Yes. I had just escaped their clutches before stumbling into the cub, he took a feather and then you two appeared." Niyol cheerfully answered before he spotted a blur of orange beside his head. His feathers immediately became full of deadly electricity before realizing it was the small fox making a lunge for his neck. Not wanting to harm the small fox, Niyol quickly withdrew the electrical shocks, letting the fox land on top of his shoulder and munch on his neck right over the jugular artery but only bitting down on a mouthful of feathers. "Oh? Are you using me to practice hunting?" Niyol playfully smiled.

"You are his prey." Dumisa smirked, crossing his arms.

"And he did a wonderful job. Would you like a reward, Antain?" Niyol offered with a soft smile, showing Antain the bowl of meat. Antain gasped in happiness and jumped onto the couch before running around in excited circles, "come here, I'll give you some." Niyol smiled as Antain hopped up onto the bird's lap, taking a seat before he eagerly pawed at the diced up meat.

"Whoa whoa, no Antain, don't eat those. Niyol, don't let Antain eat those. He's not ready for chunks that big." Jackie said as Niyol took the meat from the boy and popped it into his mouth. Jackie let out a breath of relief, dialing Smith's number before she turned around and spotted Niyol kissing a surprised Antain. Jackie froze before she could hit the call button, staring at Niyol as his mouth parted, freaking her out before she saw Niyol feeding Antain the pre-chewed meat from him mouth, of the which Antain eagerly ate up with his tail excitedly wagging. Niyol leaned back once he was done and swallowed what was left, watching as Antain excitedly mashed up what was in his mouth while hopping up and down excitedly at the tasty treat.

"There you go. How was that?" Niyol asked with a cheerful smile before Jackie remembered that birds fed their young with food they had already eaten. Thank goodness that did not carry on to bird Extraspecies but seeing him chew up the food before feeding it directly to Antain was very strange.

"Hey, what are you doing kissing the pup?" Dumisa said with an expression of disgust and distrust. "Not only is Antain a small cub, he is male. He cannot produce young." Dumisa said, clearly not knowing the concept of how birds fed their young.

"Kissing?" Niyol asked, looking over to him in confusion before brightly smiling, "oh no, you misunderstand. Since the pieces were too large I chewed them up for him." He innocently smiled, clearly having no alternative intentions to his actions.

"Mor! Mo!" Antain excitedly laughed, grabbing another piece and pushing it into Niyol's mouth as the large bird chewed up the food as requested before Antain grabbed his cheeks, kissing the big bird and munching on some of the pieces of meat before Niyol pulled back and swallowed what he had, letting Antain playfully munch on and savor the taste of the meat in his mouth.

Despite knowing the kind intentions of Niyol and understanding that it was probably normal behavior for a bird, Jackie was still a bit freaked out. "Niyol, can you not feed Antain like that?" Jackie asked, at a loss as to what to do for this situation.

"I could, but then he wouldn't be able to handle the bigger bites and would go hungry." He answered with a smile before turning his head up, "ah, hello there. Would you care for some as well?" Niyol asked as Jackie looked up and spotted Eztli in the rafters, looking down at Niyol in tense confusion.

"Hey you!" Eztli appeared roaring with his fur all puffed up, twitching his tail back and forth as he studied the large bird. He was a stranger in his territory. So like a good apex predator he had to protect the house, right? But he didn't seem mean; all he was doing was feeding Antain that yummy meat, and he was even nice enough to chew it for him. A light touch of pink brushed over his cheeks as he jealously watched Antain munching on the meat, looking up at him almost as though he was mocking the large jaguar with how much food he had in his puffed up cheeks. "D-Don't get too comfortable. You're a stranger." Eztli said with his eyes glued onto the meat, trembling as he tried to hold himself back from asking for some.

"If you would like some I will give you some as well." Niyol said, popping another piece into his mouth before curling his finger towards himself, enticing the young jaguar to come to him.

"I-If you try anything, I'll eat you." Eztli threatened, hesitating before leaping onto the ground in front of him. Eztli's fur rose up a little big, trying to look more intimidating as he hissed at the bird. He failed last time an intruder came into the home but he wasn't going to fail now!

Niyol merely smiled and raised a single clawed feathery hand, poking Eztli on the nose before his fur immediately fluffed up with static, making Eztli jump in surprise before Niyol very gentle cupped his cheeks. Lulled into a sense of security by the very soft feathers, Eztli did not resist as Niyol pushed his lips against Eztli's and pushed some food into the feline's mouth.

Eztli's eyes closed tightly before widening as his cheeks moved with every much before he swallowed, startled. "That was super yummy!" The jaguar then stood over the bird. "I want moar!" He demanded like a big, strong and independent alpha should, all the while hugging the bird, purring and nuzzling Niyol while Antain pushed some more food into the bird's mouth.

"What is happening? Is that food so bad you have to share it with others? Don't worry, I brought sushi." Reza appeared with a tray full of sushi rolls, uncovering the top to reveal the dry and ready to serve food. "Despite the speed in preparation I assure you they are top quality." He grinned.

Antain excitedly laughed, clapping his hands together. "Irdie mama! Mama irdie!" Antain giggled and jumped around in place, tapping Niyol's face for some more food before preemptively kissing the blue bird and munched on his lips to tell him he wanted more.

"I don't have anymore food, little one." Niyol smiled, showing him the empty bowl.

Antain gasped, looking around the room for more food before spotting the tray Reza brought. Antain excitedly giggled, running over to Reza with a cheerful grin. Antain grabbed a small slice of fish, looking up to Reza before openly staring at the lionfish. Antain shuffled towards him while trying to push the fish meat into his mouth, nibbling on Reza's chin as though to show him how to do what the bird was doing.

"That would be an improper way to prepare food. All the flavors and textures get mixed into nothing but mush." Reza crossed his arms. "No, Antain. Food should be prepared in the right way and be eaten as intended."

Antain gasped, as though shocked, before frowning and trying to push the meat into his mouth but Reza tipped his head up so Antain could only reach his lower chin. Frustrated Antain threw the fish piece onto Reza's cheek, getting all huffy and emotional, "ishi mama ean!" He accused, curling his tail between his legs while trying to get Reza's attention.

"Oh? You can say a new words?" Reza noticed with a smile, "very good, Antain! Here," Reza said, handing Antain a small mashed up piece of meat. Antain gasped, excited and eagerly took the piece into his mouth, all being forgiven before he tapped against Reza's chin for more. "Ah ah ah, if you want more then you have to talk. Who's he?" Reza asked, pointing to Dumisa.

"Mama-misa?" Antain said, blinking innocently while holding his feathery weapon of choice.

"Du-misa, Antain. Dumisa." Dumisa said, laying down and poking the little fox in the nose, making him fall onto his bottom. "It's rude to not get the name right of your alphas." He teased, flashing a dangerous smirk with his sharp fangs gleaming.

"Misa, mama!" Antain clapped.

"Dumisa." He said, poking Antain and making him fall onto the ground.

"Misa mama!" Antain giggled, laying on his back and playfully batting at Dumisa's tail, before hugging it.

Reza points at Jackie. "Who is she?"

"Aki … ost!" Antian mewls in excitement, bouncing up and down happily.

"You earned this! We'll practice later." Reza said, and a prize he lent Antain a small knife before he took out his cell phone, going ahead and calling Ms. Smith. "Hello? Smith?" He said, watching as Antain tried to hold the knife right while looking at his reflection in the blade with wide eyes. With one hand Reza accommodated the knife on Antain's hand in the right position.

" _Reza? What is it? Don't tell me something happened again."_ The coordinator groaned.

"Oh, it's just that I remembered that the program said that social interactions and stuff should be encouraged but I'm not sure. Antain just learned a few more words… well, more like 'almost' words." Reza tilted his head, moving Antain's arm to teach him a low cut motion. "Also he seems to be enjoying practicing with knives but how should I encourage it more? Maybe with food as prizes?"

A loud yawn sounded from the other side of the line. " _Why are you calling this late, Reza?"_ She sleepily asked with a small grumble about how something ridiculously late it is.

"Well, I'm not sure how fast mammal cubs are supposed to learn to catch big prey, but I remember you mentioned when Antain caught a rabbit at the hospital and he just came back after capturing a big bird. The bird is on the floor right now and the host is bandaging on of its wings. She didn't let me cook it, but I suppose we'll have to wait until Sabre come back because Antain said it was food for his mama. By the way, he calls the snake and I 'mama' too. That means we are highly regarded, right?" Reza asked rather excitedly as Antain swung the blade around all excited.

" _No one cares about how big of a pigeon Antain caught,"_ Ms. Smith irritably huffed, " _what is the reason you are calling me, Reza? You never call unless something serious happens and then you simply gossip while skirting over the important details. So cut off the fat from the salmon and tell me what the most serious matter is."_ She gruffly demanded.

"Shouldn't I call this late?" Reza blinked, taking an apple from the floor and tossed it into the air near Antain. The fox gasped, excited as he stumbled around in circles before the apple happened to land right on the blade and thump against the ground as Antain gaspe in excitement. He eagerly pulled on the handle, looking back to Reza with sparkling eyes but the apple's weight on the tip of the knife made it too heavy for Antain to pick up.

" _No, I prefer you call."_ She loudly yawned again, clearly trying to wake herself up, " _now, what is it?"_

"Oh! Antain just hit the apple with the knife. He has potential… does the program have any training measures for small predators? I think the council has something to teach them to hunt humans … errr … I mean, defend themselves against humans, but I'm not sure if you have something like that." Reza pondered, "I suppose I could teach him myself but he isn't aquatic like I am."

" _Reza … is that all, are you just calling in for this?"_ She yawned. " _Ok … just tell Sabre to propose some field trip for or something for Antain."_

"Oh, sure. I'll tell her when she reappears … although I don't know when that will be. She ran away after the tiger went away and she hasn't come back since except for getting her stuff. Is she on some mission? Antain has been piling up stuff for her up in the attic; it's quite cute."

" … _Reza, explain."_ Ms. Smith voice demanded in a calm and collected tone, all weariness gone from her voice in an instant.

"Well, Antian has been preparing a big pile of presents for his mama … maybe some are already rotting. Perhaps that's why he caught this bird Extraspecies alive." Reza noted curiously. "Well she did come as much of her stuff as she could carry though … Now that I think about it, she didn't have much stuff, did she?"

" _Reza … you mean to tell me Sabre ran away?"_ Ms. Smith asked, sounding almost as though she was about to have a panic attack.

"I didn't 'mean' it. I said it quite directly." Reza tossed Antain another fruit and tapped his chin in thought. "I think she said she was going away for good after some hunt, then she jumped out of the window … come to think of it, she was still injured. The tiger did a good damage on her. Then she came back for stuff and went away again."

"WHAT?!" Jackie screamed, whipping around as she finished the bird's wing. "Since when?!" She shouted, mortified. She wasn't gone, she was just in her room, wasn't she?! Jackie staggered back before dashing for Sabre's room, shooting up the stairs before flipping it open to find it dark and empty, a big pile of stuff on the middle. "S-Sabre-!?" Jackie called, feeling her breath grow short in fright. Where did she go? The host had thought giving Sabre some space to work things out herself would be best but she ran away?! "Where the hell did Sabre go?!"

Reza looked at the stairs. "Oh great, now the host is panicking. Look at what you did, Smith." Reza sighed.

" _Reza! Don't you dare let the host leave the house!"_ Smith screamed. " _And what's that about a bird? Did you said it was an Extraspecies?"_

"Oh, about the bird, it's black and blue and looks like it took quite a beating, I think it has a wing broken but that's not much problem. He has 4 wings, so the other 3 can be roasted nicely." Reza answered happily.

" _Do you know what kind of bird it is?_ " Smith pressed on, trying to get some more information out of the unhelpful lionfish.

"I hope it's the tasty kind." Reza hummed in thought, wondering what sauces would be best.

" _I meant the species."_ Smith groaned, trying to be patient.

Before Reza could answer, Dumisa appeared in front of him.

"Hey fish, what did you say about Sabre?" The snake looked stern but his posture was tense, looking rather concerned. "You didn't tell me about Sabre earlier, just about Jaska and Kroc … you didn't told me why they were taken to classes either other than that they had a fight."

" _Reza!_ " Smith called through the phone but she was ignored.

Reza looked straight into the snake's eyes. "I suppose you were not aware, given that you were busy taking those lessons after biting the host." He noted, tapping his chin in thought.

" _Reza, answer the phone!_ " Smith could hear their conversation.

"Tell me what happened, Reza." Dumisa hissed, moving his torso up unconsciously to appear more intimated as his lips parted, exposing his blackened mouth.

Reza was not impressed with Dumisa's display and merely shrugged. "I already told. Didn't you listen?"

" _Reza_!" The coordinator screamed from the other side of the line.

"So tell me, fish. What happened here while I was away?" Dumisa asked with his face stitched together in worry. "What … happened to my friends?" He asked.

"You have friends?" Reza looked at the snake with a raised eyebrow, but then shrugged. "Antain learned a few more words and is learning to use knives … what else, mmhhh … nothing much really, well, the tiger went feral and hurt Sabre, she ran away from the house while Jaska was dragging the host inside the save room, I think he rape her if I remember right. Oh, and a weird crazy lady came for Eztli, that happened too."

On the phone, Smith was shrieking, which caused Reza to hold the phone away from his sensible ears as Reza stared at the snake in amusement.

" … where is that tiger now?" Dumisa asked with a dark and lethal glare as he angrily hissed, exposing his fangs as his pupils narrowed, hedging on the verge of going feral.

"Oh? If you go feral then I'll have the chance to prepare some snake sushi for dinner. I'll just need to remove the poison bags and channels; far easier on a snake than with fugu, so go ahead." Reza cheered and encouraged the lamia.

"Where is he?" Dumisa hissed, forcing himself to control his temper while Reza pouted.

"Boo; go feral." Reza pouted. "Jaska and Kroc were taken to take boring classes like you did because they went feral. The tiger attacked Sabre and everyone and Kroc tried to kill him." Reza shrugged and looked at the phone. "Hey smith!" He shouted at a distance from the speaker. "The snake looks about to go feral too right now. This time I can make my sushi with him, right? I will if he does since we have had too many feral charges already."

"But what happened?!" Dumisa angrily demanded, "they were on good terms before I left so why would Jaska attack her?!" He threateningly hissed as Reza unhelpfully shrugged.

Meanwhile Jackie was running along the corridor, sprinting past the living room and making a charge for her room. She dashed into the room and flipped on the lights, finding her room completely empty. "Sabre, Sabre please tell me you're here!" Jackie shouted, crouching down and looking under the bed but she wasn't there.

"Hooman?" Eztli called, slipping into the room after her with his hears lowered in nervous apprehension. Now the host knew for sure Sabre wasn't here.

"E-Eztli, was Sabre never under the bed with you before?" Jackie desperately asked with a trembling voice as she turned to him with a frightened gaze.

Eztli calmed down somewhat when he say it was really only the host. "Host? You … mmhh … you look scared." He said, his tail nervously twitching in apprehension.

"Eztli, do you know where Sabre is?" Jackie asked, as her heart raced.

"Sabre?" The jaguar flattened his head against the door. He couldn't keep it a secret anymore. "No, she was scared and ran out of the window. Don't you know where she is? I… I think she was almost about to go feral." He could smell the host's fear. "Will she and Jaska get along again? I think it's not good if a bastet hurts the one hey mated with. Did she go to the council?"

"No, no-! How could I let this happen?! Sabre has to be so scared now!" Jackie panicked as tears pricked her eyes, trembling quite a bit. Where could Sabre have possibly gone? Where else could she be if not here? Jackie gripped at her chest, feeling her heart aching to a very painful degree. Her breath became more shallow as she leane back against the wall, struggling to calm herself. How could she be such an idiot? Of course Sabre would be terrified! But enough to run away? And now she was probably lost in New York somewhere.

"She didn't take Antain with her, did she?" Eztli gazed at the host managing some courage to approach the panicking human. "Then she's coming back, right?"

"B-But Sabre! Where could she be?" The host barely breathed before running her fingers through her hair, at a complete loss as to what to do. She had no idea where Sabre could have gone to but just the thought of Sabre being scared and lost while Jackie wasn't there for her was enough to make tears flow from the host's eyes. The guilt that stabbed into her chest was impossibly harsh. "I-I have to find her but I don't know where to go." Jackie breathed, feeling a powerful panic attack coming on.

"Sabre said she knows the city, so, so calm down, host. Sabre will come back." Eztli pulled the host in a hug and began licking her head. "If you go out and she comes back then who's gonna prepare her some nice meat?"

"B-B-But I let this happen! If-If only I have been more attentive I could have helped her! What if she is off crying somewhere?!" Jackie cried, trembling terribly. It was all her fault Sabre had run off. If she had been a better host, no, a more attentive friend she could have helped Sabre.

Eztli held the human host, staring at her teary face and flushed cheeks. His ears lowered as his tail flicked back and forth. "You aren't a scary hooman host." He hugged Jackie and increased his lickings. He tilted his head, staring at her crying face a little more before speaking up. "I'm sorry I scratched you. You can scratch me back if you want." He offered, gently holding up one of her hands and doubting she could leave a mark on anything considering how small her nails were.

"You know I won't, Eztli," Jackie sniffled in a gasp, shakily breathing in fright. Eztli stared at her, remembering that night when there was a thunderstorm. The host was quite scared then.

"Mmhhh ... host? Can we go to my room? You can hide in any of my den to feel safe and not scared." Eztli offered as his tail twitched back and forth in concern. Not too long ago he never would have contemplated letting the host into his private den but seeing her so frightened like this made him want to protect her.

Jackie rubbed her eyes, not knowing what else to do or say, "b-but I have to find Sabre! She's probably cold, lost a-and scared in the city!" Jackie cried.

"Host!" Eztli grabbed Jackie and pulled her into a hug. "Maybe Sabre only needed some air, maybe she'll come back once Jaska's scent lessens. But you need cuddles too. Let me help with that at least." He rubbed his chin on her neck, gently hugging her close in a comforting embrace.

Jackie could barely contain her shaking. She didn't know what to say. She was surprised that Eztli was wanting to take care of her but her mind was swirling around with thoughts of Sabre and how lost and lonely she was feeling right now. What if she didn't know the way back home?

Not needing any other indication, Eztli gave her a hug. "I'll carry you, host." He thought of picking her up like Sabre does to Antain when the pup was being comforted but he remembered that he actually didn't know how to carry Antain that way either. So instead he settled for grabbing Jackie by the waist and lifted her up to carry her. With her feet dragging along the floor all the way to his room, he shoved her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before climbing to the highest and most hidden den where he placed her inside to rest. "This is my my safest den, host." He smiled and curled in front of her, lowering onto the floor and looking up at Jackie waiting for her reaction. He hoped this would calm her.

Jackie sucked back her tears, looking around the small and cozy little nook inside of Eztli's large fake tree. She had never been inside of his den before not even for cleaning. With a shaky sigh and tried to rub the tears from her eyes, glancing over and pausing as she spotted some suspicious plastic baggies full of dried leaves and roots, and an empty bottle in the shape of a skull.

Eztli noticed her staring at his rug stash before remembering what she said she'd do to it if she ever found it. His sucked in a fast gasp, suddenly rethinking his decision to let her inside his secret den. "Th-those help me sleep!" His eyes grew big with fear of losing his herbs and he quickly jumped to lay over the bags and protect them with his body, rolling on his back and holding his claws over his chest. "Olivia still gives me nightmares and Smith says it's fine!" He cried, immediately defending his precious stash while mildly wondering if he kicked the host out, if she'd land on her feet or not. But not being sure, he simply decided to cover his precious sleep aide with his body to keep it safe from the distressed host.

Jackie stared over the bags with unfeeling eyes before letting out a heavy sigh, rubbing her head. "It … it's fine, Eztli. I won't touch them as long as I can't find them. This time doesn't count." Jackie said before glancing over to Eztli, seeing him acting surprisingly normal. " … are, are you alright, Eztli?" Jackie asked hesitantly asked.

"Eh?" Eztli tilted his head, confused and not understanding wholly what she meant.

"With … with the whole thing of Olivia coming. And all that. Are you alright?" Jackie nervously asked, very gently cupping his cheek. "She didn't hurt you, right?"

Eztli rolled around and pawed a couple mini steps towards Jackie, his tail shifting and making the piercings jiggle as he thought about his previous fear with a small trembling. "I was scared." He lowered his head again but pawed another mini step closer, seeming hesitant. "I thought she was dead ... and that I would never seen her again. I also heard you shouting about how we're family? Maybe? Did you mean it, host? I've never had a family before, I thought a family means mates and their cub, is that not it?" He then looked away with his ears down. "I'm sorry I didnt helped you fight Olivia and protect the territory. I was so scared, that I was afraid of what she would do to me." Eztli admitted as he trembled, "I'm a big strong alpha, right? Right? So I should have defended the territory, but I ran away. Does that mean I'm not a strong alpha?" Eztli asked with his eyes beginning to glisten over a little bit. "One of my favorite hoomans was hurt because I ran away. Does that make me a coward?" He asked, his tail curling around his legs in his distress.

Jackie's eyes widened, surprised by the suddenly very chatty Eztli as he shyly glanced away, taking a more submissive pose. "No, Eztli, you are no coward. You _are_ a big strong alpha. Be proud of that." Jackie smiled. "It's fine, Eztli. It really is. I'm just so happy you are alright." Jackie said, pulling him into a firm hug, "and of course we're family, Eztli. You don't have to be mates or even related by blood with someone to care for them. And I care for you a lot." Jackie softly smiled, kissing him on the cheek before doing her best to nuzzle against him as she had seen Sabre do to him and Jaska.

Eztli blinked and smild timidly, nuzzling her back and purring. "And, and I can pet you too, host? You need pets too sometimes." He said, seeming hesitant as he remember what happened before. She panicked, but now that they were family, it was okay, right?

"Yeah, if you want," Jackie said, hesitant as she remembered their last 'petting' session, "but you have to be gentle; no claws out, because I don't have fur to protect me." Jackie explained, honestly not having a clue as to how one would pet a human.

"Si!" Eztli smiled and looked at Jackie before stopping." … how do I pet a human?"

Jackie stared at the black jaguar, honestly having no idea as to how to respond to that. "T-To be honest I have no idea." The host answered, looking bashful, "I've never been pet before, really." She said, trying to think to a time where she had been 'pet' before. However, all she could recall were more so the beatings than anything else. "I'm just not a very touchy person."

"Ok … I'll just try this." Eztli began running his hands along Jackie's skin, first her arms and then her sides, going down to her hips while making circular motions in a very gentle way.

Jackie rolled with him slightly, feeling really awkward about this whole thing but not wanting to push him away. Eztli was earnestly trying to make her feel better and she felt pretty guilty for pushing him away before. So trying to stuff away her own awkwardness, she let Eztli try to 'pet' her like she did to her charges.

"Am I doing it well?" Eztli whispered, sounding nervous and then moved Jackie to massage her back, pressing her shoulder blades and then running his hands down along her spine in a very slow and soft manner.

"Y-Yeah, just fine." Jackie answered as her cheeks deepened with an embarrassed flush. She brought this on herself really for being so mean before when he tried petting her. A slight shiver riveted down her spine as he softly grasped her hips, leaning over her and dragging his padded palms against her sides through her thin shirt. Her lips sealed together tightly before he pressed against a particular sore and tight knot in her shoulders. "Ahhhnnn," Jackie moaned in pleasure before freezing, feeling her face blew up into a bright blush. Did she just _moan_?! Her head whipped around, spotting Eztli's look of confusion on his face.

Eztli smiled and began pressing some spots with more firmness while on others he caressed softly, knowing he was hitting the good spots. After all, he had been forced to learn how to pleasure females so he assumed he just needed to be gentle for it to be normal and nice. "Mmhhh, so am I doing to well, host?" Eztli softly purred with a twitch of his tail, softly smiling. He knew that kind of sound was a sexy moan so he knew he had to be doing right.

"Y-Yes?" Jackie answered, unsure how else to answer him. It felt _amazing_. He was working out her knots so easily and preciously but so gently that she didn't feel sore after he rubbed the spots. Usually someone would have to go to a ridiculously expensive salon to get this kind of massage but this felt amazing.

" … Host? What is going to happen now that Jaska went feral like that?" Eztli asked with his lowered his ears as he leaned against her back and rubbed himself against her, his tail passing over the back of her legs. "I've never seen Sabre so scared. She was as scared as I was when Olivia came … when that bad hooman did bad stuff to me." Eztli petted Jackie's head, his touching becoming more hesitant as he trembled. "Is Jaska going to be forced to go away forever?" He asked with a frightened trill in his voice. He knew what happened to disobedient Extraspecies. They were never heard from again. The host wouldn't be like that, he knew that, but he had to ask to help quell his fears. "Will Jaska and Kroc and Sabre be okay? They'll come back, all of them, right?"

Jackie turned around, seeing tears streaking through Eztli's fur. Her heart broke at seeing how frightened Eztli was before she pulled him into a gentle hug. "They'll be back, Eztli. It's alright, just calm down. I'm not going to kick them out, I promise." Jackie assured him, protectively hugging the scared kitten.

A soft, sad mew made Eztli's ear flicker towards the hallway, turning to see Antain stumbling in with his nose buried in his little kitty blanket and an arm around a furiously flopping Baba with its mouth gaping for water. His eyes were glistening, sniffling as he looked up at them. "Mama?" Antain called, looking around the room before more tightly hugging his blankie. "Mama, he-e?" He mewed, looking around the seemingly empty room. Jackie took notice of this, spotting Antain stumbling into the room and looking around the big open space as he sniffled in fright, curling into a little scared ball as he softly began to cry.

Eztli blinked and without saying any word he climbed down the tree and picked up Antain, covering him with the blanket and bringing him up to the den with the host. "Mama will come back soon, Antain." The jaguar set and placed the cub beside their host, softly licking the top of his head.

"Mama?" Antain said, looking at Jackie before he sniffled again, hugging his blankie close. "Aki ost, where mama?" He asked with a frown.

Jackie's heart almost broke entirely in that instant. This was her fault that Sabre left, leaving Antain here at the house. Would … she ever come back for him? She would have to, r-right? "Oh Antain," Jackie whispered, scooping him up in his arms as she tried to hold back her tears as well. "It'll be alright, Antain. I promise." She said, hugging him right as Antain returned the hug with his sniffling turning to small whimpers.

"It'll be alright," Eztli began approaching and took Baba from Antain's grasp. The fish was weakly flailing around, clearly losing strength. Before Eztli could toss Baba into the pool below, he stopped when his ears picked up a sound approaching outside the window.

A bulky figure crashed in through the large window, making the three of them jolt as its large leathery wings fanned out, immediately thrusting its sharp claws into the den in one smooth motion of an attack. The bat Extraspecies sneered before latching onto the roaring jaguar, ripping him out of the den and throwing him into the pool down below. "Out of the way!" The bat Extraspecies barked at the jaguar. Eztli roared during his fall, dropping Baba in the water and then quickly swimming to the surface while Jackie screamed in startlement, holding Antain tightly and turned her back to the attacker to protect the little frightened fox.

"Who are you?! Leave my hooman alone!" The jaguar roared again, jumping out of the water and quickly moving towards his tree to climb up towards the top.

"Eztli-!" Jackie shouted before the bat's large talons latched around her waist, ripping her out of the den as she tightly held onto Antain for dear life. If she was not holding Antain then she would have fought against the attacker; however, dropping at this height would have seriously injured Antain. "L-Let go of me!" Jackie shouted, twisting and feebly kicking the creature's other long leg but the creature's talons held firm as the bat shuffled onto the branch, pinning Jackie against the fake wood as he readjusted his grip.

"Struggle anymore, human, and I'll gut you." The bat ordered while he firmly latched his talons around her waist and lifted her in the air, quickly moving towards the window.

Jackie tightly held onto Antain, seeing the oncoming broken window before curling into a ball and protecting Antain within her grasp. Eztli roared and chased at them, leaping up and before missing the bat's leg but managing to leave a few scratches on him before Eztli hit the wall, barely grabbing onto the windowsill before hoisting himself up and seeing the bat flying very high into the night sky with the host in his clutches and a frightened Antain leaning against her.

"Hey, tell that fat lizard that Ale will be waiting for him soon!" The bat yelled with a loud cackle before flying away.

"E-E-! EZTLI!" Jackie screamed as she struggled to hold still, seeing just how far she was from the ground. She immediately tightened her grasp around Antain, keeping him firmly against her chest. Fighting anymore against the bat would make him drop her, killing both Antain and her.

"B-But we don't have a lizard!" Eztli shouted with lowered ears as the jaguar watched the bat fly off with his hooman into the night.

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 **Peekodeemeko12: What a development! 10 REVIEWS to find out what happens next!**

 **Chaos-dark-lord: What do you think of the thunder-bird guy? ;D I think some of you were already expecting Ale to come back, no? Well, things are spiraling out for Jackie. And where could Sabre be? Do you think she really left Antain for good? We are super about the next chapter. I personally promise you a very big surprise D**


	29. Chapter 29

THE LOST CHAPTER PART HAS BEEN FOUND! We totally forgot to add this part in that makes the story make SO much more sense, so sorry about that! Enjoy! It's just in this first part it's being added :3

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Kroc silently curled the 400 pound weights in his claws, silently staring at the wall with a steady and focused gaze. Thanks to Jaska going feral, Kroc couldn't go train at the fight club with the others or ask around the fight club for Ale's whereabouts. He was here, in New York, and now Kroc was stuck getting 'anger management lessons' for almost drowning that pathetic striped pelt. And why was that? Because the poor kitty cat was emotionally hurt at being 'rejected' by a single sheela. With an infuriated hiss he tightened his grip, his arm trembling in anger. That stuck up little brat. The moment he got the chance to spare with Jaska, he was going to show that feline just how angry he was.

A small series of soft taps caught his attention as he glanced outside, seeing the snow falling onto the city street and leaving a small film of white powder across the ground. In them, he noticed, were pawprints crossing the alley. Extraspecies paw prints, and he didn't know too many sheelas who went out and wandered the streets of New York. His eyes widened, surprised before he dropped his weight and walked over to the window, searching the alley before seeing Sabre steps into view, looking around the alley.

Startled by not only her presence, Kroc took a moment to examine her appearance. The sheela wore a long coat and big hat to cover herself, looking startlingly fluffy beneath the coat. Fluffier than when he last saw her, somehow. Her fur was roughed up, almost mangy looking as her head twitched every which way before she looked inside to him with her eyes seeming almost unfocused.

"Sheela?" Kroc asked aloud before he opened the window, hissing at the splash of freezing air against his scales. He backed away slightly, repelled by the cold but held out a hand to help her inside. "Sheela, why are you here? Are you alright?" He softly asked.

Sabre didn't speak. She took his hand and slipped inside, slipping a backpack off her shoulder before tossing it over to him. "Those are thermal clothes I got you. Put them on and let's go." She said, her head twitching and remaining high on alert for anyone who drew near.

"To where, Sheela?" Kroc asked, confused as the scent of blood and gunpowder crossed over his tongue. His gaze narrowed, noticing some blood splatters on Sabre's clothes. "Are you alright, sheela?" He asked, leaning in and examining the blood splatters; to his relief, they didn't smell like they were hers.

"Yes, just fine. I just accelerated my hunting is all." She growled, anxiously looking around. "Hurry up Kroc, this place sucks." She said, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the small room and seeing only a handful of weights around the room for Kroc to use.

"Ah … yeah, the hunting." Kroc said, recalling her self imposed mission she spoke of before. "So you really are leaving, Sheela?" Kroc said with a sad touch in his eyes, "will you be alright on your own?"

"I found Ale." Sabre stated, ignoring the question entirely and getting to the more important matter at hand.

Kroc's eyes widened in surprise before his pupils turned to slits and emitted a harsh hiss, barring his fangs in anger. "How, where and why?" Kroc asked as his tail swept over the ground, feeling his fists tightly clench.

"One of the prey I was chasing was working with smugglers that are working with Ale to give him shelter and food in exchange for his work subduing the trafficked Extraspecies. It's near the port and I already assembled the guys from the arena; well, most of them. And why?" She huffs, looking annoyed at the question. "I promised you I would help, didn't I?" She crossed her arms and growled.

Kroc hissed, just imagining Ale's throat in his jaws before he pulled on the thermal clothes, "and we're heading there now?" Kroc asked with a narrowed glare towards the window.

"Yes, and I got some help to prevent anyone from interfering. Even I cant deal with many nuisances at the same time" Sabre puffed her fur.

Kroc finished zipping on the thermal suit, staring at her. She didn't have to do this at all for him but he was very grateful for it. "Thank you, sheela." Kroc said, leaning over to her and softly tapping his snout to her cheek. "Really. Thank you." Kroc said with a soft slightly curved smile.

"Get, get your a**es out here already! It's freezing!" A hurried voice hissed into the room in annoyance, glaring at the both of them.

"Logan?" Kroc asked, looking over at the window and seeing the pissed wolverine hanging onto the window and glaring at them impatiently.

"Hurry up, you overgrown lizard! We don't have all the d*** night. Get out now or we'll go back to the arena." The wolverine snarled venomously.

"Heh. What did the sheela promise you to get you out here? New tools?" Kroc asked with a crooked grin in Logan's direction.

"F*** off, gecko. I'm here to see a good fight. Nothing gets better than an estranged father and son fighting to the death." Logan deviously smirked back at him.

Sabre nuzzled back before pinching Kroc's nose to get his attention. "This time you go in with backup. We'll make sure the fight is not interrupted, and if you even try to leave me behind I'll be the one ripping out your jaw this time." She threatened with a small hiss, clearly remembering the beach incident.

"If you insist." Kroc lightly laughed as he zipped on the clothes. "But how do I get out? I'm not as thin as you are." He said, looking out the tiny window and doubting he'd be able to slip free from the tight fit. "And I'd make too much noise busting it down to get out."

"Mmhhhh … well, we can maybe remove the window's frame?" She said, walking over to the wall with a network connection and then used an adapter to connect a usb before moving a piece of furniture in front of it. "I infiltrated the system earlier, so I only need to run a few commands from here to get us time, play a record of an earlier time in the security and cut the lights. This will take care of the system and cover our actions." She said as Kroc stared in confusion. "For being an Extraspecies center it has quite little technology involved in its security, heck I penetrated the one lonely firewall in minutes."

" … so, what are you doing, Sheela?" Kroc asked, leaning over her and staring at the strange technology. Humans loved to complicate things with technology; Kroc never personally was interested in the stuff but it was amazing what humans accomplished in using it. "Simplify it." Kroc said with a frown. He was an excellent fighter, just not very in the know how of human technology.

"Tch. Stupid brawny predator with a tiny a** brain." Logan muttered to himself in annoyance while staring at the windowsill.

"Human technology is somewhat difficult to understand at times." Prime heavily sighed, coming into view as he glanced around the room, "especially for the older Extraspecies not accustomed to being around humans."

"It's difficult for senile balls only because they refuse to learn." Logan growled. "Even that prissy peacock can pick up on it and all that's in his brain are his eyesore of feathers."

"Watch what you say." Prime reminded him with a smirk, "he pummeled you with ease before, remember?"

"F*** off." The Wolverine snapped back at the silverback gorilla, baring his teeth. "You want to go? I'll rip you limb from limb!"

"After we get done with this; hurry it up, Sabre." Prime reminded her, "the truck won't wait too much longer."

"Gezz, mock Indra when he's present. It'll be funnier." Sabre softly sighed with a small smile before addressing Kroc. "Ignore the details. Just know that I'm hacking it and this will cover for us for at least 12 hours; enough time to escape here. In 5 minutes the light will cut out and we'll have 15 minutes to cross the fence. Good thing you are on the first floor."

"Hacking?" Kroc asked, tilting his head slightly. Bothersome technology terms. "Just tell me where to go, sheela." Kroc said with a small hiss, eager to get his claws around Ale's neck.

Sabre took out a small mp3 player with speaker and turned it on; the sound that came out sounded like snoring; deep and altered, but snoring.

"What's this for?" Kroc asked, staring at the recorder.

"Something that will cover your little escape for at least all night." Sabre smirked. "I added to your file in the system the strict instruction that you should not be bothered under any circumstance if you are sleeping because it could be too dangerous." She grinned, happy with her own thoroughness.

"I don't snore. Snoring makes noise and alerts others to where I am." Kroc said with a crooked frown.

"Yes you do! We can hear it from everywhere in the house." Sabre grumbled, her tail swiping left and right.

"Do I really?" Kroc asked with a frown, seeming disatisfied.

"Would you all hurry up?! It's not that hard to get a stupid crocodile out of a program's room here and you're making it look like it's a prison break from Alcatraz!" Logan hissed in annoyance.

Kroc let out a small huff of annoyance as Sabre cranked up the noise of the snoring. She then went to the window and slipped through it with ease, looking back up to Kroc as he poked his head through and stared down at her. Sabre paused; that window was going to be trouble for Kroc. It was a decent bit smaller than he was.

" … so … want me to try the window?" Kroc asked, glancing back and seeing both shoulders firmly stuck behind the opening of the window.

"Yes! Just try to get out now." Sabre growled, passing him a bottle of kitchen oil.

"Are you an idiot? He's not going to fit through that tiny frame!" Logan snapped at Sabre, "look at that fata**, he won't even get his shoulders past it!" He pointed out as Kroc stared at the bottle, tilting his back and forth before tossing it aside.

"If he sucked in his gut then maybe." Prime said with a frown, seeing Kroc poke his head and arm through as he very slowly began to try and wedge himself out of the tight fit.

"The bottle of oil can help." Sabre huffed with a deep frown.

"He's a reptile, not a cat! He's not as flexible, you moron!" Logan snarled at her with a sharp glare. "D***, I hate idiots like you! You can't force an egg through a bottleneck!"

"That's enough out of you two!" Prime growled between clenched teeth, "stop arguing like a couple of cubs. What's important is trying to get Kroc out now and be fast about it." Prime reprimanded the both of them with a sharp glare in his eyes as Kroc's back claws scraped against the ground, struggling to push himself further through amongst the arguing of the waiting trio. Kroc used his free arm to push against the frame, shimmying his torso to try and work himself out further before he paused, glancing back at the groaning window frame. Between the circumference of his shoulder and ribs, he was now assuredly stuck.

"Mmmhhh … maybe we push him from behind while Prime pulls from outside?" Sabre scratched the back of her head, trying to figure it out as well. "We can't get out from inside the corridor. Too many eyes there."

With a loud snap the wood broke as Logan glared at the wrong piece he pried loose, turning and glaring at Sabre as though it were her fault. "No s***! I really wish you would have f***ing told me about this s*** before we came here! If I knew what kind of building this fat lizard was in I could have brought more tools!" Logan snarled at her.

"Geez, you too argue more than Indra looking for the right color to match his feathers." Prime sighed. "And we've all seen how that goes."

"One more color and he would be ridiculous … oh wait, he always chooses extra colors in his clothes." Logan snickered with a smirk.

"And talking about that peacock, wasn't he supposed to be here too?" Sabre asked with a raised eyebrow. "Last I remember, last week he said he was going to choose new curtain color for the arena's bar."

"He what?!" Prime loudly growled with a glare in Sabre's direction, "he better not or I'll rip his tail feathers out one by one." He snarled, just imagining the nightmare of colors he might later return to in his ring.

"C'mon, he actually has good taste … if you don't count his lack of capacity for sobriety." Sabre chuckled. "Plus, I'd like to see you fight him again, Prime. The last time you hardly touched him, either that or you just gave up to stop listening to him." She perked for a moment, her ears flickering "Almost everyone has done that."

"I hate chatterboxes the most. As much as I hate to admit it, that peacock has got some serious skill for some flashy herbivore prima donna." He heavily sighed in annoyance. "Glad he isn't here, he would have chatted us to death."

"Not before blinding us with his stupid flashy colors." Logan laughed with a dark grin, "I should dye his stupid feather coloring kits to black. Then we'd see who's laughing then." He devilishly smirked.

"That would actually be funny, except he uses those dyes for the tip of some of his feathers… maybe we can convince him to use them on his whole tail?" Sabre chuckled.

"It would be pretty easy to do. 'Oh, you missed a spot here, oh, you should touch up those colors there'. The next day his feathers would all be black, HA!" Logan loudly barked, "I bet he'd die of a heart attack!"

"Uh, mates?" Kroc said as he leaned forward, thrashing around a bit with his tail slapping against the wooden floor panels inside, unable to push himself out any further than he was at. Kroc glanced around before looking to the trio who stared at him, all of them frowning at the predicament they were facing. " … yeah, I'm stuck." Kroc admitted, trying to pull himself back inside but he was definitely stuck.

All of them turned towards Kroc, suddenly realizing the situation he got himself into as they were arguing. Silence followed for some moments.

" … you're all idiots." Logan heavily sighed as he angrily sneered, looking around the alley in aggravation. "For f***s sake Sabre, you didn't even think of a way to get him out of the f***ing window yet you had all that time to go hacking around with that f***ing bulls*** technology? What good are those skills when a stupid a** f***ing c*** is in control of them, who is a f***ing embarrassment to all felines everywhere, huh?!" Logan rapidly snarled at her, ripping out a long metal crowbar and a sharp knife from the black bag he brought with him, "I mean really, even a cow could do better than you!" He shouted at them as Sabre and Prime watched him walk over to the window and put his head to the wall, rapping his knuckles along the outside cheap panels while listening very, very closely for the reverberations.

"Hey! In the room's plans the windows were bigger! They Were supposed to be french sliding doors!" Sabre huffed, her already fluffy fur rising more. "And don't insult me, you smelly weasel! Because I've beaten you in every single stuff, whether it's technology or in the ring" She hissed before her claw quickly went to pinch the wolverine's ear so fast he couldn't grab it.

"Ouch! Well clearly they aren't, f*** for brains!" Logan hissed at her, pausing before he plunged the blade into the wall at a weak spot, working it around inside and managing to slip the blade into the frame slightly, popping it up a bit before getting the crowbar and peeling the trim off roughly but amazingly silently, tossing the frame off before he ripped off a small bit of the cheap plastic, "you're lucky this s***ty building is an old as f*** house with this plastic s*** of a cover! What would you have done it they were bricks, huh? Bring a little bomb out here to try and break him out? Because at this rate you're even stupider than this fata** crocodile who tried to push his way through a three foot frame when his build is five feet across!" He snarked at them, working the wedge of the crowbar into the large nail from the inner walling, ripping it out of place as he began to pull him out, "and this is supposedly new s***ty framing too, but those contractors did a serious s*** job on it!" He angrily hissed. "Prime, don't just sit there with your hand up your a**, grab Kroc and rip this moron out!" Logan barked at Prime.

"Hmph. You're lucky your brains are what keep you alive." Prime huffed before he grabbed Kroc's hand, locking grips with the crocodile as he began to start pulling the large saltwater crocodile from the tiny window.

"Not my fault the idiotic contractors made them wrong, you short doggo!" Sabre growled. "And use damn metric system already! Who the hell knows how long is a foot? A foot of what species, eh? Only three f***ing human countries in the entire world use the retard units!"

"And you're just as stupid as they were for doing this s***ty nail and now screw job, you moron!" He angrily barked at her before the large plank broke free. Kroc shot forward, stumbling onto the ground as Prime yanked him onto his feet.

"Oof, thanks mate." Kroc smirked, stretching himself out before his pupils turned to slits. "Now where's Ale?"

"Just follow us." Sabre told Kroc and began walking before she stopped to look at their accomplices. "Prime, Logan… go ahead you two. It'll be too noticeable if we four go out at the same time."

Prime nodded and began walking with Logan, trotting ahead and as soon as they were away, Sabre began walking again right over their footprints that would soon be covered by the snow.

Kroc walked besides her and she grabbed his wrist, staring at the clock, "get ready to run; the snow will cover our tracks in a few minutes even before lights come back." She said.

Kroc stared at her and all of them before faintly grinning. "Thanks, sheela." He grinned before he picked Sabre up, surprising her. "No need for them to know you were here, sheela. My buddies just came to get me is all." Kroc toothily grinned.

"Thanks … don't forget to close the window from outside. We don't want snow melting and water going out from under your door." Sabre lightly laughed.

"A little too late for that, sheela. It's completely torn apart." Kroc deeply chuckled, "leave it be. We'll be long gone before anyone notices." He smirked. The lights went out just in time, making Kroc perk up.

"That's our cue to get out of here." Sabre purred, nuzzling Kroc slightly as he began to head away from the building's perimeter. "As soon as we get out the perimeter there's a truck waiting for us."

Just before they reached the last turn, however, a loud snarl made the both of them jump. Kroc managed to toss Sabre away just as Jaska landed onto Kroc's shoulders, shoving the large lizard down onto the ground before the tiger leapt back, glaring at them.

"What are you both doing?" Jaska demanded, looking between the both of them. "Where do you think you both are going?" He harshly growled with bared fangs.

Sabre's surprised expression turned into raging anger as she jumped in front of Kroc, baring her own fangs and hissing. She was 1 step away from going feral just by seeing him. "D*** stripped menace!"

Kroc achingly groaned and got back to his feet, glaring at the tiger. "F*** off, mate. I've got business to get to." Kroc hissed at Jaska, frowning. This complicated things, that was for sure. If he had time he would have knocked the tiger around for going feral so easily and hurting everyone around him but he needed to leave to get to Ale. Fighting both Jaska and Ale in one night would assuredly be rough even for him.

"And where would that be?" Jaska asked with narrowed eyes. Seeing the two of them together was annoying and made his chest ache.

Sabre hissed at him one more time, getting on the ground on all fours ready to attack. She was trembling quite hard, hissing and snarling in Jaska's direction with no sign of letting up.

"Get behind me, sheela." Kroc said, gently grabbing her waist and pulling her behind him, glaring down the tiger angrily. "Let us go, Jaska. I'll be back once I'm done." Kroc assured the tiger with a fierce and angry hiss.

"Go die already. Don't get in the way, menace." Sabre's pupils were slits and her fur was as perked as it could be under her clothes. She hissed and arched her back, clawing a couple times in Jaska's direction without approaching, her tail lashing furiously behind her.

Jaska's eyes narrowed in annoyance as his own tail lashed back and forth. He could smell blood and gunpowder of Sabre, and he could see some bandages around her body which she subtly moved besides Kroc to partly hide from him while still hissing. His glare softened, realizing where she got those injuries. He really hurt Sabre that night. He wondered how long Sabre had been away from the house, smelling the host's stale scent on her body. His frown remained firm, staring at her. "You smell like blood and gunpowder. Why?" Jaska asked with a not so intense hiss before Kroc suddenly charged at the tiger.

Jaska roared and easily dodged the crocodile on the slippery around, leaping up onto a nearby wall and twisting around to tackle the crocodile down onto the ground. Kroc's foot slipped out from under him as he stumbled onto the ground with Jaska over his back, grabbing Kroc's jaws and holding them shut. "No more fight, Kroc! You no win here with ice and snow." Jaska hissed, knowing he had a strong advantage over Kroc but before he could get a firm grip he felt the hit of Sabre over his back. With a roar he let go and rolled back before she could bite his spine. With those long fangs it would have been a killer bite. Unlike the crocodile, Sabre was going for the kill and Jaska knew this.

Sabre spat a ball of tiger fur and tackled Jaska from the side, slashing at his midsection before jumping away to avoid retaliation, further making him move away from Kroc as she repeated fast faints and attacks from the sides of behind. The tiger may have been stronger and more used to the snow but she was faster and more agile than he was.

"Knock it off, Sabre!" Jaska roared at her, backing away and taking a cautious approach to this. "What are you trying to do here? Why are you breaking Kroc out of classes and where are you both going?" He questioned in a harsh tone and angry frown. "Are you two eloping?" Jaska asked, finding the explanation to be farfetched but still possible.

If possible, Sabre only got angrier. "YOU D*** FAKER!" She jumped forward, but instead of attacking his throat right away she leapt again towards the side and his back to slash at his tail before flipping back to land on his back

"Is that all you can think about, you idiot?!" Kroc angrily shouted at Jaska. Without warning Kroc shot up, while Sabre clawed at the tigers back he grabbed a nearby trashcan before throwing it. Sabre jumped away and the trashcan knocked the tiger over onto the ground.

Sabre's eyes narrowed as she leapt onto Jaska, trying to jab her claws into his eyes but he but caught her wrists, holding back her claws as she desperately tried to bite out his neck yet Jaska countered with his own menacing canine teeth, feigning bites at her face to force her back before managing to throw her off. Sabre flipped around with ease, sliding across the snowy slick ground before Kroc landed a hard punch across Jaska's face, dazing him for a brief moment but that was long enough. "Sorry, mate. But I won't let you interrupt this for me." Kroc hissed before twisting Jaska around and slamming Jaska with his tail against the brick wall.

Jaska let out an agonized cry as he staggered onto the ground, spitting up blood before Kroc brought his tail around and slammed it against Jaska's head. The tiger barely put his arms up in time to defend himself, tumbling across the snowy ground and into a dumpster with hard force. Jaska dropped to the ground unconscious with a small blood splatter against the dumpster from the crushing force that knocked him into it.

Kroc tilted his head, seeing the tiger not getting back up after a hit like that. " … hmph. Hit him harder than I meant." Kroc said with a stiff frown. Well, leaving him half dead here made up for what he did to the sheelas. For now, anyway.

Sabre saw her target down but still breathing. With a feral hiss she approached, claws extended and few tears coming out of her eyes with full intentions of slitting the tiger's neck. She still hadn't forgiven him for what he had done to her. She wanted him dead and gone.

"Leave him, sheela." Kroc said, picking her up and hugging her to his chest. "He's not worth it. We need to go and you have other things to do." Kroc said, hugging her tightly while walking away, keeping her head fixed in the crook of his neck and not letting her jump away to kill the fallen tiger.

Finally, Sabre nodded while choking a sob, "we have like 1 minute before the lights come back. Let's go." She achingly said, holding onto him tightly and gritting her teeth tightly together. "I want that stupid striped menace dead!" She cried, snarling with her tail lashing.

" … nah." Kroc said, making Sabre flinch, "Jaska is an a**hole, but he's not an a**hole that deserves death. He's still a good predator." Kroc said, thinking twice, "he's just made mistakes."

"He does!" She sobbed, sniffing against the crocodile.

" … if he had killed either of you sheelas I would have killed him. But he didn't kill you or anyone else; he just made a very bad mistake. Mistakes happen." Kroc said, feeling the tiniest bit of sympathy towards Jaska. When Kroc mistakenly killed his mother after going feral, he was torn up in agony. Jaska made the mistake of going feral and they were all lucky he didn't kill anyone.

"He did worse Kroc ... he … he," she bit her lip to shut herself up and say no more. "Let's just go. I won't see him ever again after this at least."

Kroc let out a soft sigh, nuzzling her gently. "It's alright, sheela. Deep breaths; after this both of us will get what we want, yeah?" Kroc smiled, rubbing her side comfortingly. Sabre nodded and buried her head against his chest as he picked up his pace, carrying her into the darkness of the allies towards the truck.

 **MWMWWMMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMMWW**

Jackie's heart raced as they soared over the empty city side streets, clinging onto Antain as tightly as she could manage. If she struggled, she'd not only be killing herself but Antain too. The little fox seemed to sense this, tightly holding onto Jackie in return and keeping silent through the flight. The thought sent chills down her spine as she struggled to take deep, even breaths and keep calm. "W-Why did you kidnap me?" Jackie's trembling voice barely managed to ask through the howling wind, looking up at the bat Extraspecies.

"D***, this hooman is heavy!" The bat groaned and held tighter onto her with one talon while releasing the other slightly to accommodate her better, always looking ahead and flying high. Jackie tightly gritted her teeth, trying not to panic since he kept juggling her back and forth between his talons, unable to decide which leg to hold her with. The host decided to buckle down and hold on, trying to keep it together. She had a little kit to hold onto and this bat was tossing her around like nobody's business! "Great, now I'm hungry." He grumbled, flying up a bit higher. He stopped flapping to pull out an apple from his pants, falling down while doing so before righting himself.

Jackie held back a terrified scream, hugging both Antain and the bat's leg. What the hell was wrong with him, they were going to fall if he kept doing that! The bat flapped again to gain some height and then stopped flapping again while biting the apple and dropping down a couple meters, flying poorly and clumsily every time he took a bite of the fruit.

All this jerking around made Jackie's anxiety sky rocket as she grit her teeth. This was horrifying. "HEY! BAT!" Jackie half shrieked up at him in terror, trembling so hard she thought she was going to shake right out of her skin, "stop eating and flying, it's a safety hazard! Just land and finish eating!" Jackie snapped at him, digging her fingers into his calf to try and keep her grip. Antain in the meantime was cuddling against her, the soft whistling of the air putting him to sleep while Jackie kept hold of him with a deathlock grip of steel. With a new munch on the apple and a drop in altitude, the bath ignored Jackie again even as she tried to dig her nails into his leg for his attention, which barely bothered him at all. "I-I'm serious! Just freaking land somewhere and finish eating, I won't even run! You're going to drop me if you keep doing that!" Jackie nagged. If she was lucky maybe she could convince him to let her pet him; if she could seduce him with her petting then she could run away while he was a pile of mush.

The bat rolled his eyes and then dropped, flapping to land softly on the roof of a small building, setting Jackie on the floor. She let out an achy breath of relief finally being on the ground but his extended foot held her waist firm with his large claws around her waist, keeping her back to him which was more vulnerable. He stared at her in lazy annoyance while he finished his apple and then took out another apple to eat, completely uncaring about the situation at hand and acting like he's done this many a times before.

Jackie stared at him, trying to locate possible weak points for petting. He was very tall and lean, packed with muscles and thin furred; he was obviously a bat but looking up at his tall pointed ears which almost resembled fox ears she wondered if he was an experiment. "Are you a flying fox?" She asked, studying him rather closely as he munched on the apple. Maybe if she got him talking she'd be able to subtly convince him to let her pet him. She only needed to get close enough to grab his ears and work her magic.

He looked down while eating on his apple, core and all but he didn't answer. The host stared back at him, making a physical effort to withhold her laughter as she saw his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's with the apple pieces, with him slowly munching on the apples as he continued to stare at her. His expression was stiff and uncaring, studying her every movement.

Jackie stiffly frowned, continuing to stare right back at him before pausing. What does submitting look like to a bat? Unsure of what to do her gaze wandered slightly to the side, keeping him in his peripheral vision. "Why did you kidnap me? Can you answer me that, at least?" She asked, opening her jacket and slipping Antain inside to keep the sleepy fluff safe in her arms.

Swallowing the apple the bat shrugged and continued to loudly chew. "Ale wants you." He said, acting as though that explained everything.

"Ale?" Jackie asked, unsure of who he meant, "who is Ale?"

The bat blinked. "You don't know?" He scratched the back of his head and looking annoyed. "Hnnn well, you'll meet him soon so it doesn't matter. And why are you so heavy, hooman?"

"Should I?" She asked, confused. That name sounded familiar but she wasn't sure where she had heard it from before. "And I'm heavy because I'm a human." Jackie pointed out in annoyance. "Is Ale your host?"

The question threw that off before he took a double take at her, measuring her sincerity before loudly laughing. "You really don't know!" He grinned, suddenly seeming much more entertained before he laughed off into a drawn out sigh, his expression becoming more serious once again. "No matter. As I said, you'll meet him soon. I just need a little snack to regain energy." He explained.

"I thought flying foxes only ate one type of fruit." Jackie asked, puzzled as he polished off the apple, "and don't you mostly just eat the juices of the fruit?" She asked, hoping to keep him talking for a bit. Ms. Smith forced her to study up on many different kinds of Extraspecies with special attention towards bats. It made her think Smith might be planning to get her one as a charge but she hoped not. She had too much charge drama at the moment as it was and to top it all off she was just kidnapped.

He stared at her long and hard, frowning, "you have too much energy to be talking this much." He sighed in annoyance, yanking her over. His claws released her as she hit his chest, startled as he brushed her hair to the side and held her waist with his other clawed hand, preventing her from escaping with his large wings enclosing around her. The tight hug startled her as he shuffled her closer, making sure her arms were pinned. "This is payment for annoying me while I ate." He said, leaning in against her neck before placing his lips against her skin. She jolted in surprise, feeling him sucking on the skin tenderly with his surprisingly soft lips. A light flush rose on her cheeks in confusion, trying to figure out why he was sucking on her skin before she felt two sharp fangs pierce her skin.

"Ouch-!" Jackie shouted, startled as she immediately pushed against his chest but he tightened his grasp, lightly digging his claws into her sides.

"Keep still or I'll bite your artery." The bat warned while keeping her into a tight grip. His tongue dragged over her neck, massaging the skin to ease more blood to the surface before he eagerly munched down, faintly humming as he took small gulps of the meal.

The host dizzily leaned against him, feeling her neck achingly pound. Was he going to eat all of her? The thought sent a nervous shiver down her spine as she reached up behind him and began to rub and massage the base of his wings. At least now she was close enough to make him succumb to her petting.

The bat Extraspecies let out an aching groan and slowed down his pace, thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of the pets as he took his time with his small feeding respite. "That feels nice and your blood tastes good … hey wait!" He moved away from her touch before biting harder.

"OW!" Jackie shouted in pain before he suddenly released her, making Jackie drop to her woozy knees as she covered the wound with a hand. Ouch … that hurt a lot. "W-Why did you bite me?!" She demanded, glaring at him.

"You can't fool me, hooman. I know your petting can be good … _too_ good. That's how you trick and keep charges under control." The bat hissed while pointing out at her. "Try to fool me again and I will do more than one bite." He warned as the Extraspecies reached for his pocket for another apple but found it empty. He looked down in confusion to see a small fox cub cutely looking up at him, hugging the apple and purring against it as his tail lightly wagged.

The bat's jaw opened and he remained still for a few seconds before flailing his wings and looking around, half expecting to see the mother come by out of nowhere. "Where did that cub came from?!" He shouted, backing away quickly with his ears and eyes darting around them in a frenzie panic.

"F-From my house. You kidnapped us both." Jackie said, finding the strength to walk over to Antian and pick him up, feeling the pup cuddle against her happily while hugging the apple, lightly munching on it.

"You … are you it's mom?" The bat bit his lower lip while looking between the pup and the human. The protective maternal instinct in mammals was unparalleled; he knew that. What was amazing was that this human was showing enough restraint to not be ripping him apart right now, whether or not he was a strong Extraspecies. Female mammals were known to viciously protect their young, humans included.

"No," she said, seeing the bat let out a breath of relief, "but he is the cub of one of my charges."

"D***, Ale never mentioned pups." The bat bit on his nails, looking quite nervous as he mumbled to himself. "And it's too late to take him back or leave him somewhere … well, at least he is a fox, foxes aren't that scary." He quietly mumbled to himself as Jackie's eyes gleamed.

If petting didn't work then this might. "Actually, Antain is adopted. I don't have a fox charge other than Antain." Jackie said, watching the bat's eyes widen nervously.

"So you have a mom … mmmhh … a predator? What kind?" He asked in a somewhat nervous way. Ale only mentioned her charges were all big predators, which was why he grabbed her while she was with the one who seemed to be the weakest or at least the most distracted. But a female predator with a cub … that was bad, bad news.

"Yeah, a predator. A big one." Jackie nodded. "She's been known to attack anyone who attacks her cub. Well, anyone that gets too close to her cub without her permission. She's attacked most of the charges of my house before, especially the Siberian tiger, even the big crocodile, heck, even my black mamba." Jackie said while struggling to hide her grin. This bat wasn't a predator; he was prey, at least to any bigger predator he was. "Sabre is pretty scary too … clouded leopards have the biggest teeth of all the big cats, did you know that? Like a modern smilodon saber tiger." Jackie asked, finding it funny how panicked he was.

"Oh, no! The pup's mother will surely track us down, b-but she'll go for Ale, right?" The bat suddenly started to stutter in fright, his eyes widening.

"Ale hasn't done anything; you were the one who took us." Jackie pointe out, "and so she'd go after you too and first. She's very skilled at tracking, a terrible and very successful predator. If you let me go, I might be able to convince her to leave you alone since you haven't hurt Antain yet." Jackie said, holding up the little fox boy as he stared at the bat, giggling and reaching out to paw in his direction, giving a small roaring mew.

"The ... the cub meowed! No, no, _noooooooo_!" He was borderline on having a psychotic attack of panic, appearing to be panicking before glaring at her with a trembling claw, "hold him tightly, hooman, and don't you dare drop him! I'll take you to Ale fast and then I'm out!" He leapt over onto her, making Jackie scream in surprise. Oh no it backfired! He tightened his grip and began flailing his arms to take flight, quickly resuming his kidnapping and flying as fast as he could towards the docks.

 _Note to self … next time pet like my life depended on it._

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"D***, you're heavy, stop being so heavy! Ihave to hurry." The bat hissed, soaring over some massive cargo boats on the port before soaring down into the opening of a large warehouse. The bat zipped about the beams before landing on one, holding her over the far off ground with a grin. The sense of protection he got from the others in the warehouse seemed to calm his nerves, making the bat much more cocky as he throatily grinned, appearing completely different than he was just barely an hour ago.

"This her, Len?" The bat called with a loud laugh, jostling her around some more to make her unfurl a bit to show her face.

"Ah~ can't see from here. I think you need to come closer." A lion Extraspecies called up, toothily grinning while eyeing up the young woman.

Bat grinned and swept off the ledge, nearly making Jackie scream as he dropped her into the lion Extraspecies arms.

Len held her head still, leaning in and sniffing her, "yeah that's her. She smells like that cute kitty and the brute tiger, not to mention Ale's kid." He laughed, dumping her onto the ground as she remained curled into a ball with Antain hiding against her chest. Who the hell were these Extraspecies and why was she kidnapped? And who was Ale? Her mind whirled around with possible explanations as Antain cuddled closer to her with a small purr.

"So this is my boy's host, eh?" Ale said with a toothy grin. "Nice to meet ya, sheela." The deep voice said before she turned, seeing a massive Saltwater Crocodile staring down at her.

"A-And you are?" Jackie barely squeaked out, sitting up and facing him. Yikes this guy was _big_. He was bigger than even Kroc and had twice the amount of scars. The host's blood ran cold as she recalled his comment from before. His boy's host … did that mean he was Kroc's father? Her eyes widened.

Oh she was in trouble.

The saltwater crocodile's large toothy mouth pulled into a sadistic grin as he reached down towards her. She flinched, giving him a hard look while trying to contain her trembling. If this Extraspecies was Kroc's father then she was in danger. This guy killed his own mate, Kroc's mother! "Heh," he deeply chuckled, sweeping a piece of hair back behind her hair with surprising ease, "seems like the boy told you about me, hm? Are you frightened, sheela?" He darkly grinned.

"N-Not really." Jackie admitted with a stiff frown. "You won't hurt me."

"And why would you assume that, sheela?" The old crocodile asked amused, his fangs showing along his jaws.

"Because if you wanted me hurt y-you would have done so earlier. I-I mean the bat, would have." She corrected herself, glancing up into the rafters and spotting the glowing eyes of the bat roosting upside down.

"You look so little and defensive." The large crocodile chuckled, "it's funny. Humans are funny."

Antain uncurled from her arms and looked at Ale, tilting his head and sniffed the air. Smelling something familiar, he brightly smiled and reached out to Ale with one hand while with the other he holds onto his blanket, his eyes shining happily. "Mama?"

Ale paused, spotting the little fox before gruffly laughing. He leaned in, getting a better look at Antain. "And where did this little snack come from?" He asked with a deep set grin, "smells tasty." He noted as a cold flash of fear shot down her spine. This guy was deadly. He could snap Antain up in a heartbeat and eat him.

Len came besides Ale and looked at the fox as Antian cowered a bit under his blanket, still looking at Ale and keeping himself in Jackie's arms. "This one is Hellcat's adopted kid. She never took him to the arena according to Barge but she had him with her at the beach." Len remarked with a smirk, drawing closer towards her side as she backed away, sticking closer to Ale's sides.

"This was unexpected but I suppose it doesn't matter. More reason for him to come." Ale smirked and then extended his hand to grab the pup. "It's been long since I've seen such a small hatchling."

Jackie tightened her grip around Antain protectively, holding the boy away from him. "D-Don't touch him!" She snapped at him, using her own body to keep them separated.

Ale stared at the scene before breaking out into a loud laughter. Her heart began to race, not knowing what he was planning to do as she held Antain closer to her chest. "Now ... don't this brings back memories? My late sheela used to hold onto that little gecko the same way." He deeply laughed with a large grin.

"W-Why was I kidnapped?" Jackie asked, noticing Len reaching for Antain out of the corner of her eyes. She turned away from him, watching him click his tongue to the roof of his mouth in disappointment as Jackie worked on keeping herself between the predators and Antain, who had his eyes locked onto Ale the whole time with a confused expression.

"Simply to give Kroc a reason to visit his old man. I doubt he'd accept a formal invitation to a family reunion otherwise." Ale responded with a smile that showed many of his sharp teeth. "Makes things more interesting too." He throatily laughed.

Antain suddenly squirmed out of Jackie's hands and jumped onto Ale as Jackie's heart skipped a beat. Ale's jaws cracked open slightly as Antain landed on top of his snout, meowing playfully and batting at the crocodile's non-metal claws. "Mama ok! Nuh etal!" He said, shifting around in place while getting a better look at Ale's jaws.

Ale jerked his head back slightly, looking quite surprised at the completely unafraid little kit before he loudly laughed, nearly flipping Antain right off an into his jaws. Jackie nearly had a heart attack as Antain hopped down the crocodile's spine, running around his feet before looking up to him with a bright and happy smile on his face. "Mama!" He excitedly giggled, staring at a large scar on Ale's ankle before he leapt at it, pawing at the discoloration. "Ain't this little ankle bitter brave and curious? My own lizard was completely afraid of me for quite a while and could only cower behind his ma's legs."

"This little brat is _begging_ to be eaten." Len darkly laughed as Jackie quickly lunged forward and grabbed Antain, holding him to her chest and backing away from Ale. Th-That was too much for the host's heart. Ale could have _easily_ snapped up Antain! The young fox turned around, mewing and reaching out towards Ale in a playful manner while giggling excitedly. Although Ale didn't seem to want to harm them, all of her instincts screamed to hold the little kit close in case Ale changed his mind.

"Can't deny he has courage getting that close to my jaws like that." Ale chuckled, clapping his jaws together towards Antain as he giggled and wormed around in Jackie's grasp to try and play more with the large Extraspecies.

"Who cares about the little tyke? Go ahead and snap him up, Ale. I want to have some fun with the host of that a**hole tiger who got in the way before." The lion Extraspecies said as he grabbed Jackie from behind, making her shout in fright as he lightly bit the back of her neck. Len reached around and tried to grab Antain but she curled away from him, feeling her heart pounding hard before a protective maternal streak of violence sparked in her.

"Don't touch him!" She shouted, backhanding Len across the face before backing away and protectively holding Antain away from the lion.

Len loudly roared before he lunged at her, making her scream as he tightly gripping her neck. His claws scraped against her skin as he leaned down towards her shoulder and bit her again as punishment. "Quiet, you f***ing hooman. I'm going to rip you and that kit to shreds and give Kroc the bloody clothes afterwards. We don't need you alive for the rest of this." Len hissed, parting his jaws to bite and crush her skull.

Ale's hard claws gripped the back of the lion's neck and yanked him up, making Len roar in pain before Ale whipped around and slammed his powerful tail against the lion. With a pained scream Len tumbled across the hard ground, slamming into one of the pillars as he twisted around and rubbed the back of his neck, hissing and backing away from the overgrown lizard, "jeez, lighten up! It's not like we need her alive or anything." He huffed, annoyed.

"Don't touch the sheela." Ale hissed with a calm and deadly tone. His pupils were slightly strained as memories came back to him. He turned towards Jackie and took a step forward, analyzing her. "Now you _really_ remind me of my old mate. She really liked to hug that little lizard in that same way." He said, sounding almost delightfully nostalgic.

Jackie's heart ached in fright as she backed away from Ale, looking terrified while she tightly hugged Antain against her chest. "D-Don't come any closer." Jackie fruitlessly warned, shakily getting onto her feet and holding Antain away from him.

"But the memories make me so nostalgic, it might make me hungry." He then began nipping towards Antain while looking at the host's scared face, finding her expression to be quite amusing.

Jackie sucked in a fast breath, holding Antain in one arm before her other arm shot up and firmly jabbed her thumb under his back right jaw where the scales were the thinnest, seeing his pupils enlarge in an adoring manner; a weak spot she learned from petting Kroc. "I-If you don't touch Antain, I'll pet you. Ho-How does that sound?" Jackie offered.

"Pet? _Me_?" He laughed hard, quite entertained by her 'sacrificing' herself to spare the pup. "Why not? I've never tried that; last human whose hand got near my jaws didn't get his arm back." Ale's hand grabbed Jackie's arm, dragging her along with him as she stumbled after him. The large saltwater crocodile took a seat on a wooden bench, pulling her onto his lap so she sat on his thigh. He wrapped his hand around Antain, pulling him out of Jackie's grasp and holding him far away from her.

"H-Hey, no!" She cried, desperately reaching for the giggling fox while Ale's arm wrapped around her waist, forcing her to stay where she was.

"Pet me, host. But if you don't pet well, I'll eat the little snack." He threatened with an amused smirk.

Jackie's heart skipped a beat as a fiery determination set in her gaze. Well, this is terrifying. Pet him well or Antain gets eaten? She shakily breathed before she sat up, pressing her hands against Ale's chest before she began making deep rolling motions with her palms and fingers, pressing hard so he could feel the pleasant sensations while moving her hands up around his neck and shoulders, avoiding the thicker scaled areas and sticking with the thinner skin so he could better feel the sensations.

Ale hummed along in enjoyment, half closing his eyes as Antain slipped out of his grasp and hopped down Ale's arm, standing up on his shoulder and hugging his head before lightly nibbled at the ridges scales going down Ale's spine. He let out a pleasured thrum, tilting his head back slightly as Jackie preciously worked all of his weak points. "This also reminds me before Kroc became a pain in the a** and began making my sheela to get in trouble. Good sheela, I would have kept her fine all over if it wasn't for that lizard." Ale gently took her hand, pressing her warmth against his cheek as he briefly imagined his precious sheela being with him, opening his eyes to stare at the host. "Now, host. Why don't you tell me what's been happening to Kroc in the program?"

"S-Sure … but, why was I kidnapped?" She questioned, quite puzzled at why she was taken by a bat out of her home. "If you wanted to ask about Kroc you could have just come to see him yourself." She said but from what she remember Kroc telling her, he wouldn't be happy to see Ale at all.

"Hm. I see the boy doesn't talk much about me." Ale throatily laughed, humming in amusement as Jackie worked her hand up under his jaw, making his head tilt back and expose his thrumming neck to her.

"Not much." Jackie admitted, trying to think of how to further diffuse the situation.

"Tell me about my son, host." Ale said, lightly snapping his jaws by her ear, making her shudder as he breathed on her, "talk, or else I eat the little tyke." Ale said, holding Antain in his arm as the little fox sleepily nuzzled against him with a soft purring in his chest.

"Alright." Jackie said, trying to think back on anything and everything related to Kroc. As to why Ale wanted to hear about Kroc she had no idea but if that kept the dangerous Extraspecies docile then she would pet him until he was scaly mush on the ground.

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On a city highway, Ms. Smith let out a soft sigh as she drove her black military grade truck down the streets of the roughed up neighborhood, pondering how she would convince Jackie to go on another vacation while she prepared a large enclosure for a bird Extraspecies. Sure, Jackie already had many charges on her hands but this was just too good of a chance to further prove her skills to pass up. Not to mention that they needed a nice place for the special reunion she was planning, and if it went well, then her problem with the council could be solved. Yes, a lovely place in the snowy mountains was the perfect place for such reunion.

"Oh, I never told him, did I?" Ms. Smith noted aloud before picking up her phone, speed dialing for her lovely secret feline before setting the phone aside and turning on her bluetooth speaker.

The phone rang for quite sometime, making her think he was sleeping before she hear the click and a very groggy yawn on the other line. " _Da, Smith?"_ The deep accented voice groaned, sounding rather husky before he cleared his throat, drinking some water.

"Hello, kitty cat. How are you feeling? The doctor says he can hardly make you take a decent rest without you trying to wander somewhere." The coordinator smiled even though he couldn't see it.

" _Too cramped. Bored. But wounds better."_ The feline heavily sighed, " _why call? It late."_

"You should listen to the doctor and rest up. I'll have a special visit for you very soon and you'll want to be rested for it" Smith barely managed to refrain from giggling in excitement.

" _Oh? And who that be?"_ He asked with a shaky exhale, softly wheezing while trying to hide it. " _I tired Smith, it late."_ His voice drawled on, sounding forced.

"It'll be a surprise, but you'll like it." Smith assured, taking a curve on the road towards Jackie's residence, parking in front and turning off the car.

" _Da … ok."_ His voice grumbled, " _when be here?"_

"Real soon, so rest up well. I'll arrange a transport for you. Would you like anything in the meantime?" The coordinator asked, but the only answer she received was soft snoring from the other line. Ms. Smith softly smiled and hung up, setting her phone aside. "Rest easy. It's been hard for you, but it will be alright. You managed to survive through that." She softly reassured with a genuine smile to herself. She hopped out of the car and walked up the stairs, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door and eagerly waited, trying to decide which bird Extraspecies would work best for this host's home. Perhaps a bat would be better since there were already so many cats, the bird might have too much trouble. But then again, if Reza had fit in so well without much problems … well, maybe some, there was no reason why her next pick wouldn't work.

After an entire minute of complete silence Smith knocked again but since no one answered the door she grabbed her phone and called. She could hear the phone ringing but no one picked it up. She then called Jackie's phone but it went to voicemail; and so did everyone else's phones. But it was when Reza didn't pick up that he knew for sure something was wrong.

Smith's heart skipped a beat before she pulled out a tranq gun, grabbing the railing beside her before kicking down the door in her high heeled shoes. "If no one shows up now, I'm going to have to send you all to socializing classes," she threatened, slowly moving into the house and listening intently for any kind of movement. Her eyes scanned the room, finding bandages left out in the living room and a bowl of some left over meat that had fallen onto the floor. She slowly moved through the house, feeling herself panicking. Where did they all go? She did not authorize and outing and Jackie would have picke up her phone is she was out.

Something was very wrong and she did not like it one bit.

She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, calling her agency which answered on the first ring. Before they could get out a greeting, Smith began barking orders, "trace the phones of the charges belonging to the house of Jackie Penske. Find their location and immediately send some ground grunts to check it out. The house is empty and no sign of anyone here." She said before she heard a splashing from Eztli's room.

Coming inside and kicking the door open with her gun in hand, she noticed the water of the pool splashing. Recognizing it not to be any of Jackie's charges she shoot without hesitation while the smell of the room reached her nostrils. "Ugh-!" She gagged, covering her nose and mouth at the foul, skunk-like smell before finding some of Eztli's herbal supplies floating in the pool. She walked over, taking a closer look to find a large overfed fish floating in the water with its belly up. Ah … it seemed she killed Reza's pet and the household mascot.

"D*** it, where are they?!" Ms. Smith shouted before raising her phone again, "get me Griffin now!"

The phone rang for a few brief moments before it answered.

"Ms. Smith, now is not time. We observing trafficking ring and locating Extraspecies who slipped in." He stated in a hard growl, seeming anxious. "B******s. They slip in, preventing us from going in now." Griffin growled, barking at someone from afar in Russian to give some more orders.

Smith paused for a moment. "What do you mean by that? Extraspecies are going in there?"

"Da. From smell, it Jackie charges." Griffin snarled in annoyance. "We wait, hoping they come out. No risk going in now."

"All of them?! Go in and get them out!" Smith barely refrained from screaming her order, panicked.

"Niet. Heavily guarded. They may spook into shooting others who follow." Griffin hissed. "If mock turtle here, he go take care, but he on other assignment." He grumbled, sounding as though he were complaining to Ms. Smith.

"Wait for me then, I'll be there soon. Only go in if something bad happens." She ordered and hung her phone and briefly looked down at the fish starting to splash again and moving in circles on the surface of the weed pool before she rushed to her car, jumping in before her phone began ringing. With a brief glance at the caller ID, she saw it was the Rehabilitation center. "What?!" Smith loudly barked, "why are you calling me? What happened?!" She demanded, flooring the gas pedal and taking off down the street towards the docks.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Smith." The woman on the line spoke calmly upon hearing Smith's mood. "But as the protocol for high profile charges dictates we call you immediately. Jaska, the Siberian tiger, was found unconscious out in the garden and Kroc, the saltwater crocodile, is missing. We have no idea when that happened but could have been during today's small short circuiting of our systems."

Ms. Smith couldn't believe this was happening. This was a nightmare and she had a bad feeling it was going to get a lot worse.

"LOOK OUT FOR THEM! ANY CLUES." Smith nearly screeched into the phone, turning on the sirens of her vehicle and kicking the accelerator pedal. If any of them so much as had a scratch on them, this program was going to tank! Ms. Smith's eyes narrowed, ignoring speeding laws of all kinds as she zoomed down the road.

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In that navel of a hanger at the docks, a certain group of Extraspecies were checking out some very large boxes that suspiciously had holes for air and ventilation. Leading them was a bright blue bird ruffling his feathers, happily looking around at the variety of boxes before coming across one that was singed and broken to pieces. He cheerfully smiled, pointing it out.

"I escaped from one of these. While inside I overhead a bat Extraspecies complaining about some retrieval job; it's certainly the same scent as the one who attacked Eztli." Niyol said, leaning over to Eztli and gently sniffing his head as Eztli purred and nuzzled back against him. "Yes, definitely the same scent." Niyol explained while looking around. "What a terrible predicament. I'm sorry I cannot be much more help." Niyol cheerfully smiled, seeming pleased.

"And how is this going to help us?! We have no idea where that bat could be!" Dumisa snapped at the bird in irritation, emitting a sharp hiss of annoyance as he wavered back and forth, "this gives us hardly anything to work with! Chances are that he is no longer here!" Dumisa irritably hissed as he looked around, finding himself getting horribly anxious and fearful about the host's fate. At this rate she was going to be eaten down to the bones.

"Who knows. Maybe he was taking her back here to eat in his box." Niyol unhelpfully suggested, "other than that I'm afraid I'm not sure how much more help I can be."

"Eating the host raw is not good. She should be seasoned first." Reza then paused, looking up in thought and sitting more heavily in his wheelchair Eztli was pushing, "then again, eating the host might not be a good idea … maybe … probably? Mmhhh … in the cases that our hosts are eaten, can we get a new host? Can cats track down hoomans? Or is that only for canines?" He shrugged, crossing his arms before turning around to look at Eztli who was nuzzling up to Niyol. "Isn't that common for mammals in general?"

"You're useless, both of you!" Dumisa angrily hissed at both the bird and fish, rearing up and angrily exposing his blackened mouth.

"But at least you remembered the way back here. Thank you, birdie." Eztli grinned . "Do you really think Jackie might be in one of these boxes?" He asked, looking to Niyol.

"She might be. I do not know where she would be otherwise." Niyol answered, walking around and looking for fresh tracks in the ground but couldn't find much.

"It's unfortunate but I can't help much here. We should put a tracking collar on the host when she's on land. I could track her easily in water, though." Reza mused.

"Really?" Eztli asked before looking over to the water, "then you can look for the host from there!" Eztli excitedly grinned, grabbing the back of the wheelchair and began making a running trot for the water. "Let's all look for the host! And later we can cuddle." Eztli grinned.

"W-wait! The waters of this city are cold and dirty, and AHHHHHH!" The lionfish screamed with horror at the same time he was dumped over the edge of the port line into the cold, dirty and smelly waters of New York.

"You search her from there, Rez! I'll go check the crates!" Eztli loudly called while running away towards the wooden crates, easily leaping up onto a nearby crate, using the extra height to get a better view of the area.

"I'm gonna make sushi out of that cat!" Reza growled, dizzy and twisting in the horribly fetid water.

Eztli frowned, wondering which box the host could possibly be in. There were too many boxes and it would take a while to look through all of them. As he sat thinking he paused, flicking his ear as he heard a female's voice from inside the crate he was sitting on.

"Isn't it nice that we are together in the dark already? Why don't we take advantage of it?" A melodious giggle accompanied the female voice. "It's hard to find a male already tied before I do so myself."

"No, noooooooooo!" A muffled voice screamed in terror from within, making Eztli perk up.

"I should actually thank that bat for the entertainment and meal." The female voice chuckled before moaning very deeply.

"Hey, I hear something in there. What about a bat?" Eztli asked, scratching at the nails holding the crate down, peeling off the nails of the wooden container. "Host, are you in here?" Eztli asked, flipped to the side and beginning to pry it open.

"Is she in there?" Dumisa called from the bottom as Eztli ripped off the top of the large crate, barely having time to look inside before a small whitish male spider Extraspecies, a more human-like appearance with multiple arms instead of a spider-like bottom females possessed, shot out of the container and very quickly scurried away, screaming in terror the whole way.

"Awe … boo. I was hoping to play with him longer." A female voice sighed heavily as a large black spider crawled out of the container, looking around the area for her toy before she pouted.

"U-Um, excuse me, Ms. Spider? Have you seen my hooman?" Eztli asked, peeking inside of the container to find lots of spider webbing in the shape of a large bed inside but no hooman.

"Hmmm … ? The only humans I have seen are detestable, disgusting humans reinforcing the crates." She huffed in annoyance before locking her sharp gaze onto Eztli, narrowing her eyes at him. "Are you with them? If so, it was stupid of you to open the crate." She said with a smirk.

"No miss. Im looking for my host. But … are you fine, miss? This crate seems too small for you to be comfortable." He extended his hand to her but once she latched onto his claws he was yanked down. The large bodied black spider with a bright red hourglass on her rear got on top of him, pinning him to the ground with her powerful leg.

"In any case dear, since my date for tonight run away." She passed her finger over Eztli's chest, running it down his sternum and watching him innocently looking up at her in sincere confusion. Her heart skipped a beat at his adorably innocent expression … so innocent she just wanted to taint it. "I think you could very well take his place." She said with a careful curve of her lips, letting out a toothy grin.

"Place? For what?" Eztli asked, twitching at how much pressure she was using to hold him down. He was a bit uncomfortable but he was a strong feline so he wasn't going to complain. His innocent eyes glanced at her nearby leg, seeing a light cut on it and some blood. "Hey, you're hurt … hmmm … are you okay? Here." Eztli said, gently taking her leg and pulling it closer. The spider frowned, unable to pull it away as her grin wavered. Tch … this prey was very strong. Eztli leaned over and softly began lapping her wound, cleaning off the blood before pulling back and brightly smiling up at her, "there, all better! My host says affection is the best for the worst of wounds." He brightly smiled up at her.

The spider blinked and then smiled. "My … I think we can play a bit first. I haven't had a bastet before."

"We bastets are rare it seems, señorta." Eztli stared up at her, seeming puzzled. "Are you going to eat me?" He asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "I haven't played with such a pretty spider before. Haven't met one at all actually." He moved his head up, sniffing her a bit, his hands holding leg and caressing it.

"Your accent is cute too." She shivered lightly, all her eyes examining the fine male specimen. The kitty was bigger than the cute male spider but he was quite cute and charming. Perhaps she would be able to have some fun after all before having a good meal.

A hard force slammed into the side of the side of the box, jostling the both of them before the bottom of it was completely broken to pieces. The female spider hissed and managed to leap off of Dumisa's whip-like tail, landing high up to a spot of safety with her prey, Eztli, having landed safely on his feet amongst the wreck.

"Stop playing around, you sorry excuse for a feline! Go look for the host!" Dumisa snapped at Eztli in anger.

"Ok! The host can play with us too later." Eztli smiled, jumping over some piled crates with incredible agility and running towards the farthest crates to start looking

Dumisa turned to the spider, making her flinch. "Dare mess with any of us and you'll meet a venom far more deadly than yours."

"Like I'd mess with any of you here. I was playing but now you ruined my date and my mood." She growled, annoyed before she turned away to go find her fun somewhere else. Perhaps she'd track down that adorable albino; that could be plenty of fun. "Now I have to hunt down that adorable albino … oh well. I'll find him soon enough." She viciously smirked before walking off calmly without so much as a speck of gratitude back in their direction.

Dumisa angrily hissed, turning towards Niyol who was cracking open another container to help search for the host, only for a blue lizard Extraspecies to break free and quickly run before they could question it.

"Are you sure the host was taken here, you rat with wings?" Dumisa angrily hissed, twitching his tail back and forth impatiently as Eztli opened another crate, finding a large blue frog inside. Before he could say anything, the frog burst past him, knocking him over and disappeared amongst the crates while croaking in terror.

"Awe … they all keep running." Eztli pouted. "Not here either." He called to Dumisa.

"I hope they can get to some real host soon and fast." Niyol mentioned, "I also hope we can find your host soon. She was quite nice. Oh! Is there room for one more at your house?" Niyol happily asked with a hopeful smile.

"Absolutely not." Dumisa immediately hissed.

A deep groan of displeasure interrupted their conversation as Reza glared at them, annoyed at being ignored this entire time. While they were walking around on the clean ground he was stuck in the disgusting water watching from afar. There was not enough food in the world that would be good enough to make that stupid black furred jaguar into.

"I'm not saying it … okay, I'm saying it. This water is of the grossest I have ever seen. It's polluted, has grease and many other nasty things in it. I'm going to need a big bath when we get back and I'm a fish!" Reza complained at the dark waters of the New York port, watching the Extraspecies from the creates run away as he leapt up onto the ledge of the storage area and began opening some crates himself. He did not bother asking the escaping Extraspecies anything as most of them took the chance to dash away into the night. He wanted to spend as little time in that filthy backwater as possible and he was only looking for the host now so he could demand baths for days from her. "The host will have to scrub me 10 times day after we get back … and I won't mind the small tub with hot water and those salts."

"Hey, it seems like there's a human there." Niyol pointed out towards a shadow that could be seen on a nearby building. The moment he said those words the black mamba and the jaguar ran towards the source, leaving Reza and Niyol in their dust. " … or not." Niyol cheerfully smiled, watching them chasing shadows to try and find someone to question. With that serpent and jaguar gone he was now free to hunt down who he pleased. Niyol turned, heading in the opposite direction before he paused, glancing over and finding Reza staring up at him. " … well, aren't you going to go chasing those humans too?" Niyol asked with a cheerful smile.

"I don't chase shadows." The fish shrugged, trying unsuccessfully to move some of the grim off his scales but only ended up spreading it around, making him gag, "ugh, this is gross." He pouted, grabbing a nearby rag as Niyol stared at the surprisingly sharp fish.

"Whatever do you mean?" Niyol politely asked with a cool expression which Reza ignored entirely, instead concentrating on his scales

"Besides, if there's any trap in there that cat is gonna regret tossing me in this horribly dank waters." He answered, not bother to answer his question but instead continue his thoughts. After a moment of wiping the lionfish stopped, staring at his scales before glancing over at the colorful bird. "Although funny, it was a bit obvious, bird. Why did you send them away? Normally that plot would be if you were actually working with the smugglers and wanted to send them some new preys … or it would be the bad plot for a serial killer movie. You're eyes look empty like the humans do in those movies." Reza pointed out, pausing before his tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Why do humans like those movies? The are always the same too, never changing and always ending the same way … with the one with the empty eyes usually dying in the end no matter what he tries." Reza said, staring at Niyol.

Niyol's smile tightened a bit, staring at Reza with a glassy stare. What was most troubling was that the stare held nothing at all; impossible to read. This was a very deadly predator. "Quite the clever fish. Careful not to go belly up in that filthy liquid the humans refer to as a river." Niyol smiled calmly. "But enough about that. What about you?" Niyol asked with a precise kind smile. "Don't you mind that your … friends, left you behind?"

"Not that I mind it if they get butchered; after all, they left me with this gross water! Could they take me ... well, probably, maybe if I had time to put on stoppers on my spines, but even then it would be hard, maybe?" Reza was left behind to ramble and complain to himself, realizing quite quickly that the bird was gone. His complaints fell silent as he stared into the empty, desolate space with a firm frown. " … oh no, I'm fine, don't mind me." Reza said with a very annoyed frown. He tapped the floor with his fingers a couple times, wanting to follow the bird but out of water he would easily be outrun. However, not being near the water and dragging his already filthy scales on the dusty asphalt was not exactly appealing to him at the moment. There were still various unopened crates around to explore. "Hmmm … let's look for ingredients then while looking for the host." Reza cheerfully smiled. Surely no one would notice if a few ingredients went missing. Then once everyone was home he could cook them up something special.

Reza approached a crate when a lean humanoid figure began making his way very silently but in plain sight between the crates. The plant Extraspecies would not have warranted any of Reza's attention with exception that the figure was carrying certain blanket with a kitty embroidered on it; Antain's blanket.

"Hey, you, mind giving me that blanket back? It doesn't belong to you and taking stuff that isn't yours is rude. At least in human culture it is." Immediately pulling out a double set of knives in each hand, Reza tossed one set and hit directly the figure in the chest where the heart should be and the other stuck in his forehead, both knives stuck half their length's deep. The figure leaned back ever so slightly from the power behind the throws but remained standing, taking a moment to collect himself before he slowly turned towards Reza.

With all due calm the figure slid the knives out of his body and tossed them back towards Reza with expert precision but the fish managed to evade them but not before he was somehow pinned down to the concrete by the green figure that had traversed the space separating them incredibly fast. The merman used his other set of knives point blank to slit the throat of the attacker and to stab his chest once again but the figure barely reacted. Instead the stranger's arm slowly pulled back, shifting and forming a large lancehead pointed down to stab Reza but the strike remained poised and ready.

The slitted throat of the man stitched back together with a few thin vines, closing like the fatal injury was nothing before the man spoke. "You have the same biochemical signature on you than the one on his blanket. A complex scent of orchids… the blanket's other 'scent' is cinnamon and apple." The Extraspecies, covered with so many plants that only his violet and orange eyes were visible along with some strands of a deep red violet hair, spoke. "This blanket and you also 'smell' like the all great and mighty Heika Sabre, the swift bringer of demise and death, and liberator of the captured. The storm of violent murder of the enemies of Extraspecies, the savior of the condemned, the fangs of the night and the claws of the sunset; she whose fangs are daggers, she whose her claws are knives, she whose tail is the silent fluffiness which whispers death in the night," he continued, going on and on about useless titles.

Reza, by the end of the title naming speech, laid limp on the concrete and bored out of his mind. Such a long naming of titles for a single person made him remember the horrendous boredom he had to endure during the naming of every single meeting he was forced to attend while guarding the queen of the sea. "Yes, that blanket smells like Antain and Sabre, so can we cut this short? And would you perhaps tell me what you want?" Reza groaned with boredom, not even registered how this weird guy was referring to their local female kitty and cub.

Without blinking, the man answered. "I want to know the location of the mighty Heika so I can uphold my sacred duties to her blood and her territory, mighty be her ruling era." He said with a brief closing of his eyes out of respect before returning his gaze to Reza.

"If you give me that blanket I'll tell you that the apartment building is situated on 123 street street at address 456, closer to the North and by the Deli shop. Her home is on top of the Penske's Home Garage which I believe is a home for abandoned and broken cars if I recall correctly. Our building is the next one attached to it but you can easily get into it through a broken vent on the roof which leads directly into the hallway leading to the doors of everyone's rooms." Reza said with a straight gaze, his eyes locked on his target of the blankie.

" … ah. Thank you, Hidenka of my Heika." The stranger said, getting off Reza and handing him the blanket. "I shall be the Heika's new gardener. My name ought to be Naoki of whatever last name my Heika possesses." He pulled back, staring unceasingly at the fish. "Do you think my great Heika will get upset because I assassinated some of the others that escaped her wrath over the past few months? I assumed she let them leave so she could hunted them down at her leisure but seeing her taking so long in doing the job I thought perhaps she was testing the loyalty of her subordinates so I decided to take action." He explained with a rather neutral expression.

Reza had no idea what this … plant ... thing was speaking about, "I don't know but if Sabre had left some prey alive maybe it was to teach Antain to hunt? No, if they are dangerous to her cub then she'd definitely want all of them dead." Reza said, pondering the thought himself.

Naoki's eyes widened for the briefest of moments, the most emotion Reza saw the creature make, "I see, then I should see to it that those escapees won't bother her mood or her mighty lineage. I won't sleep until such an oath is fulfilled ... although I don't need to sleep anyways." Without saying anything more, he began walking at what appeared a slow speed but that covered far more ground as if he was sliding over the floor with each lazy step.

Reza stared after the strange creature before sighing off to the side. Looks like gathering ingredients wouldn't really help anyways. Might as well go find the others and help them on their wild goose chase. With a lazy roll Reza began making his way towards where the others disappeared to.

 _Note to self … don't let the black cat push your wheelchair, don't let the snake lead the way, don't let strange dead eyed birds lead the way to dark secluded places, don't forget to re-sharpen the knives before going out … oh, was the sharpener left on? Maybe that plant will check it. But that plant was very weird, it just wouldn't die no matter how many times it was stabbed. Maybe sharpening the knives would have helped with that or better aim but it's a plant, so … mmmhhh … maybe I shouldn't have told that plant our address either. But the plant seems to know Sabre so oh well. But wait, that plant also gave her so many titles. Is Sabre a noble? She didn't act like much of a noble though and she acts too odd for any common extra species either, but she definitely had the kind of eyes that's a killer. Maybe she's a mercenary? She is expertly trained. But that doesn't make much sense, she wouldn't have kept a kit if she was a mercenary. Maybe just a super protective mom? Who know. Bha, it's boring to think about. Hmmmm ... I haven't had so much fun before getting into the program now that I think about it. Everyone has been having fun it seems, maybe I should call Smith about what celebration customs are proper… but she's been busy with that Aleksey guy. She mentioned him a couple times when speaking about our territory. Didn't Sabre mention that name too at some point? Nha, I can't remember and it doesn't matter. In any case I should maybe celebrate the fun, it's not that I want to celebrate with them or anything of course, but if I wanted to … would many different trays of sushi would be better than an array of sashimi? Mmhh… maybe I should do both in middle quantities … or prepare extra? Well, Sabre does need to eat for more than one now with that litter on the way, so she'd have to eat a lot more sashimi than the others. But then again Kroc or Dumisa would eat a whole lot more Sashimi than Sabre anyway, so I'll have to prepare some miso soup too … or maybe I should experiment with ramen, that will be more filling … do I have proper bowls for ramen? I don't think so, they are too small, well, I'll only have to call that store and order some big ones. I do have the host's credit card number so it's fine … but will they have bowls big enough for Extraspecies? No problem, I'll just make some custom order directly to the fabric._

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Sorry for the long delay, enjoy the chapter! The second this hits _**10 reviews**_ expect the next chapter to be up within the same week :D

 **Chaos-dark-lord: Yep, we're back, and I'll make sure to smack Peeko to keep that promise up.**


	30. Chapter 30

Ale's booming laugh echoed through the warehouse, thoroughly entertained by the host's stories involving his son. Story upon story she told him, from the attachment he had to clothes just out of the dryer to the incident at the beach. She was trying to come up with as many things possible to keep this terrifying predator entertained, all the while thoroughly petting him. "And you're telling me Kroc didn't take your arm off?" He throatily laughed

"No, he didn't. I really thought he would though." Jackie laughed along with him, watching as Antain playfully jumped his lap while occasionally pawing at his lower jaw, seeming fascinated with it now that the lower metal jaw was no longer there.

"And how is it that he and Hellcat go to the illegal arena so often? I've heard they've gotten a small win streak fighting in there." Ale asked with a curious look.

"What?! Th-They have?" She asked, sounding mortified before pausing, thinking about their personalities before thinking about the stack of money Sabre had when she first paid her off for food and accommodation. " … oh crap, that makes so much more sense now." Jackie heavily sighed. Since when were they sneaking out to go do that crap? Or better question, how did she, the host, not notice this?!

"What? You don't like seeing good entertainment?" Ale chuckled. "There are many newbies but watching them get crushed is quite entertaining. Only the best make it to the top and survive." He reminded her with a smirk.

"I don't." The host stated with a frown, "I don't like seeing people o-or Extraspecies get hurt. That's not entertaining to me."

"Ha!" Ale loudly barked with a grinning hiss, "are all small sheela's that meek?" He laughed. "My sheela used to say stuff like that. Without me that little lass would have been ripped apart way before that lizard was born." Ale darkly laughed, gently tightening his grip on Jackie to hold her closer. "You're almost her same size, sheela." Ale noted, touching the side of her head with his snout before closing his eyes, appearing to be reveling in her small size against him. "Soft hearted and soft shelled, just like my precious sheela." Ale nostalgically murmured under his breath.

A light pounding of wings caught Jackie's attention as she immediately snapped her arm out and grabbed Antain, pulling him back close to her while keeping up her petting on Ale. She was absolutely not going to let anyone sneak up and try to eat Antain; the lion had already almost grabbed Antian when Ale wasn't paying attention and if she hadn't pointed the lion out, who knows what would have happened. Up on the beams above them, the bat Extraspecies who kidnapped her hopped around uneasily, looking rather panicked. "Ale! Something's up, you should check what's going on outside." He said, looking around nervously as his trembling ears twitched and turned every which way.

"Away with you, mate." Ale said, waving his hand off to make the bat go away as Ale snapped his jaws by Jackie's face, making her jolt in fright, much to Ale's amusement.

"But it's really import! Ale, put that hooman away, we've got other problems!" The bat snapped at him.

Without warning Ale firmly grabbed Jackie's hip, keeping her pinned against his side before he leapt up to a startlingly high height, grabbing the bat by the neck. The bat shrieked in fright, ripped down from his roost as Ale irritably hissed at him, tightening his grip to the point the bat could only helplessly squirm in his grasp. Ale's pupils turned to slits, glaring at the bat with such an intensity that even kit softly whined in fright, tightly holding onto Jackie and hiding his face.

"You are the one with problems mate. It would be a problem if I rip out your wings finger by finger, yeah?" The crocodile hissed and his claw grabbed one of the bat's wings, forcing it to extend and making the bat scream louder. But before Ale could follow through on his words, a loud bang filled the warehouse. Everyone snapped their heads up, their attention focused on the large dent that was made against the warehouse's doors. After a brief pause another hard hitting punch drove through the metal, revealing a large furry black arm before the doors were wrenched apart, tearing open a hole large enough for the large Extraspecies fighters of the illegal underground fight club slip on inside. Amongst them was Kroc who had his searching gaze looking for a particular saltwater crocodile while Sabre scanned the warehouse herself, familiarizing herself with the environment.

"Oh ho! Look who came early." Ale throatily laughed, sliding his gaze over to Barge who slipped inside and away from the rest of the fighting ring gang. "You ruined the fun, cow." Ale said with a dangerous smirk, not seeming too worried.

"They forced me, Ale." Barge said with his head down, slinking off to the side before Ale turned his attention back to the small gang.

"So what's all this, then? A battle royale?" Ale's cheerful voice boomed through the warehouse.

"Just a nice set up so you don't cheat. If you want an illegal fight you should take it to the arena." Sabre smirked, showing her fangs, "or the arena will take it to you."

"Ooh~ I remember you, sheela. Kroc's maiden in fur armor, yeah?" Ale asked with a throaty laugh. "Cheat? I don't recall cheating. I was just playing with my boy before." Ale murderously grinned, glancing back at Jackie who was standing partially behind him, trying to back away without him noticing. Ale's tail lightly slapped against her back, making her let out a small scream before he grabbed her and held her in front, letting her be seen in front of everyone who was there. "Don't be so shy, sheela." He encouraged with a dark laugh.

Jackie nervously swallowed, tightly holding onto Antain as she stared at Kroc and Sabre who stood afar from her; too far for her to run to before she would have been crushed by any one of the Extraspecies there in the room. "H-H-Hey, Kroc, Sabre." Jackie shakily said, nervously waving. "So uh, I found your dad." Jackie said, pointing back at a grinning Ale.

"Mama!" Antain cheerfully cried, reaching out to her and giggling excitedly while Jackie held onto him firmly.

Sabres eyes widened and her pupils expanded, her ears dropped flat and her tail went straight up in fright, "Antain?!" She felt ice needles striking her heart. Her knees seemed to get weak and the air was suddenly hard to breath. Her pup was near such danger!

Kroc's eyes widened in fright as his jaws cracked open, in shock from seeing the host and kit there. The rage which encaptured his face was enough to frighten even the most naive of humans. "HOST! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kroc roared, his color dropping two shades of green.

Jackie shivered at the tone of his voice but even if she wanted do, she wouldn't be able to get away. Not with these behemoths everywhere.

"What's wrong my boy?" Ale asked with a hearty laugh, wrapping his arm around Jackie's back before yanking her closer. The host looked up at Ale, startled by the harsh tug before seeing the crazy intense grin curling up his lips. "Not happy to see your old man so soon?"

"Don't touch them!" Kroc hissed with such horror and desperation that Jackie could hardly believe such a tone of voice came from the usually fairly calm crocodile.

Sabre roared and then lunged towards Ale but Prime caught her arm and held her back.

"Get away from that pup before I beat Kroc into ripping off the skin from your bones and your teeth from your jaws!" Sabre struggled in Prime's restrain, roaring in every terrifying way possible. Her claws dug into Prime's arms, making the gorilla flinch but hold firm, his expression actually somewhat scared. "If you touch one hair from that cub I'll wrench out your intestines, tie you up with them and drip acid between your scales before I pull them out with red hot pliers! I will leave only your eyes open so the last thing you f***ing see is your empty f***ing shell of a body!"

Meanwhile, Antain looked at his mama, waving his hand to get her attenion. "Mama! Mama!" He then pointed to Ale and to Kroc, "two koc mamas!"

All of the guys from the arena stopped for a second to blink before looking at their Hellcat, but the first to ask what was on everyone's mind was Prime. "You have a kid?"

When Sabre answered she didn't looked at them, her gaze was solely focused on her precious cub. "Why else do you think I never decided to move further in the ranking even though you knew I could easily get onto the big league? I couldn't risk getting too harmed." She growled, struggling again.

"Calm down, hellcat. He'd kill them before you reached them." Prime, the silverback gorilla, said with a cool voice, now understanding why she was just about to attack so uncharacteristically upfront.

Sabre gulped down all her immediate primal instincts and nodded. Although she wanted to dash forward and grab her cub away, doing that would only endanger him

" _You_ of all people forfeited entering the big bucks league for a cub? I don't believe it. You are supposed to be a hardcore pussycat." A wolverine snorted behind her. "F***ing weak. You? A pup? It's not even a cat! It can't be yours!"

"Shut it, Logan. Should I remind you how many times I've kicked your arse?!" The leopardess growled at the annoying wolverine before speaking to the host, now controlled enough to not rush forward recklessly. "Why the hell are you here with Antain, host?!"

"I-I was kidnapped by a bat, that's why!" Jackie explained, trying to lean away from Ale but his claws lightly dug into her plush skin, threatening to cut her.

"You want a fight Ale, so let the host and the pup go." Kroc hissed, his tail hitting the floor with a resounding crack. Kroc only had eyes for Ale now.

"HA!" Ale barked, gripping the host a little more tightly. "What's the matter, boy? Afraid of a little convincing there?" He questioned with a throaty laugh.

The Extraspecies from the arena naturally began spreading slowly to form a circle around Ale and his company while Kroc took a step forward, entering the Extraspecies made ring. Extraspecies on both sides of the matter came together, cohesively making the ring large for the two heavy hitters to fight it out.

"Since when did you all take pity on bleeding hearts?" Ale deeply laughed before picking the host up and tossing her right out of the ring. Jackie curled into a protective ball as the lion caught her, setting her on her feet and grinning over her.

"You're mine now, sweetheart." Len tightened his grip on the host, threatening to snap her spine if anyone dared to draw too close.

"We don't, but we are always up for a good fight." Logan grinned showing his teeth. "More emotional fights make for the best entertainment."

"I don't see the profit here. No audience, no show." Ale sighed with a shrug as Len put a claw up to Jackie's and Antain's throats, threatening to sever them if anyone of the opposing side dared to come too close.

"Exactly, all the shows should be on the arena. It's our business. We already have the monopoly on that, so we can't let the competition arise can we?" Prime answered with a shrug.

"You're grasping at straws, mate. Admit it; you just want to see one hell of a bloody f***ing fight." Ale viciously grinned with a deep throaty laugh.

Prime grinned once again, closing the circle. "Of course, but that's only part of it."

"K-Kroc, Sabre." The host almost pathetically called, flinching as Len tightened his claw against her neck. She saw the fear and determination in Kroc's eyes, but when she looked for Sabre, the feline had vanished into the crowd.

Ale murderously smirked, backing away and preparing for a fight. He wasn't prepared for this but his mates knew what to do. Out of sight the bat flew towards the beams with a concealed gun in his hands, ready to sharp shoot from above where no one could reach him. Unawares to him, a stalking predator had noticed him but did not intend to stop him; first she needed to get her cub.

"D*** … I knew this hooman would be trouble. I should have killed her and that kit when I had the chance." He pouted, cocking the gun so it would be ready. "Whatever. All I need to do is keep away from the angry mother." The bat Extraspecies said, pausing before lightly trembling at the thought of a mammal mother. He scanned the crowd, pausing for a moment. " … wait, where's the mother?" He asked aloud as his face paled. As the bat situated himself, the briefest of inhales alerted him to the presence of another. His head whipped around, spotting the terrifying glowing eyes of a furious predator glaring down at him and leaping his way along the beams with extended claws and VERY large and big fangs.

The bat barely managed to move back and avoid her fangs when he received a slash over his arm that came accompanied with a very strong kick to his side that knocked the air out of him, both hits of course included the slashes of claws as sharp as scalpels. His gun feel to the floor quite uselessly, the only thing he could do was flap his wings to get even farther back.

"So you are the one who took my pup?" Sabre growled, jumping forward with her hands slashing from above. The bat moved back but when her hands touched the wall, she used them as the base to pivot her body forward in order to kick the bat's head down against the beam. "I'll rip you up before I kill you!"

"OUCH!" He screamed, barely escaping the next clawed swipe directed at the back of neck coming from a hellish angry feline, quickly fluttering away in fright. He gasped, recognizing her scent. "Y-You're really the mother of that kit! How did you get up here so fast?!" He nearly shrieked in fright.

Sabre jumped forward, fainting another attack to make the bat evade to the right while she leapt to a higher beam and then up to the ceiling structure, running along it a couple meters upside down before jumping down over the bad to slash at him. Just by sheer luck and instinctual panic did the bat manage to roll in the air and toss her onto a beam and narrowly avoided her killer bite. He gained enough momentum to propulse himself away while the angry bastet chased him, hissing all the way. The bastet wasn't just going in for the kill. She wanted to rip him apart before killing him.

The commotion, of course, was noticed by the others down below as Ale let out an annoyed sigh. What useless mates he had. The squabbling made Prime's expression darken. He did not tolerate any cheating; but then again, this wasn't a fight in the ring. This was a fight for a life, the most thrilling kind of fight. But he made a promise to Sabre to ensure the others didn't interrupt the fight between Kroc and Ale.

"Don't tell me you're a fighter who actually likes outside help in the ring?" Prime said with a deep chuckle, "no one likes a cheap cheating fighter. Fight if you want to live or roll onto your back if you want to die. It's not that hard to figure out," Prime said with a smirk.

Kroc's pupils shifted to deadly slits. With the outsiders taken care of he could focus on the one thing that mattered right now and that was ripping Ale apart. Oozing with a terrifying air, every bit of the saltwater crocodile's concentration was locked onto Ale. His focus did not waver in the least as he stepped towards Ale with a deadly hiss filling the tense air.

"Just playing, mate." Ale said, shifting his entire focus back to Kroc. Both of them remained apart from one another, sizing each other up. "I like that look, boy … now you're ready to rip me apart, yeah? Like you did to my sheela?" Ale asked, waiting for a momentary lapse in concentration but none came. Kroc was in the zone for murder, completely and utterly focused on his target. Ale's trembling grin pulled up, exposing his terrifying teeth in his excitement. "Looks like I'll have to be serious this time around." Ale said, his smile slowly starting to fade as he too slipped into the adrenaline packed zone for the fight of his life.

Sabre hissed and lunged for the bat with great speed but the flying Extraspecies used his wings to thrust himself away from her reach. Without warning she lunged for the bat, startling him as she landed on his back and latched onto him. He immediately spun, trying to throw her off but her claws dug deeply into his membrane and made him screech in agony. The high pitched scream signaled for the start of the fight.

Both large bruisers charged at each other, meeting with a thunderous slam of their bodies. They latched onto one another's shoulders, trying to get the other one off guard as their jaws locked together to try and outmuscle the other one. Their muscles bulged as their hisses rang through the air, getting lost in the cheering crowd of the intense fight. Ale and Kroc were laser focused, trying to angle their heads ever so slightly to try and bit off the upper jaws of the other opponent.

Jackie stood watching this horror, feeling her heart aching for Kroc's sake. She had to get the hell out of here and call for Smith immediately; someone was going to get killed otherwise!

"Careful there, if you move too much I might rip her throat." Len said while showing off his claws too near the hooman's neck.

The wolverine still moved forward. "Who cares about the hooman." Logan growled with a grin twisting his lips. "I can get them away from your corpse. Just drop them so I can sniff the pup to see if it's really Hellcat's." The wolverine viciously smirked as he drew closer to the lion.

"Sure, if you want the human to die, that is." Len answered with an uneasy grin, tightening his grip around Jackie's neck.

"Stop, stop! Choking-!" Jackie rasped as Len tightened his grip, making her gasp for air while trying to keep a tight grip on Antain. After a few tense moments Len frowned, seeing the wolverine approaching regardless of the hooman's predicament. With a hiss Len loosened his grip, a low growl rumbling in his chest at the approach of the other predator. Jackie gasped for air, grabbing her neck and rubbing her sore skin before glaring at the lion, "do you really think they care about my life?!" She tried to scream at him but it came out like a rasping whisper, following by mangled coughs as she tried to get her voice back.

"The hooman is right, at best she'd be an interesting snack. But I wanna sniff that pup." Logan said, staring at the little fox as he cuddled up against Jackie, hissing at him and at the lion.

Len get out a menacing hiss, keeping the hooman meat shield in front of him as the wolverine slowly advanced. Just before Logan was about to launch an attack, a heavy shaking of the ground made the fighter turn before spotting a charging Minotaur heading his way. Barge lunged for the wolverine before he leapt over the charging bull and tackled the lion to the ground.

Jackie let out a terrified scream before falling to safety as the wolverine rapidly began attacking the lion's neck, hissing angrily as he was tossed aside. The host let out a startled and shaky breath, holding onto Antain tightly as she looked around to find a door to escape out of. There was no way she could do anything to help in this situation; she knew that. This fight was beyond her expertise and she needed to get Antain to safety before calling Ms. Smith.

"Get back here, you wretched hooman!" Barge shouted angrily. Jackie whipped around, spotting a bull minotaur heading straight for her. With a scream she desperately tried to avoid the attack but his large hand shot forward, tightly grabbing her around the waist before lifting her into the air without any problems.

"Let go of me!" Jackie shouted, struggling in his grasp before he grabbed her with both hands, slowly beginning to crush her under his steel grasp. The host began gasping, feeling the pressure against her torso steadily and quickly increasing as the minotaur tried to crush her. "Stop, stop that hurts!" The host called out, keeping Antain out of the brute's grasp and tried to keep a firm grip on him. "LET GO OF ME!" She screamed, fearing for her life now. For some reason Ale spared her from death earlier but now that was gone; she was on her own amongst these brutish Extraspecies.

"Nothing personal but your body will distract Ale's kid enough that Ale can kill that bugger." The minotaur with a desperate glare in her direction. "Just die quietly!" Barge snapped at her before grabbing her face, muffling her screaming into the palm of his hand while beginning to apply a crushing pressure.

In her struggle to get free, Antain managed to slip out of her arms. He looked up to Barge's face, blinking before Antain crouched down and quickly pounced onto his face before biting his nose. Barge flinched, startled as he tried to shake his head to get the fox off but Antain bounced around his shoulders, growling before biting his eyelid hard. In his struggle the minotaur dropped Jackie onto the ground, letting out a loud, annoyed bellowing call. "You little rat, get off my face!" He shouted before Antain jabbed his hand into the bull's eye. Barge let out a loud shout in surprise, slapping his face trying to swat the little fox dead but Antain ran around his arm with ease and leapt off, flying over and landing on Jackie's face. The host fell back, gasping and wheezing for air with a bright flushed face of horror having just barely survived that encounter. The pressure in her head still felt like it was there as she grabbed Antain, stumbling to escape before she collapsed, holding Antain against her chest while tightly clutching onto her head.

"I'm going to crush you, you little brat!" He shouted in anger, making a charge at them but a hard hitting punch across Barge's face made the minotaur falter, turning and glaring at Prime who stood between the minotaur and his prey.

"Women and children that aren't part of the fights are off limits." The silverback gorilla growled, narrowing his gaze at Barge, "you can fight me instead." Prime smirked devilishly, putting up his fists and getting ready for a fight.

"Like I wouldn't!" Barge shouted at him angrily and charged right for Prime.

The heavy sound of the heavy fighters clashing echoed through the warehouse. More and more fights were beginning to break out between the high testosterone males, all the while the main fight continued in their struggle for survival. In the center of it all Ale managed to lean down and use his shoulder to throw Kroc aside, leaping over Kroc to crush him under his feet but Kroc, fast for his size, used the same trick to toss Ale sideways.

Ale twisted in his landing with the intention to use his tail, sweeping it along the floor to make Kroc fall. Kroc hissed and leaped forward over the tail, snapping his metallic jaws at Ale but narrowly missed his face. Ale took the chance to throw a left hook and punch his son's metal jaw, expecting it to come loose but it held firm as Kroc punched him back straight in the snout. Ale stumbled back, but not without managing to kick Kroc away and give them both some distance.

Both stumbled back, hissing at each other with their slitted eyes fixed onto the other. They stood there, staring and studying one another, before they very slowly began circling each other with their tails tapping over the concret. Ale suddenly jumped back and Kroc predictably followed. The older crocodile whipped around to slam his tail against Kroc but Kroc managed to dodge by dropping over the floor. When Ale's tail passed over Kroc rolled towards it, catching it in his jaws.

Despite the acute pain Ale reacted and stomped over Kroc, slamming a claw under Kroc's jaw. He yanked Kroc over by the jaws but Ale was unable to dislodge the jaw or make Kroc release his tail, much to his aggravated annoyance. With a loud snarl Ale then went to bite Kroc's neck but Kroc saw it coming and shot his claw up to catch Ale's jaws, forcing them shut and effectively bringing the fight to a standstill.

Both crocodiles reached an awkward stalemate that lasted for some time until Ale began punching Kroc wherever he could. After a few hard hits Kroc used his legs to propulse himself and roll away into the dreaded death roll, ripping out a chunk of Ale's tail in the process and making Ale shout at the pain. Before Kroc could stand back, Ale jumped forward and rolled, catching Kroc's tail but not enough to grab a chunk; instead, he opened up a long tear across Kroc's tail.

With a mighty kick, Kroc slammed Ale's jaw onto the concrete while getting his tail free and making the older crocodile lose a few teeth. Ale twisted again, tossing his slightly shorter tail towards Kroc with all his might, forcing Kroc to shield from the hit by using his arms and redirect the full force of the swing.

Ale took advantage of this and stomped on one of Kroc's feet but Kroc twisted and pushed Ale away. Both huffed, exhausted from the explosive power both of them used, but Ale was in a definite worse condition with bigger wounds and far more hits. Seeing this, the older crocodile looked around discretely before starting to circle Kroc again. Ale knew he needed to do something to distract the younger crocodile. Amongst the crazy fights and tussles, he spotted Kroc's host on the ground, gasping for air still and appearing dazed; perfectly helpless. Once he had his target in sight he launched himself forward and fainted an obvious claw swipe attack that Kroc easily evaded by jumping to the side, waiting for Ale's follow up tail attack but Ale ran right past the startled crocodile.

Ale kept running forward towards the host but he wasn't even halfway from the scared hooman when from above the old scarred crocodile received an incredibly heavy and precise hit at the side of his neck that made him lose his balance and tumble, tripping and falling onto the floor from the precise hit against his nerves.

"Keep to your fight, you old lizard!" Sabre roared. Using all the impulse from jumping from the ceiling and from her weight, she had hit Ale on some pressure points to sent the big lizard back, just like Cyan had done to Kroc that time at the arena. She had seen Ale's move to aim for the Jackie and Antian and she had attacked. If Ale was going to resort to dirty tricks she didn't mind using some of her own too. However, that was all she was gonna do. Without waiting to see how it turned out, the leopard jumped back up, climbing to the beams to reach her cub and host from an advantageous position rather than fighting her way through the crowd to reach them.

Kroc didn't say anything about the sudden intervention, if anything he was grateful Sabre had stopped Ale from reaching the host. Kroc wasn't going to waste this chance. Kroc kicked Ale to make him roll on his back before the younger fighter jumped over his old man, his hands slamming over Ale's to prevent any counter. Without soaking in the moment Kroc's metal jaws bit down over Ale's throat, ripping back and tearing the flesh out.

And just like that, it was over.

All of the years of training, preparing himself for this one single moment had finally come to a head. Kroc stared at the body of Ale, studying the older croc as he fruitlessly gripped at his neck to keep the blood in but both of the predators knew it was over. Kroc had won, and now he was going to enjoy it. As Kroc crouched down by Ale's face, he stared into Ale's eyes as they slowly began to lose their luster, the life emptying from his body.

Once Kroc knew for sure Ale had passed, he turned his gaze over to Sabre and Jackie. The clouded leopard was struggling to make the host get to her feet, all the while she held Antain tightly in her claws. The fight wasn't over yet; they all needed to escape to safety.

Kroc turned and began heading quickly in their direction but an ear splitting twisting of metal made everyone in the arena freeze. The entire ceiling of the warehouse creaked and groaned, making the ceiling bulge inward before the tin roof shuddered and burst open, revealing a massive white and blue scaled dragon falling down from the sky.

No one had time to prepare for its impact as the dragon landed in the center of the warhouse before the legendary creature looked about the warehouse and unleashed a powerful roar. And, with his roar, came a voice. "Under The Jurisdiction And Power Of The Extraspecies Council, You Are Under Arrest. Do Move, So I Can End Your Miserable Lives!" The dragon roared furiously.

In spite of such warning, screams erupted through the entire warehouse as fighters who weren't buried under the debris tried to escape while others still frozen in shock at seeing such a massive creature having just broken through the ceiling let alone existing in the first place.

The mind blaring roar reverberated through Sabre's body as her heart nearly stopped, avoiding the debris before spotting Kroc unconscious, having been knocked out from the dragon landing on him. "KROC!" Sabre cried out, frightened that Kroc did not respond in the least. He was either unconscious or dead, neither of which was good. The council was here and she needed to escape.

Sabre clutched Antain tightly, pressing him in her arms against her chest as she glared up at the dragon wildly looking around the room and barking orders at the fleeing fighters. She had never seen a dragon before. The company hadn't prepared her for something like this; they had mentioned dragons but nothing on how to combat them except for needing massive backup and weaponry support. Fear made her fur ruffle. This was a battle she couldn't win if she had to fight it and if she fought she wouldn't be able to protect Antain or her little secret. No, she needed to escape _now_. Looking at the broken crates and towards the back end of the warehouse, she spotted a potential escape route. While this confusion was happening she could easily escape into the night. She took her chance, ready to abandon the place as fast as she could. Even if she tried to help Kroc there was no way she would be able to move him. She would have to track him down later after this.

Before Sabre could escape, however, she heard the host screaming. Sabre whipped around and found the host's leg pinned under one of the roof's metal frames against the ground, completely in the open and exposed.

The host struggled to rip her leg free, unable to move the heavy beam keeping her pinned down. Jackie was terrified; from getting kidnapped to almost dying and now this massive dragon from who the hell knew where came in and busted the roof down. She had no idea where anyone was but she knew she wouldn't be able to get free from where she was at. She was completely at the dragon's mercy.

During her struggling Jackie saw Sabre staring at her. Jackie expected her to turn and run but she just stood there staring, looking as though she was frozen on the spot. Jackie's eyes shot towards the dragon, seeing him still distracted with roaring at the others and herding them up before she turned to Sabre. "Sabre, what are you doing?! Run!" The host shouted at her, "run now!" There was no escaping for herself, Jackie knew that but Sabre could run easily. While the host continued to struggle, Sabre remained frozen in her spot, looking at the host struggle while clutching Antain in her arms. Sabre was torn; she didn't know what to do. She was always taught to never hesitate and choose whatever benefitted her the most and yet she was frozen where she stood. "Sabre, why are you just standing there?! Run, hurry up!" Jackie shouted at her, grunting and struggling to wedge her quickly numbing leg free. Even if she was still stuck there that didn't mean Sabre had to suffer the same fate. She needed to get out of here!

With another roar from the dragon, the leopardess came out of her stupor and quickly jumped away behind another crate to hide just as the dragon began stalking around at the slowly quieting warehouse, hissing and baring his teeth to show who was alpha. Everyone was now either understanding that there was no escape or those who could have fled had already done so. The silence of the warehouse was stifling; frighteningly so.

Casting his eyes around the warehouse, the dragon locked his gaze onto the human female pathetically trying to get free and flee from him. With a huff that caused thick billowing vapor and smoke to come out of his nostrils, he noticed that the human girl's leg kept her trapped; perfect for interrogating. Jackie tensed up, feeling her heart skip a beat and start racing as the dragon leaning in towards her. She did her best to hold back her screams, seeing the dragon come face to face with her. "You, Hooman. Where Are The Kidnapped Extraspecies?" The dragon demanded with a thundering voice, glancing around at the fear frozen Extraspecies present.

Jackie remained trembling, staring down this massive creature before her, "I-I, I-I-I-I-!" Jackie gasped like a broken record player, gripping her chest as she stared up at this massive serpent dragon in front of her. What in the hell was this massive monstrous thing she had no idea and it's teeth were even more intimidating. It crushed the roof like it was nothing! Was it an Extraspecies? She doubted it. She had never heard of a transforming Extraspecies before in all of her studies and this was a _massive_ dragon; there was nothing Extraspecies about it!

"Answer, Hooman! Where Are Your Accomplices And The Victims? Are These Extraspecies working with you?" The dragon heavily slapped his tail against the floor, breaking far more crates and lifting a cloud of dust, however, that served to disperse escaping Extraspecies that had been around. The dragon paused, looking around at the stragglers trying to make a last minute escape. Raising his head, his voice echoed on the whole place. "Remain Where You Are Or Die!" The dragon loudly roared, making the Extraspecies yelp and lower themselves onto the ground, feeling the dragon's oppressive alpha presence.

The dragon turned around and began cornering the other Extraspecies, taking care not to step on anyone while forcing them to submit to him. " _Move And Die."_ Dragon hissed in anger at the huddled and terrified Extraspecies, " _Speak. What Are You Doing Here?"_ He asked, beginning to question them.

Seeing her chance, Sabre debated for a second about her actions but without another moment to lose she found herself by the host's side, setting Antian down and trying to move the beam to free _her_ host. Jackie sucked in a sudden pained breath, slapping a hand over her mouth to quiet herself before twisting around to spot Sabre trying to lift the heavy metal.

"Sabre, run, now!" Jackie hissed in a whisper through a quieted pained breath, trying to push Sabre away. "He might hurt you! Get Antain and go!"

"Shut up, host." Using her strength, Sabre managed to move the beam enough to let the host crawl free. With the host's leg free from the debris, Sabre tried to quiet set the heavy beam down but the loud clatter made both of them tense as the large dragon turned towards them and immediately spotted them. Both of the girls grabbed onto one another instinctively and protectively, with Antian in the middle of their hugging.

"What's This?" The dragon looked surprised at a female bastet and a small cub that had appeared besides the hooman.

Sabre felt the gaze of the dragon directly on her, her chances of escaping all but gone. So, faking panic and remembering the dragon's mention of Extraspecies smugglers, she tossed herself onto the host, hugging her and crying loudly in pitiful anguished wails. "Host! You're alive!" She quivered, trembling hard and softly crying while rubbing her cheek all over the host's face and chest, "those kidnappers almost got us! Are you okay? They were so scary, host!"

"S-Sabre?" Jackie started, confused as she hugged the woman back. Antain ran around the both of them, mewing excitedly while trying to hop between their hugging bodies. He meowed and pawed at them, demanding for their attention while his chest huffed at being ignored.

Sabre grabbed Antain in a hug between herself and Jackie, her ears lowering against her head while her thick tail puffed as she continued her cries, "Host, it was scary, host!" She loudly whimpered, nuzzling against the host's shoulder while trembling. "They almost took me and my cub!"

"A Bastet … a Host? Explain This, Bastet." The dragon stated with a hard stare directed at the both of them, addressing the feline and ignoring the human altogether.

Jackie's eyes widened as she protectively hugged the both of them, staring up at the dragon. She was still terribly frightened but that … dragon said something about the council. So maybe it wouldn't hurt her, a host? "I-I am a host, Jackie Penske! S-S-Sabre and Antain are my charges," Jackie spoke up before the dragon hissed at her, silencing her quickly.

"I Speak To The Bastet." He hissed, baring his enormously long fangs, rows of them, to her, "You Will Speak When Spoken To, Hooman."

Antain bravely roared at the massive creature, escaping his mother's hug and running up to the dragon. Before either woman could do anything, Antain was already standing in front of the enormous creature and hissing with his fur raised high before smacking the dragon's lower jaw, emitting a low growl in the dragon's direction.

Both woman sucked in a fast breath of horror as the dragon rolled its gaze down at the little fox, staring at Antain's small growls and hisses. With a mighty hiss of his own the dragon huffed, blowing the little fox back while showering the kit in a thick water vapor. Antain let out a frightened cry, whipping around and running back behind his mama while crying in fright, shivering and soaking wet; but as soon as he was cowering behind his mother's legs and hugging her tail, he hissed at the dragon again, protecting his mama and the host.

Sabre looked between the pup and the dragon, amazed at her cub's valor; even now as he hissed at the massive Extraspecies from behind her legs. Before Antain decided to run again to 'attack' the dragon, Sabre picked the little fox up and held tightly onto him. Remembering her act, she sniffled.

" _Hmph … A Bastet, A Fox Kit And A Host. Why Is A Host Here At An Extraspecies Illegal Trafficking Ring?"_ Dragon demanded with a vicious hiss.

"I-I was kidnapped." Jackie stammered, her heart racing in fright. "I-I-I was kidnapped by a bat Extraspecies a-a-and brought here."

"Why Would Extraspecies Smugglers Bother With A Host?" The dragon narrowed his eyes.

Sabre took a step forward, making sure her tail was swinging anxiously and her fur was fluffy and tense. This was her chance to solidify her story on this issue and get clear. Lowering her ears and not looking at the dragon's eyes, she hunched her shoulders. "It's because my host is in charge of various rare Extraspecies. We are all predators and very rare. They wanted to lure all of us out or use her to bargain and get the rest of us."

Jackie stared at Sabre, surprised at her sudden show of bravery after sobbing in fright. The host wondered why Sabre spoke up but decided to let Sabre speak to the dragon; it didn't seem like the dragon wanted to hear from the host at all and Sabre was quite good at speaking. Jackie shifted her weight, staggering on her numb leg before falling back onto the ground with a pained breath.

"Host!" Sabre turned her head quickly towards the host to try and hold her up, seeming to struggling with this as Antain continued to hiss at the dragon; from the safety of his mama's legs.

"Or Perhaps The Hooman Was Involved." The dragon remained skeptic, narrowing his gaze over them. With a sharp flick of his head he casted a side glare at some Extraspecies, seeing them snap right back into place while under his glare. "Move, And I Will Kill You." He threatened with a sharp, eerie hiss as mist drifted down from between his jaws.

A pained groan from under the dragon's foot made Jackie suck in a fast breath, her eyes widening. "K-Kroc-! Hey, lift your foot, you're crushing him!" Jackie shouted up at the dragon, feeling her heart skip a beat as the dragon's deadly eyes darted over to her with a faint growl. "P-Please. You're hurting him, h-h-he's my charge." Jackie asked with her voice trembling in fright. This was terrifying; a massive dragon just caves in the ceiling and was making everyone feel like an inch tall in comparison to its large size. The host had to admit she was still coming to terms with this fact.

The dragon lifted his foot to see the saltwater crocodile he was mistakenly stepping on and the hooman hurriedly limped over but the bastet got to the large lizard first.

"D*** … what hit me?" Kroc achingly breathed, reaching out and grabbing Sabre's shoulder to try and steady himself before he held his aching head while standing to his wobbly legs. "Are you sheela's alright?" Kroc asked, dizzily looking between the both of them.

Sabre looked at him with bright eyes and began crying again, startling the saltwater crocodile as her meek posture nervously shifted in place. "Kroc! It was horrible, the smugglers, after they took me and my cub and sent someone to get our host and you came to save us-! It was horrible, so many crates, if you hadn't protected us-!" She wailed with intensified sniffs. "W-Wait! Where are the others you came with? Where's Prime? Or Rafu or even that obnoxious wolverine Logen… Logan? All those well intentioned Extraspecies you gathered to come and save us! Th-They were here too! They were helping us, but where are they now?!" She cried, looking around in a false frenzy panic, pressing her cowering body onto Kroc's while the said well-intentioned Extraspecies that weren't knocked out just looked at their hell cat with big eyes and open mouths but nodding at everything she had said.

" … ah. The ceiling caved in?" Kroc asked, looking around the room in confusion before the host stumbled onto his arm, making him jolt a bit. "Host, are you alright?" He asked, looking her over worriedly, "did that b****** hurt you?" Kroc questioned, hugging them both protectively while looking the human over.

"I-I'm fine, r-r-r-really. Kroc, is anything broken?" Jackie asked, holding onto his arm for support as she looked him over, finding him a bit torn up from his fight with Ale but otherwise alright. Kroc's gaze turned upwards to examine the rest of the room, pausing as he spotted white scales. His head slowly craned back, coming eye to eye with a massive Chinese water dragon standing right in front beside them with a sharp piercing gaze that cut right through him.

" … is that a dragon?" Kroc stated more so than asked with an incredulous monotone voice, trying to gather his wits about him.

"Yes." Sabre sniffed, wailing dramatically, one arm flailing around expressively. "Mr. dragon here said he came from the council to save us from those mean and terrible hooman smugglers. He is a hero. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't come. You would have save us, but you'd probably be hurt … more hurt."

"Ah … So You Tried To Escape?" The dragon asked, with a softened gaze. "Do Not Fight The Humans. They Are Too Cruel." He stated, looking them all over with a gentler gaze than before, seeming to have come to the understanding that they were victims in this scenario.

Sabre raised her gaze with bloodshot eyes from the crying. "I … I know. But my cub … his natural parents before … my mate." She broke out into frantic crying again, shivering and clutching Antian, making herself smaller between Kroc and Jackie.

"Hmph … Stay Put. Members Of The Council Will Come And Take You Somewhere Safe." He stated before perking up, sniffing the air for a brief moment before glaring at the entrance with a faint hiss under his breath. Kroc tensed up, grabbing both of the sheelas and holding them close as he leaned away slightly, preparing for anything to come through the door.

"FREEZE!" A voice shouted as the door was kicked in by a large Extraspecies griffin holding a rocket launcher. Various suited up humans and Extraspecies began charging into the room and taking up their trained positions, stopping while Smith stepped out in front of them.

"By order of the USA's Program for Extraspecies, you are all under arrest!" Ms. Smith's voice started before coming to a stop, staring at the wrecked warehouse before her. Her eyes widened, looking around at the Extraspecies trapped under the parts of the roofing before turning her gaze to the massive Dragon in the center of the room along with the host and a few of her charges. They had all heard a loud noise from inside the warehouse but no one had seen the dragon enter.

The woman then marched forward towards the dragon without the slightest bit of hesitation, a bit of a sheepish grin on her lips. For the first time in all the time Jackie had known her, she actually looked a little nervous.

"Mengyao Longwei," Smith spoke, passing over some unconscious Extraspecies of unidentified species and a small barricade of debris. "What are you doing here with one of my hosts and her charges?" Without needing orders from Ms. Smith, the small team of the Extraspeices special forces for the program fanned out, beginning to dig out bodies of unconscious Extraspecies and putting them in handcuffs for safety measures.

The dragon walked a couple steps with his front paws, standing in front of Jackie's group and in the way of the human coordinator to stop her daring advance. "What Are Your Charges Doing At An Illegal Extraspecies Trafficking Ring? Should I Mention All The Clausules This Breaks?" He growled at the human, barring his teeth.

"What are _you_ doing at an illegal Extraspecies trafficking ring? This is in our territorial jurisdiction." The woman didn't looked fazed. Instead, she turned towards Jackie with her smile suddenly becoming fierce. "Jackie Penske, as one of my hosts, explain the situation at once!"

Jackie's eyes widened as she hugged her charges protectively, feeling her heart beginning to race. "U-U-Um … w-well, I was, uh, kidnapped b-by a bat. I-I was brought here, t-to this warehouse." She stammered, feeling her pulse racing in fright. The only thing that was scarier than a dragon was a pissed off Ms. Smith.

"Smith!" Sabre butted in loudly, trembling while clinging to Kroc, her fur rigid and straight. "They took me and my cub and then got the host to lure all of us out here!" She cried, sniffling loudly, "Kroc convinced some very nice Extraspecies like that guy Prime, and Rafu a-and the one called Logan and others to come and saved us," she whimpered, hushing her cub with worry. "And then Mr. dragon here came to help us too, he came to save everyone ... he says he's from the council!"

Smith looked at Sabre with a rose eyebrow and her mouth open but only for a second before completely regaining her complete professionalism. "You surely must have been scared, Miss Sabre. But you and your cub are safe now. Yes, this 'brave dragon' is from the council but since I'm here now, please come so we can take you back to your host's home. I'm sure tonight has been thoroughly stressful for all of you."

"No." Mengyao ordered, exhaling vapor in the general direction of Smith. "They Will Remain Here For Further Questioning. This Hooman Could Have Been Trying To Sell Her Own Charges, As Similar Situations In The Past. And In Any Case, This Situation Enters Section 78 Of Endangered Extraspecies, Not To Mention Section B Of The Baikal Treaty About Safety Of Charges." The dragon remained firm, vapor coming out of his nostrils. "The Rest Of The Council Forces Will Arrive Soon, Along With Our Own Coordinator. We'll Take Them Away From Here And From Your Poor Care."

"Section 78 opens up dialog to investigate occurrences. As for the Baikal treaty, it only includes hosts and Extraspecies registered with the council. This is under 'integration profile', and therefore not applicable." The woman retorted with ease.

"Section 78 Was Updated Before The Program Was Approved In This Country And It Now Includes Direct Questioning And Disclosure Of Information From All The Parts Involved As Per Request Of Operatives From The Council. And You Surely Recall That In Case Of 'Non-Registered Charges Or Hosts', The Council Has Complete Co-jurisdiction To Intervene If The Extraspecies Are Deemed In Danger." Mengyao slitted eyes were fixated on the human coordinator. "And As An Operative From The Council Under Full Credentials And Authorization, I Deem Such Is The Case Here Tonight."

Besides the coordinator and the dragon's arguments, Kroc, Sabre and Jackie banded up, looking from their spot towards Smith. Kroc uneasily held both of the girls tighter, deeply frowning.

" … this may turn out bad for me, sheelas." Kroc muttered, unnerved and genuinely cautious as he gently squeezed them in the hug, "promise to take care of yourselves." Kroc said, opening his jaws to tell the both of them the truth of what happened but Sabre reached up, snapping Kroc's mouth shut. Kroc's eyes widened, surprised before looking back to them.

"It will be alright." Sabre sniffled and turned to hug Kroc with one arm, clinging close to his head so she could whisper with a completely unfrightened tone. "Just confirm my testimony." She muttered, gently giving him a kitty kiss over a small cut but his eye.

Kroc faintly flushed, looking down at her, " … alright, sheela." Kroc said, softly nuzzling her cheek while gently tightening his grip on the host as well.

Smith took another step forward and faced the dragon with her hands on her hips. "Yet you seem to be more of a danger to my charges. Noticing how you destroyed this place and apparently killed, on accident of course, that other crocodile there … ," she pointed at Ale's body, deeply frowning at the sight.

Mengyao moved to see the corpse lying in a pool of blood with so much debris and metal beams broken over him that it was hard to tell what has happened to him. But in any case, the Extraspecies was assuredly dead. Mengyao clicked his tongue in annoyance, staring at the body with a dissatisfied glare.

"Ms. Smith!" Sabre butted in again. "That crocodile was one of the kidnappers! I didn't see him well but I'm sure of it by the scent! Mr. dragon is not a bad guy, it … I'm sure it was an accident how the collapsing of the roof might have killed that crocodile and make the body mauled all over from the debris. He probably died when those beams ripped his throat!"

"Thank you for your information, Miss Sabre." Ms Smith said through clenched teeth, casting her suspicious gaze over Kroc's bloodied metal jaw.

The dragon moved again to look down at the female bastet who kept on clinging to the fox cub she had called hers. Before he could question her regarding the cub, the air cracked and flat black ovals began appearing everywhere around the place. The sight of this sci-fi horror made everyone jump in startlement, backing away as uniformed Extraspecies came out of the portals, most of them wearing assault suits adapted to their form. Everyone's eyes widened in shock, hardly able to believe their entrance. Kroc tightened his grasp on the girls, lightly hissing at the portals but kept himself fairly composed.

"Looks Like The Council's Operatives Finally Arrived." Mengyao spoke as a figure emerged from a portal besides his large claw. The figure held an air that demanded attention, being a tall experienced man dressed in a suit. His hair was slicked back and his ears were slightly sharper than a regular humans. The dark suit looked striking against his pale skin as his crimson red eyes briefly scanned the room, getting an understanding of the environment before coming around and spotting the wide eyed glare of Ms. Smith.

" _You_!" Ms. Smith aggressively shouted, tightening her fists in surprise.

All the operative from both the council and the program, except for Mengyao, saw the other Smith and very suddenly found something important to do like checking the wounded or looking at very interesting pieces of debris or stains that surely could be evidence. No one wanted to get close to their bosses to present such evidence though; not while they were together.

The new arrival looked at the the woman with a somewhat forced smile. "Oh, Smith … it has been a while, hasn't it?" He calmly asked with a sweet, toothy smile in her direction.

"It indeed has, Smith." She said, her smile showing more teeth than anything else. "Didn't we agree you'd call before you arrived into any city I was in?"

The man adjusted his glasses, remaining composed but his smile seemed slightly shaky. "We did, but this was an emergency call and I didn't planned to disrupt your time."

"Jackie-!" Dumisa's voice shouted as Dumisa shot over the debris at a lightning fast pace.

"D-Dumisa?!" Jackie shouted in surprise, turning with the others to see his fast approach.

His fast approach, however, did not go over well with the law enforcements present. They immediately opened fire, filling Dumisa's entire body with so many tranquilizer darts that the snake did not have time to utter a squeak as he flopped onto the ground, skidding across the dirt before coming to a floppy rolling stop. Eztli stopped by the door, hiding and watching in horror as the snake passed out right in front of him.

"DUMISA-!" Jackie shouted, mortified as she quickly began climbing over to him. "Why did you shoot him?! He's my charge!" Jackie shouted at the Extraspecies upstairs that had been watching for any movements of Extraspecies from above.

"That snake is a magnet for tranquilizer darts." Ms. smith noted, not without certain humor, knowing it would be a problem. The council's darts were meant to last only for a few minutes instead of hours so the snake would be fine … after a while. But getting back to the matter at hand she looked at the council's coordinator again. "In any case, it seems that the other charges are well and should be allowed to reunite with their host, so please don't shoot anyone else."

"We Cannot Allow That, Smith." Mengyao said, looking down at the cowering clouded leopard. "The Breach In The Contract Is Clear Due To The Kidnapping Of The Bastet. This Proves How Ineffective Is This Hooman As A Host For Allowing That And How Careless Is Her Contractor If It Assigned Her So Many Charges. We'll Take The Charges Into Custody And The Hooman For Questioning In Order To Assess This Host."

"Stop it already!" Sabre roared, pressing herself over Jackie and rubbing her chin over Jackie's shoulders to claim her. "My hooman is a good host, a dense, uncultured, ignorant and gullible hooman but a _good_ host! We just want to go home. You can resolve this diplomatically later and go save all the other kidnapped Extraspecies!" She growled with a pitiful meow and some stressed sniffs. "I'm fine, but there are more kidnapped Extraspecies by the port!" She shouted at them, hugging and cuddling against Jackie excessively but lovingly.

"Kidnapped? You mean all those others in the crates?" Eztli asked, puzzled while approaching with a cautious eye up at the guns fixed on him as he carefully made his way over to the host. "But they all ran away." He said, making both Smiths freeze.

" … WHAT." Mr. and Ms. Smith immediately and harshly stated, turning to glare at the jaguar.

"U-U-Um, we were looking for our host and, um, opened the crates b-but all the Extraspecies inside of them ran away." Eztli innocently explained, trembling slightly as his eyes slowly turned back to Dumisa, seeing all the tranquilizers in his body.

Without needing orders, most of the council's and Smith's operatives dispersed, immediately beginning their hunt for the most likely lost and confused Extraspecies that were now unleashed upon New York into the streets.

"We'll discuss this later, Smith." Mr. Smith said with a heavy sigh, undoubtedly just thinking about all the extra work he and the others need to get done to track all those Extraspecies down.

"Of course but meanwhile I'll take this host and her charges to rest. This surely stressed them and a small medical check up would be good to ensure they are fine. As Ms. Sabre said, it would be a good idea if they headed home now." Ms. Smith said. She then looked at Jackie, seeing her flinch. "Let's go, Jackie. I'll escort you to the van myself."

"Y-Yeah." Jackie said, making a quick headcount as Kroc picked up Dumisa, Sabre and Antain, following along behind them as Eztli came over and joined them, anxiously looking up at all the suited up humans and Extraspecies. He shivered, nervous and scared. Everyone looked really scary, especially the dragon. Unable to handle his nerves anymore, Eztli trotted over to Kroc who was slowly lumbering behind Smith and Jackie.

"Kroc, hold me too." Eztli whined, leaping up onto his back and holding onto the crocodile tightly without waiting for his permission.

"Oof." Kroc groaned, staggering slightly before pushing through it and carrying most of them right out the door despite his rather obvious injuries.

The walk to the van was a very quiet and tense one. Everyone was hurting and bruised, clearly wanting to keep very quiet and just get back to the house to unwind after such a horrible night out. The host let out a very deep and relieved sigh, happy to be away from that madness now. Once she was home she was going to have to treat Kroc for his wounds.

Jackie slowed down her steps, walking next to Kroc before looking up to him worried. "Kroc, are you alright?" Jackie asked in a hushed whisper, feeling very uneasy for him. The last thing she saw of Kroc before the roof caved in was Kroc spitting out Ale's throat. She shivered at the vivid memory but kept her eyes focused on him, worried about his health.

"Mmhh… hey sheela. Everything's all right now. You got scared?" Kroc apprehensively gulped, looking at Jackie without making any sudden movements.

" … yeah. It was terrifying." The host admitted with a frown, staring up at him, "now let's get you home and fixed up. I'll make some of that special seasoned chicken you love so much." Jackie grinned, making Kroc crack a toothy grin while glancing own at her with fond eyes.

"Predators are supposed to be terrifying." He lightly teased, seeing Jackie's lips curl up a bit into a tiny nervous smile.

Ms. Smith suddenly stopped, making the others come to a stop as well. Before they could ask what was wrong, they spotted Reza outside of the vans pouring bottled water onto himself and scrubbing it with Smith's suit jacket to try and get the horrendous stench out of his scales. Beside him were several empty bottles, apparently having been doing this for a while, and before they could ask what he was doing, the disgusting smell in the air made all of them gag and cover their noses. Quickly covering her nose, Smith looked at Reza. "Where the hell did that smell came from?!"

"It's not working!" The merman groaned with dismay, the odor of the contaminated waters of New York coming from off his body. "The horrible waters of this city smell terrible! I can't get it out!"

Smith looked at this and she bit her lip with a small glare towards her ruined jacket. After a fast decision she snapped ther fingers, "quick, get in the van, all of you before someone sees Reza's smelly state." Smith growled, not liking one bit the events of this evening. It was going to take a miracle to get through this.

Without another word from Smith they all piled inside of the van. Kroc grabbed the end of Reza's tail, dragging him inside as everyone gave the fish a wide berth, stuck with the horrendous stench while they all covered their noses. Even with the windows down it was terrible.

"Did we picked up a skunk? Hey you, control that smell!" Someone from Smith's crew cried from inside the truck, breathing into his jacket.

"Not only was the water smelly, it was _cold_!" Reza wailed and extended his open arms. "Quickly! Someone hug me, it was cold. Cuddle with me, I'm saying it so please."

Everyone immediately leaned away, no one wanting to lend their help towards the smelly, poisonous lionfish. The most help he got was Kroc finding a water bottle and tossing it over to him, letting the Lionfish try to unsuccessfully rinse himself off.

Hardly a few minutes into the drive Jackie noticed that Smith was heading in the complete opposite direction of their home. "Hey, Smith, 7th is faster is get to my house." She called, confused as she saw Smith pinching her nose as well and driving with one hand.

"We aren't heading to your house." Smith smiled, but her smile was a neutral professional one … albeit suspiciously twitchy looking. "You are all veeerry stressed after tonight's ordeal so we are going to a nice vacation so you can relax and get some medical check up." Despite her words, she was the one who looked the most stressed and haggard of them all. The little encounter with council's forces was quite more distressing that it had seem.

"Um … vacation?" Jackie hesitantly asked as everyone perked up, especially Sabre. Jackie noticed it and hugged Sabre tightly, gently petting her while she wiggled and twisted around looking at the windows. "It's okay, Sabre, don't be scared. You scared me half to death when I couldn't find you at the house!" Jackie softly scolded at her.

Sabre looked more than confused and distressed herself. She tried getting the host off but in the cramped space it was hard, plus she didn't feel like answering any questions from Smith. Deciding to keep up the act, she hugged the host back and pressed her onto her, keeping the host's mouth covered. Sabre needed to find a chance to escape and fast; she didn't want to stay here, she had to leave as soon as possible and escape. When Jackie began struggling, Sabre held her even tighter. "I am scared host! It was oh so terrible, HUG ME!" Sabre cried, smothering Jackie in her thick fur. Eventually Jackie fainted and Sabre released her host, then spoke with a very monotone voice and hidden evil glint in her eye. "Oh no, the host fainted from the horror!"

"Whut," Dumisa sleepily groaned, perking up and loopily blinking. Seeing the potential danger to her escape plan, Sabre tossed the unconscious host into the snake trap. The moment Dumisa felt a warm hot pillow on his body he coiled around it, hugging Jackie tightly and cozying himself back up to sleep some more of the tranquilizer off.

Sabre smirked before turning towards the door, leaping against the back door to start picking the lock to escape. Kroc, seeing how scared she was, then grabbed Sabre into a hug of his own, tightly reassuring her. "It's alright Sheela, I told you I'd protect you." Kroc softly smiled as he rubbed her side to comfort her. "Don't be scared." He comforted as Sabre struggled to reach the lock but he was kept firmly held in the strong crocodile's arms.

Sabre struggled in his arms, keeping a hand over her belly and giving kitty growls, wanting to tell Kroc it had all been an act but with Smith there so she couldn't.

"We're reaching Coney Island soon. The boat is already waiting for us there. Your things will be waiting for you at the resort; Jaska will meet with you too." Ms Smith said after sending some messages through her phone. "Despite his injuries he's fine enough to go."

"Oh good! I was afraid I hit him too hard." Kroc jokingly laughed with a big grin on his face, all sense of malice for anyone else completely gone now that his own personal revenge has been achieved.

Sabre narrowed her eyes and hissed. Her fur puffed up and her pupils straightened into slits while her claws extended and contracted constantly, her tail swaying from side to side. All chances of escaping were blocked out for the moment, and if there was something she wanted, no, _needed,_ it would be to escape … but it seemed that escape eluded her this time.

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 **Chaos-dark-lord: As promised, here is the chapter. I DID have to bully Peeko for getting this ready.**

It's true, she was super mean ( ;-;) _**10 reviews**_ for the next chapter

 **Chaos-dark-lord: I was just strict :P a promise is a promise**

( *^*)

 **Chaos-dark-lord:** BTW readers, I gotta admit that I am quite annoyed with english language when it comes to the 'you' pronoun.. or rather pronouns. It's impossible to know if you are saying 'you (singular)' or 'you(plural)' for example, if you say 'Hey, I'd like you to update sooner' , I cant tell if you are referring to you(Peeko) or (you, Peeko and Chaos coauthors). Its kinda a bummer being unable to tell what you mean or who you are referring too. :/ well, that's my rant.


	31. Chapter 31

"So … Ms. Smith … um, _why_ are we on a boat again?" Jackie asked, getting the strangest feeling that Ms. Smith might actually be kidnapping both her and her charges. The freezing air and massive boat cutting through the water and making the deck unstable deeply unsettled Jackie's stomach, making her wobble and feel rather nauseous. After the incident and everything that had happened it was understandable that things were going to be very, very tense but it felt like they were running away. And not only that but now they were on a large boat heading for somewhere in Canada towards an apparent snow lodge of someplace. After leaving Coney Island in what looked like a large industrial fishing boat, they changed ships to a fast yacht at another port in New York … pretty sketchy the more Jackie thought about it. Especially since they crossed the border not too long ago.

"Because we all are going to a very nice and relaxing vacation spot where all your XS's can recuperate." Smith dryly answered with little to no expression on her face, which looked a little more than terrifying.

"Don't you think they will want to question me more about what happened?" Jackie asked, deeply unsettled by Ms. Smith's empty staring into the distance. She had the thousand yard stare in her eyes and that was very, very creepy to see on a particularly powerful woman like Ms. Smith.

"You spoke enough and Sabre's testimony confirmed it all. Just don't ever answer anything unless I'm there; especially to the council agents." Smith said before slowly turning her head towards the host, her eyes and smile empty of life. "Understand?" She asked, her staring appearing to go right through the host.

"Y-Yeah." Jackie said, unable to think of what else to answer with.

"Good." Smith said, continuing to stare at her for a little bit before slowly looking back over the sea without the slightest change in her expression. After a few moments of emptily staring, further disturbing Jackie, Smith then looked at the other edge of the deck where Sabre was leaning over the rail, vomiting into the ocean. "Seems like sea motion sickness is hitting Sabre hard. Go comfort her." Smith said without the slightly deviation in her gaze.

"R-Right." Jackie said, feeling very uncomfortable before she hurried over to Sabre. She figured Sabre wasn't feeling well since she had been pacing along the deck, constantly looking out over the ocean in a panic. She made the move towards the rails a few times before, now, it finally got to the poor feline. She upchucked everything in her stomach with a soft painful yowl and small tortured cry. It was pitiful to watch; Sabre and everyone else was trapped on the boat with the jail bars being the freezing water all around them. "How you feeling, Sabre? Want some medicine?" Jackie asked, gently rubbing her back to help her feel better.

Sabre began to answer with a pitiful meow before she tossed her head over the rail to once again to vomit the last remains of her food. "I feel terrible host. Already took some medicine but its not working."

"Hmmm … they might have some sleeping medicine to help you sleep through this. That might make it easier on you." Jackie hopefully said, trying to pet Sabre into feeling better. "Smith, how much longer do we have on the boat?"

"Just a few hours more." Ms. Smith said, walking over to the couple. Her staring fixated on Sabre, watching the poor kitty upchuck her stomach more and more into the waters below. While the truth of what happened was being hidden from her, Smith didn't mind it. Whatever these charges were keeping secret, it was keeping them all safe from breaking down the program. As long as they stuck to their lie she'd allow thus to slip past by her. "Oh yes, Jackie, there was something I wanted to tell you in regards to the second part of your contract." Ms. Smith said as Jackie pet Sabre's back to help her better relax.

Before Jackie could answer a foul smelling stench reached their noses. All three women gagged, covering their noses and mouths before turning to see Reza, exhausted and heavily breathing after having climbed up all those stairs to make it to the deck, clawed his way out of the entrance. His crazed eyes glowed, flaring out over the massive expanse of the free ocean.

"FINALLY, THE OCEAN, YES! THE OCEAN! I can get rid of the stench and goo!" Reza screamed while waving his body back and forth in a desperate attempt to slither to the clean crashing waves of the ocean. His eyes sparkled in delight, clearly not taking the time to think of the temperature of the near frigid waters.

"Reza no! This water is _much_ colder than what you can handle!" Ms. Smith shouted before turning to some workers. "DO NOT LET HIM INTO THE WATER!" She vehemently ordered as she too rushed over to try and prevent Reza from going overboard.

Ignoring the screams and skillfully avoiding the ship's crew, Reza dodged everyone coming after him. The humans and Extraspecies in suits were no match for the startlingly agile fish out of water, unable to net him in time before he sprung himself off the edge and soared through the air for a bit, his eyes shining until he hit the water. All at once the cold water stabbed into him, nearly paralyzing him on the spot before he leapt out of water and shrieked at a startlingly high pitch at the freezing cold temperature. His screams became muffled as he fell back into the water just before he leapt back out, continuing his long winded screaming before he leapt up onto the side of the boat and somehow managed to stay on, his continuous screaming filling the air. No words; just screaming while desperately trying to claw his way back onto the moving boat.

"Reza?!" Jackie shouted, mortified as she spotted Reza in extreme distress in the water, crying out for help not through words but through his shrieking.

"What did I tell you?!" Ms. Smith shouted over the side, glaring at Reza as he struggled to climb back up onto the boat but fell back into the water. The dizzying temperature differences made his screaming continue as he desperately leapt out of the ocean and smacked into the hard metal side, making himself more dizzy, trying to dig his claws into the side and hold on but he slipped right off and back into the water with his screaming becoming muffled before leaping back out of the water to try and climb to safety again.

"Get some nets and pull that idiot out!" Ms. Smith shouted to the sailors as they quickly began organizing themselves to throw a large net over Reza and pull him up.

The commotion and panic drew Sabre's attention from her sickness as she looked over, seeing and hearing Reza's continual screaming while Jackie, Smith and the workers started to try and pull Reza aboard. "What happened?" Sabre dizzily asked, seeing Reza down in the water struggling to get out.

Rather than answering Reza only continued to scream and flop around the decks from the freezing cold water stabbing into his skin and scales while clinging onto the ropes. He looked up to the railings of the boat, just about half frozen and deeply regretting his decision to leap overboard to try clean himself off. While the smell was horrible the feeling of almost freezing to death was much worse.

"Hrm … Reza? What are you doing there hanging so pathetically from that fishing line?" Sabre asked with a small pained burp before she threw up again, barely missing Reza as he desperately tried to climb up the rope and hang on for dear life.

"Jackie, go take Sabre away from the edge before she makes Reza even more dirty." Smith growled and pushed Jackie off the rope to go take care of the feline.

"Wait, wait Sabre! Throw up over there, not on Reza!" She cried, grabbing the feline's shoulders and pulling her a little further down the railings to finish getting sick like the poor kitty she was, letting Smith and the other workers pull Reza up.

"Not ok … ," Sabre groaned with a small pitiful cry, "I should be able to stand motion sickness easily … heck, I can fight doing 3D maneuvers in mid air, but boats … ," she pathetically meowed before clinging to the deck's floor, feeling more and more sick by the second.

"Hey, what's Reza doing? Playing in the water?" Eztli asked, coming up from behind Jackie and hugging her before looking over the railing at the distressed fish.

"Oh, Eztli, how are you feeling?" Jackie asked, worried that he might be motion sick too since he was on the deck. Everyone was downstairs napping the last time she looked so she was surprised Eztli left the cuddling pile of predators to come up on the chilly deck. "Did Reza's screaming wake you all up?"

"I'm fine, host. I simply wanted to come up to see how winter seas are. I've never seen it before and this white stuff called snow tickles my nose ... but it is cold." He said while nuzzling Jackie some more before noticing Sabre's pitiful state. He perked up, startled to see the clouded leopard so pale faced and dizzy. "Sabre, what's wrong?" He asked before he gently hugged her from behind, licking the back of her neck to help soothe her unease and ruffled fur. "Is this helping?" He asked, trying to groom her ears. Sabre clutched her belly and threw up again over the ledge, making Eztli pause in his grooming. "Oh … not helping." Eztli frowned with his ears lowering in distress, but Sabre pulled him back for a hug.

"It does help." She meowed a bit too pathetically, just before she jumped sideways to throw up again over the railing.

"Sabre, let's get you back below deck once you're done. I think they have some sleeping medicine on board that could help." Jackie suggested, gently petting her back to help her feel better.

A heavy plop was heard as the crew finally dragged Reza back onto the deck and out of the hazardous water below. The lionfish was softly crying, his screaming having finally calmed down. "It's cold and I'm still smelly!" he whined in pain before he saw Eztli hugging Sabre, noting how warm the fluffy furries looked with those natural fur pelts and their big winter coats. His eyes shined as he slowly crawled away from a nagging Ms. Smith, slowly stalking the very warm looking predators before, without warning, he launched himself forward and tackled them both over into a hug. "You both look so warm!" He cried desperately, tightly trying to hold onto the both of them. "Hug me too! The water is _so_ cold!" He cried, keeping his grip tight on the fluffy predators.

"W-What!?" Eztli looked at Reza with horror. Normally he wouldn't mind the hugs but the fish was dirty, wet and smelly and his spines didn't have stoppers, remaining exposed and ever so threatening. He didn't know how to act and say no, so he instead spastically squirmed out before leaping away from him and immediately fleeing downstairs to escape the disgusting hug.

Having lost one of his furry heat packs, Reza held tighter onto Sabre as she looked at the fleeing Ezlti but was unable to follow seeing that the lionfish was hugging the life out of her fluffy body while her nose was horrendously assaulted with the most terrible smell she had ever encountered. "L-L-Let go!" Sabre thrashed about in panic, unable to get away from Reza's iron grip.

"No! I'm saying it, it's so cold!" He cried out, keeping his grip firm. Sabre continued to try and get free, avoiding his deadly spikes but being too weak from her sickness, she slowly began to succumb to the illness and the horrible smell before laying down, borderline passing out, letting Reza tightly hug and nuzzle against her warm body.

"Reza, let Sabre go, she's not feeling well! You can go warm up downstairs." Jackie admonished, trying to help pull Sabre free but Reza kept his grip tight.

"No! She's a fluffy and warm noble cat, royal even - or at least that's what the plant man told me. But who cares, she's a fur coat and she's warm! Don't take her from me!" He said while trying to find a position where Sabre's unconscious body would cover him more.

Ms. Smith heavily sighed, looking over the scene with exhaustion. "He must be hallucinating. I'm surprised the cold shock shock to his body from leaping into cold water didn't kill him immediately." Ms. Smith admitted before looping rope around the end of his tail, handing the rope to some workers. "Drag this moron downstairs and into the lukewarm waters in the kitchen and separate him from Sabre; give her some sleeping medicine, Jackie, after you separate this smelly fish idiot from her." Ms. Smith ordered as the workers began to drag Reza away.

"NO! Hold me, royal kitty! I'll make sushi for you if you serve as blanket!" Reza shouted in an attempt to reason with her, holding onto Sabre tightly as he was dragged back inside. Over the floor, Sabre remained an unconscious heap of fur, completely knocked out while Reza held onto her as if she were his most prized pack of knives.

"Wow! Did you heard that? The merman said she's a noble. Didn't know we were traveling with one of those on board. Or is she a royal?" One sailor mused aloud.

"That fish is a noble so it must be true." Another crewmate mentioned.

"Are we transporting nobles?" A member of Smith's group panicked. "No surprise this covered up so fast."

Smith looked between the members, unable to stop the gossip and wondering herself what the hell had Reza meant. Thankfully, the host interrupted.

"Reza, just let go of her!" Jackie admonished, following the Extraspecies down the stairs inside, seeing how Reza continued to try and grab for the bars while holding tightly onto Sabre. "There's hot water in the kitchen to help clean you up." She said, wondering why Reza thought the ocean would make a better place to clean himself off instead of the kitchen.

"But the kitchen is too far away, the fluffy blanket is right here." Reza continued being stubborn, enjoying the warmth with clearly no intention of letting her go.

"Well, why don't you grab Sabre and come see the kitchen?" Smith said while some crew members grabbed Reza and dragged him around.

Jackie heavily sighed as Reza was pulled into the kitchen where the large tank, normally reserved for fresh fish but was emptied for Reza's sake, was filled with fresh clean water and some soap on the side. "There, Reza. Here's water and soap to help clean yourself off. Now seriously, let Sabre go!" Jackie growled, seeing Sabre was still very clearly unconscious from Reza's horrendous stench.

Reza looked at the tank, and after one last look at Sabre, he dropped her on the floor and crawled into the preferred warm water, sinking into the bottom while scrubbing himself.

Jackie heavily sighed at the ordeal now being over before turning to Sabre, seeing her motionlessly lying on the ground.

"Let's take her to her own separate room to rest for a bit. I'm sure she needs it." Ms. Smith suggested as Jackie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Hey, come help me move her," Jackie asked the workers but before they could come give the host aid, Smith stopped them.

"Don't; other people's scent on her would bother her. Try dragging Sabre to the nearby room yourself." Ms. Smith said, with a stern frown, studying Sabre while appearing troubled. She took a step forward before she stopped. Sabre wouldn't like other smells, even her own. However, the coordinator noticed Sabre looked a bit different. Certainly her fur coat was closer in color and density to that of a snow leopard now but with she retained her usual clouded pattern. Also, even under her heavy coat she looked … bigger somehow.

" … ugh, you're right." Jackie heavily sighed before she grabbed Sabre by the wrist, dragging the heavy kitty out of the room.

"Hold on a moment." Ms. Smith said, walking over and kneeling besides the clouded leopard. Jackie watched with mild interest as Ms. Smith gently ran her hand over Sabre's plush cheeks to check the longer fur before she went to the slightly bigger chest and finally scratched the leopardess soft belly. The host figured the coordinator was taking advantage of Sabre's unconscious state to pet her super soft winter coat. With a sigh Ms. Smith leaned forward a bit, pressing both hands against Sabre's soft belly as the adoring expression of a cat lover covered the woman's face with a light happy flush, petting Sabre continuously.

 _(Just a crazy cat lover._ ) Jackie huffed, beginning to drag the feline away down the hall. "Get off, Ms. Smith. I need to take her to her room."

"Yes, Jackie, take her away." Smith said with a bright smile before pulling out a phone and walking away some very needed calls towards their destination regarding what she had learned just now.

After a fair bit of struggling Jackie managed to drag Sabre into a small room in the yacht with a heater in it, managing to roll Sabre inside onto the cushion. The host stared at Sabre's roughed up wet fur from Reza's hugging, knowing she'd be cold once she woke up without proper grooming. With a heavy sigh Jackie pulled out a grooming kit that was already in the room, beginning to groom the feline and brush her stomach.

" … 'leksey," Sabre hummed in her sleep, pawing at the air. "I miss you."

"Relax, Sabre. I'm just grooming you." Jackie said, gently petting Sabre's cheek while fluffing up her belly to help dry out the wet and smelly fur.

Sabre softly muttered something under her breath, leaning against Jackie's hand and purring in her sleep. "Stay with me … don't leave me."

Jackie paused before her heart melted with a very softy smile on her face. "Of course not. I'm here for you, Sabre." Jackie said, kissing Sabre's forehead as she situated herself on the cushion, hugging Sabre safely in her arms. "Get some sleep, Sabre."

The feline didn't answer; she only cuddled the host amongst purrs and went to sleep with the host not too far behind.

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 **MEMEMEMEEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMMEEMMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMMEME**

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While Sabre was taken away to sleep in some room, Reza's finned ear lightly twitched, picking up the vibrations through the ground of someone approaching. He quickly rolled to the side and hid himself in a broom closet, listening to the disgruntled chefs desperately searching for him. After Reza had cleaned himself off and was finally clean of that disgusting stench, he found the chefs onboard horribly mangling the food ingredients. And so when they weren't looking, he went ahead and took the liberty of stealing all their rice cookers, knives, cutting boards and most importantly, their ingredients. Those who did not know the proper way to prepare sushi did not deserve to be near any cutlery.

With perfect precision he rolled out of his hiding spot, slipping down the halls before finding the perfect hideaway spot; a large empty room in the back of the boat that was designated as a resting area. Reza grinned before slipping inside, silently shutting it before rubbing his hands together deviously. And now to start cooking. Reza turned, pausing as he saw Kroc and Dumisa laying inside of the room, relaxing and trying not to move around too much. With how cold everywhere else on the ship was, this room was also the only one with a decent heat lamp; and both Dumisa and Kroc were crowding underneath of it to keep warm.

"Hey reptiles! If anyone comes looking for me or for some missing utensils and ingredients, and I'm not saying anyone might … just cover for me. I'm not here even when I am because I'm making real professional food, understand?" Reza half slithered over to Dumisa, hiding behind his excessive body before setting up the small cooking station inside of the shallow tub of water meant for Reza to stay in.

"You making some sushi?" Kroc asked, looking over at the array of food Reza had somehow snuck away from the kitchen. "Give me some of the salmon; I'm hungry." Kroc said, reaching over to try and take some salmon but Reza's knife came down hard just between Kroc's finger and the precious unprepared ingredient.

"Wait patiently until it's done. There are only a few ingredients and crocodile meat shouldn't be among those." Reza smiled quite scarily.

"Act like that and I'll bite you." Kroc huffed in annoyance, lightly hissing but deciding to wait for the whole meal. He'd prefer to wait for a good meal instead of getting poisoned.

"Act like that and your precious heat lamp may become a suitable target for knife throwing practice." Reza held up a knife, balancing it quite playfully. "After all, the completion of a perfect dish is more important than a simple lamp that may serve as a sharpening device for my tools."

Kroc's gaze narrowed before he wisely pulled back, glaring at Reza as a continuous hiss filled the air from the annoyed crocodile.

"Move over, you overgrown lizard. I need the heat too." Dumisa hissed, pushing himself closer underneath the tiny heat lamp in an attempt to push more of Kroc out of the way but was unsuccessful.

"There's only so much room, mate." Kroc hissed at Dumisa in annoyance, cracking his jaws open in annoyance with a renewed hiss filling the air. The room wasn't small; there was plenty of room for everyone but the heat lamp was barely fitting the two reptiles underneath of it.

"Make some. That old hag did this on purpose, I'm sure." Dumisa complained, coiling himself as much as he could as near as it was possible while glaring at the crocodile. "Move aside." He hissed.

After a few minutes of intense glaring and hissing the door quietly opened as a black silhouette entered the room.

Eztli perked up, excited and smiled towards them all. "So everyone is here? Yay! Are you cuddling too?" Eztli asked as he trotted over to them happily.

The moment Eztli came close enough, Dumisa's tail snapped around the jaguar and yanked him into a bone crushing hug since the snake's entire body wasn't under the lamp. "You, mammal. Help warm me." Dumisa ordered, crushing Eztli in his grip to ensure there was no escape. With the heat lamp already being shared with Kroc, Dumisa was open to any other heat packs that might come along for him to use.

"Yay! Cuddles!" Eztli purred, switching to try and hug Dumisa back but unabe to do it so, instead, he enjoyed the lamia's hug and the massage that was making his own bones crack deliciously.

"Mew." A small meow from the door called as a very hesitant looking little fox poked his head inside, dragging his safety blanket and looking around for something. He sniffed the air, glancing around before looking towards the squirming ingredients by Reza's side. With an excited gasp the fox came bounding inside, giggling and running over to the bucket of goods by his side.

"Don't take those Antain, I'm going to use them for a recipe. Not that I'm saying I'm bluffing a treat, but I'd have to use you as an ingredient if you destroy my ingredients." Reza said, touching Antain's nose and then tilting his head. "That wouldn't be good, right? Not with a royal mom, I'd probably be thrown in jail for that. Jail is super fun but super boring; I can't get the right ingredients if I go to jail." Reza frowned in annoyance, "In any case, I'll give you something else to play with and I'll teach you to throw knives later if you behave."

Antain giggled and ignored Reza while reaching into the bucket, trying to reach to the shelled crabs inside. With a roll of his eyes Reza quickly cut off the head of a fish, tossing it over to Antain and knocking him off the edge of the bucket. "Here, play with this." Reza said, taking the bucket of crabs away from him. Antain shook himself out, looking at the gasping fish head before he excitedly whined and leapt around it, batting at the head and giggling as it twitched every so often.

A faint grunting groan was heard by the door as a particular scent made everyone immediately perk up, all males puffing up immediately with their best intimidation tactics. Their eyes glued to the bandaged up grumpy tiger stepping into the room with a paw over his aching side. Immediate hisses rang out, coupled with Jaska's fierce snarl towards them as the standoff between the alpha males immediately became tense. In Jaska's paw he held onto a small portable fish tank with a familiar very fat fish inside. "Smith bring this; take fish, Reza." Jaska growled before dropping the movable tank onto the ground before kicking it through the air, watching as it tumbled around before hitting the wall and messily plopped onto the ground with Baba rolling around inside of the water. No one paid attention to the state of the fish, however. All of the cold blooded predators had their sights on Jaska.

"Surprised you walked in here so easily." Dumisa hissed at Jaska, "you must be begging for the kiss of death … but for you, it would assuredly be a bite."

Reza's blade glimmered. "Looks like I'll get the ingredients for tiger sushi after all." He murderously smirked before suddenly frowning. "But then there'd be too much food. And wasting food is never good. Although given the cold I suppose it can be freezed and consumed later … frozen food is not always good. Fresh food is better, but I suppose we can use some of that food for the crew … or I can simply salt the meat and use it later somehow." Reza mumbled off to himself, trying to figure out what to do with the excess tiger meat now that the opportunity had presented itself.

Kroc said no words; he only continued to hiss at the big cat as his big tail slapped couple times over the floor, leaning forward in an intimidating manner and parting his menacing jaws to expose his sharp teeth.

Jaska walked inside, slowly but surely, and shut the door behind him. The males remained tense, ready for Jaska's angry retort or potential lunge towards them, but the Siberian tiger only took a seat and let out a long pained breath. Jaska closed his eyes, insulting the males by how at ease Jaska seemed to be. After everything he did, he had the balls to close his eyes in safety among the other males? Before the males could take action against this insult, Jaska spoke up. "I'm sorry." He said with his ears down, making the males pause.

Out of everyone, Antain leapt forward in a jump, his jaws open and roaring. He landed over Jaska's chest and bit over the fluff covering Jaska's neck right over the zone where a big bite would be lethal, but his small mouth only close dover fur. Still, quite decided Antain continued to bite around, hiss and claw at Jaska. "Tipped mena bad!"

"Hmph. Even the fox cub knows a worthless lump of fur when he sees one." Dumisa miffed with a smirk, "and he can barely speak." The snake's smile turned poisonous. "You think you'd be forgiven easily? Not even Antain is willing to accept your half hearted apology."

Jaska looked down at the attacking pup but did nothing to stop him. He had no right to stop the little pup; besides, his bites weren't even making it through his thick fur. If anything this was good practice for the fox cub.

"You're lucky we don't rip you apart here and now." Kroc hissed in anger towards him.

"Why don't you, then?" Jaska taunted with a glaring snark, "or you letting cub try job first?"

Seeing his attacks being ineffective, Antain pulled away and spit out a puffball of fluff before he ran over to Reza's stolen knife rack. With a glare Antain picked up the biggest knife possible, barely getting it out of the slot before he stumbled back. The weight of the knife made him fall over before it hit the lip of the bucket and knocked it towards him. The lil fox fell onto his back as the crabs spilled out over him, and a moment later, Antain's sudden jolt made the crabs lock their pincers onto him, painfully pinching his fur and skin. His eyes burst open in fright as he let out a loud shriek of pain before the little fox sprinted around the room screaming with the crabs holding onto him.

The eyes of the males widened in startlement before Kroc and Dumisa immediately lunged for the small screaming fox to try and grab him and get the crabs while Eztli snapped up from his nap looking around in confusion.

"My ingredients!" Reza screamed in horror while Antain, in panic, leapt over the reptiles that crashed against each other who tried to grab him. The merman began throwing knives to cut off most of the arms of the crabs but their claws remained locked on the kit's fur and clothes as he continued to dash around crying loudly for his mama.

Before Kroc and Dumisa could grab Antain again Jaska caught him, holding onto Antain firmly as he used his sharp nails to pinch and snap off the claws of the crabs.

"What you expect from crabs? They have pincer, they pinch. Watch environment better." Jaska scolded the crying Antian as the tiger snapped off the last crab, leaving Antain a crying mess at the lingering pain along with some spots of blood where the crabs claws broke through the skin. "Enough cry; you predator, da? You kill crabs, not cry." Jaska said, gently licking the little fox's wounds.

Antain sobbed in fright and hugged Jaska tightly, trembling and crying against his fur.

"Antain! No te preocupes peque, vas a estar bien! ( _Don't worry small one, you'll be fine!_ )"- Eztli shouted, quickly grabbing the baby and grooming him and licking up the blood while Antain clung to him, whimpering and trembling in fright. "We ... we'll teach you how to kill crabs. That'll make it better, right?" Eztli said, looking at a crab before slapping it, looking back to Antain and trying to make him look, "see, it's easy-OUCH!" Eztli shouted, leaping up almost 7 feet into the air before landing a small ways away, staring at the crab pinching his hand. He stared at it emptily, feeling the glowing warmth of pain against his skin before brightly blushing and laughing, "see, Antain? They're not scary, they feel good!" Eztli laughed before setting Antain down and throwing himself onto the ground, laughing and purring as the crabs pinched him through his soft fur. "YEOWWWWWWWWWWWW! They feel sooo good!" Eztli cried out excitedly, rolling around on top of the pinching crabs.

" … might as well step in. Eztli won't teach the tyche right." Kroc said with a heavy sigh. This feline was definitely very, very weird. "Look, Antain, all you need to do is crush their shells." Kroc said, lightly tugging on Antain and making him watch. Antain followed Kroc's tail, watching him lift it up before smacking the crab's shell hard with his tail, smashing the crab to pieces. "See? Easy." He grinned before turning and seeing Antain backing up towards a crab slowly, hesitantly lifting up his tail to try it.

"Are you an idiot?!" Dumisa hissed, using his tail to stop Atain from imitating Kroc. "Look, what you need to do it rip off their claws first." Dumisa said, picking up one of the grabs from the front, "and then all you need to do is rip it off." The black mamba continued, ripping off the one claw before the other one reached around, pinching the back of his hand. "OW!" Dumisa shouted, startling before glaring at the crab hanging from his hand. "You little ugly worthless crustacean!" Dumisa hissed, ripping the crab off but the hand remained attached to his hand, making the snake painfully hiss and trying to delicately remove the claw from his skin.

"You all idiot who not know how to kill crab!" Jaska growled and picked up the little fox, bringing him back over to him before he got on all fours, letting out a pained breath, "this what do, fox. Get behind and crush shell." Jaska said, lining himself up with a crab while Antain hid behind one of his arms, watching Jaska reach out and carefully hover his arm before he stepped on the crab, crushing its shell with ease. "See? This how kill little pinching crab. Crush shell, then eat." Jaska said, pulling over the dead crab for Antain.

Antain flinched away and tried to leap away from it in fright but Jaska caught him, turning Antain back around and watch while Jaska tapped the unmoving claws of the crab. Antain blinked, staring at the unmoving crab before he slowly and hesitantly walked over to it, gently tapping on the shell of the crap before gasping, hopping on top of it and giggling as he sat down and licked at his paws, savoring the taste of the crab.

"Hmph. Leave it to a mammal to teach the tyche right." Kroc huffed in annoyance, glancing away with a sour expression on his face. "Sheela's are better at rearing anyways. We don't even have experience but Sabre managed to teach the lil' ankle bitter to attack right on the spot." Kroc smirked. "I don't think Sabre will be happy that the 'stripped menage' touched her precious cub though."

"She not here now; she not have right to complain if I touch cub or not." Jaska snapped back at Kroc, poking Antain's back to prove it as the fox licked his paws to taste the crab juice of the kill on them. After a brief glare towards the cub, Jaska's eyes softened considerably. "I _am_ sorry about that." Jaska admitted with a frown.

"You think you can just apologize after what happened? You nearly ripped the sheela's to shreds." Kroc hissed in annoyance, making a move to get up but noticed Dumisa trying to move in to monopolize the heat lamp. The crocodile quickly sat down, reclaiming his spot as the black mamba's tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth.

"Do you really think you have any room to say that? You went feral too and almost killed Sabre _and_ the host. Out of the lot of you, I was the only one who never went feral." Dumisa hissed, whipping Kroc's tail in annoyance but Kroc stayed in place underneath the heater.

"That dangerous part; you bite host and you _not_ feral at time." Jaska pointed out, "that worse than feral and hurting without meaning to." He hissed.

The entire room filled with silence as each and every one of the charges came to the same realization; all of them had tried to kill the host at one time or another.

"Actually, out of everyone here, I'm the only one who didn't try to kill anyone…. much." Reza spoke up with a smirk, "does that make me the most mature alpha of the bunch?" Reza noted aloud in honest curiosity, proud of himself.

"What about time when you try to eat host?" Jaska asked with a raised eyebrow in Reza's direction.

"Oh, right." Reza blinked before closing his eyes tightly, suddenly remembering the horror of the blow dryer blowing in his eyes. The mere memory of the horribly dry air made him shudder and sink deeper into the small shallow pool he was in. "And Eztli tried to kill the host too when he went feral. It's weird how all of us have tried to kill the host one way or another." Reza noted.

A small sheepish chuckle floated from Jaska's lips before Kroc soon followed, all of them filling the air with some form of laughter. None of them had the right to criticize one another because all of them had tried eating or hurting the host in some way.

"This is silly. None of us have the right to scold the other, do we?" Kroc said with a deep laugh, finding the tension in the room gone from that point on.

"Funny how things work out, isn't it?" Dumisa noted aloud with a lazy huff before picking up the jaguar still rolling in the crabs, tossing him amongst the serpent's coils and tightly hugging him for warmth once again.

"But what about Sabre?" Eztli asked aloud while purring in the presence of the crushing hug along with the pinching of the crabs, "Kroc tried to kill her first, then Jaska … did anyone else try to kill Sabre?" Eztli asked aloud. "I didn't try to kill her ... I think?" He said, unsure of himself. "I don't remember."

Reza raised his hand. "Neither did I."

"Nor I. So that leaves Kroc and Jaska with the highest number of near death experiences." Dumisa pointed out with a smirk.

"I think I was sort of trying to protect her but it didn't came out right." Kroc sheepishly chuckled and then perked. "Oh wait … not that time. I did try to kill her the first time the sheela showed up."

"I almost forgot about that one." Dumisa admitted, remembering how he pinned her down. "Still, Jaska tried on various occasions. That counts double… triple towards him."

"Should I start a tally?" Eztli offered, trying to remember if there was a time he attacked Sabre in any way; there didn't seem to be any on his account.

"Yeah, we're going to tally this up and figure out who's the most guilty." Dumisa said, positive he wasn't the worst of the bunch.

"So a tally per attempt?" Reza thoughtfully suggested.

"Double for intentions." Jaska growled lightly with a glare towards Dumisa.

"Half for accidents." Kroc added for good measure.

"But how do we account for who's was worse and in what situation?" Eztli asked curiously.

Amongst the males who were now on good terms with one another and busy trying to figure out the most guilty party for ranking reasons, Antain managed to slip away with the killed crab without the predator's noticing.

The lil fox excitedly ran down the hall and up to the upper cabins, heading towards his mama's room before poking his head inside, seeing both his mama and the host sleeping side by side with one another. Antain ran over to them both and leapt onto the cushion, purring as he nuzzled with his mama. Seeing his mama was asleep with her mouth open, Antian grinned and pushed the crab into her mouth for her to taste.

He paused, however, noticing that the weakest of their pack was without food either, so he bit the crab's arm, tugging and pulling on it before managing to pull it off with a big grin on his face. Antain ran over to the host, pushing her lips open with the tip of the crab claw before leaving it there for her for when she woke up. Proud that the females of the pack were all fed and happy, Antian nestled himself down between the two of them, purring happily and enjoying their warm embraces.

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The moment the ship docked at its destination, Sabre was packed and ready to escape. She needed to try and slip away before anyone noticed. Before she could slip away, however, Ms. Smith and a group of workers came and escorted them all off the ship with exception to Jaska, who was remaining behind due to obvious circumstances.

Sabre looked around, looking around for an escape route as they walked and sniffed the air, wincing as her nose continued to ache and block off her sense of smell. "d***it, Reza! I can't smell anything ye.t" She complained, poking her own nose in hopes of making it work again. She had her bag set and was holding Antian tightly, pacing a bit and growling with her tail flicking around nervously as she tried to determine where they were exactly. The port wasn't offering much clues as to where they were other than it being cold and snowy.

The black jaguar looked around the small group, noticing someone was missing. He made a few spins, trying to figure out his location before speaking up. "Hey, where's Jas-HMMPH!" Eztli shouted, startled as Dumisa's tail shot down his throat to silence him.

"Quiet, half wit." Dumisa snapped at Eztli with a stern glare. Until Sabre was safely secured inside one of the vans, Jaska wasn't allowed off of the ship. No one wanted to have a fight to the death or another feral incident.

As Eztli choked on the tail he nodded, his eyes becoming half lidded. With a sensual moan he curled back, stretching his back with his hips happily twitching before grabbing onto Dumisa's tail and began sucking on it.

A sharp startled shiver shot up Dumisa's spine as he tried to yank his sensitive tail away but Eztli remained latched on like a leech, much to the serpent's displeasure. "You are one of the most disturbing creatures I've ever had the misfortune of meeting." Dumisa admitted, trying to pull his tail free but Eztli held tight and continued to suckle on it, groaning into the thick protrusion down his throat.

"Eztli, dont suck on Dumisa without asking for his permission first." Sabre pulled Eztli off of Dumisa's tail and dedicated the snake a small smile before she stepped aside, seeing her chance on a street that lead to the center of the city where along the way there probably were many side streets to get lost into. She was about to dash for it when strong furry arms hugged her.

"Sabre, this snow thing is funny! It's soft when it falls but then it gets wet!" Eztli said, hesitating before stomping on the snow. "And it makes crunchy noises!" He stopped for a moment, stretching out his toes and wriggling them. "But it's cold … and wet." He pouted, hugging her tighter and nuzzling against her with a purr, "I'll just have to hug you and we'll get warmer together!"

"Eztli, I'm not cold. I have my winter coat already! Don't you see how d*** fluffy I am?" Sabre tried to push Eztli away but when she saw his bright happy eyes. She couldn't hit or scratch him in order to get away; he was too much like a kitten. "The snow … why don't you try jumping around and check it more?"

"But you're so warm! And the snow is so cold … maybe after I warm up a bit." Eztli softly yowled in cheerful pleasure, purring deeply and leaning on her to try and get more of her warmth.

"Get off the sheela, mate." Kroc said with a huff, trying to pull Eztli off of Sabre while the jaguar clung to the fluffy leopardess like a tick. The sheela had to go; she looked almost desperate for it; Kroc knew that. And helping her escape was the least he could do to thank her for helping him with Ale.

At the sudden sound of trucks approaching all of them tensed up. Sabre hissed and tried to shy away as Eztli tightly hugged her, nuzzling against her with a soft purring in his chest, but Sabre wasn't calming down. In fact, she was far more restless. The only reason she wasn't acting was because she could see the tranq guns Smith's crew and the coordinator carried for a 'just in case' reason that someone should go feral or try to escape.

Ms. Smith stepped up to the group, making them turn their attention to her as the workers opened the backs of the vans for them to get into, with one having a small tank against the back for Reza. The coordinator turned and looked to the group of charges, making sure they were paying attention to her. "Okay listen up! We have a bit of a drive ahead of us and unfortunately, the vans we managed to get do not have proper heating so the reptiles and mammals will be evenly split to ensure the reptiles don't freeze to death." Ms. Smith announced. "Separate yourselves now and get into the vans; we need to get going before the snow storm hits." Ms. Smith said with a glance towards the oncoming dark gray clouds.

Kroc turned towards the host and Eztli, determined to peel Eztli off and let the sheela escape. Sabre had been looking for an exit this entire time and this might be her last chance to get away before they're too heavily guarded. "Hey, Eztli, come'ere. You're coming in the van with me, mate." Kroc said, reaching over to grab Eztli.

In the blink of an eye Dumisa shot forward, snatching up Sabre, Antain, Eztli and Jackie in one swoop before he launched himself into the more spacious van with his chosen heat packs. Kroc's eyes bulged in startlement, barely having time to look towards the van and seeing Dumisa slam the truck doors shut, locking it up tight. "I've got my heat packs!" He shouted from inside while the van shook and took off with all four mammals shouting and roaring for room inside, starting its way down the road now that it had its passengers.

"Wait!" Kroc exclaimed. He was about to cause some trouble that might give the sheela some time to escape but now it was too late. He frowned deeply, realizing he could no longer be of any help.

"Kroc, don't be upset." Smith heavily sighed, making a motion towards the ship to bring down Jaska. "Jaska can serve as your heat pack on the duration of the trip up. Reza will be in his tank so you don't need to worry about his spikes; there's not enough room in the vans to carry both you and Dumisa in the same one with sufficient heat for the two of you." Ms. Smith apologizes while pointing to the van, "now hurry up; I wanted to be on the road an hour ago." Ms. Smith sharply stated, leaving no room for arguments.

Kroc let out a very heavy sigh and glanced back towards the ship, spotting Jaska pushing the wheelchair with a bundled up Reza sitting on the seat and hugging a portable fish carrier containing Baba. Kroc frowned in annoyance before accepting his fate, crawling into the van with the small tank in it for Reza situated inside of it. Kroc stared at the approaching duo, locking his gaze onto the portable fish carrier. " … how'd that fish get here?" Kroc asked, confused as he stared at the container.

"Ms. Smith shot it." Reza simply answered as if that answered everything. Kroc stared at the lazily floating fish, unblinking before he let out a sigh and decided to wisely let this go. Who cares how that fat fish got here.

"Van too small. Cramped." The tiger groaned, seeing the space he was supposed to be riding in.

"Sorry Jaska, but you're going to have to cuddle up with Kroc to keep him warm for the trip." Smith said with a bit of an anxious frown, seeing Jaska's face grimaced in annoyance.

"Can't believe I would prefer black mamba over this." Jaska noted in annoyance, hissing in Kroc's direction.

"F*** off, mate. Not like I want to either." Kroc hissed at him but teetered, slightly drowsy from the cold already. Jaska crawled into the back as some workers very carefully helped Reza into the tank, watching the lion fish slip inside without making the slightest bit of splashing. The workers took some time to make some last minute checking to the tank's heating wires as Reza popped out of the water and stared at the warm cuddly mammal.

"What about me? I'm cold so I can cuddle with you all too, right? I don't care if you aren't a royal noble kitty like our fat leopard kitty, but you are a fluffy kitty and you are warm and I'm cold. I promise I won't sting you unless you make me sting you. Even the reptile seems good for cuddling, and he can't be stung on the back so it's fine if I'm in the middle." Reza asked as Kroc and Jaska remained silent, their faces paling in realization of what Reza wanted.

"You have heated water." Jaska pointed out but Reza opened the top of the tank, crawling out over towards them. "And there no royal bastet anymore. Cats welcomed in other court but cats have no organization now save for 'that' and council. Cold froze fish brain it seem"

"But the plant said so and she seems different! And I don't mind, it makes no difference. You are fluffy so cuddle with me. The water is barely warm and you're probably warmer, so come." Reza extended his arms trying to reach but the predators slowly moved away from him, strategically just being out of reach. Neither one wanted to get near his many venomous points; they knew how much they hurt.

"Well, this is not so bad, even if it's not that good. But I can't tolerate it if I don't get more warmth. Couldn't they buy real heaters? They could sent the bill to the palace or to the host. And where is the host? And where are we? It's cold and snowy; should it be snowy? How much snowy is too snowy? ... are there interesting ingredients in snowy places? I heard about this big deers called 'muses'. I don't think a deer is inspiring at all but it might be interesting making soup or maybe even sushi out of those … ," Reza mused, beginning one of his lengthy monologues.

"I want to switch cars. Call the other one back." Kroc said, trying to get out but Ms. Smith grabbed the car doors with an evil smile.

"Too late." Ms. Smith smiled before shutting the van doors.

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Meanwhile in the other van, Dumisa cheekily grinned and carefully positioned each mammal into a strategic spot amongst his coils to perfectly ensure that all of his body would be nicely warmed by their hot blood and warm pelts or skin. The mammals all squirmed and complained but Dumisa kept a tight grip on them all, holding the host specifically in his arms against his chest. His tightest grip, however, was on Eztli to keep the jaguar from squirming away while he held the other two girls rather gently; firm enough to keep them still but loose enough to not squish them.

"Hmmm~ it's nice and warm here." Dumisa mumbled sleepily, nuzzling against the host happily.

"Dumisa, let me go. You can keep Eztli and the host, but let me go!" Sabre groaned, squirming while trying to break free and grab Anrtain, who was sleeping in a way that looked like a fur boa around Dumisa's neck.

"Don't squish so hard, Dumisa." Jackie complained, she too unable to move away as the others.

"Squish harder." Eztli moaned, purring and shifting in the restraining coils.

"Don't be so immature; you're all keeping me very, very warm. Thank you." Dumisa softly smiled, nuzzling his face into the crook of the host's neck while very gently rubbing her sides with his hands.

" … Dumisa, I thought you said you would behave yourself." The host reminded him, lightly tugging on his hair.

"Whatever do you mean? I'm only trying to warm you up move using friction to keep myself warmer. Is this getting your excited, host?" Dumisa teasingly smiled, gently flicking his tongue near her ear. "But honestly though, it _is_ pretty cold." Dumisa admitted, tightening his coils slightly around Sabre and Eztli.

"Dumisa, seriously! Let go, the d*** vehicle is too cramped anyways." Sabre growled, stretching her claws and lightly pawing at Dumisa's belly scales as a warning with her pupils already slits. "I don't like being trapped."

"You think any of us do either?" Dumisa asked with a smug and happy grin that was impossible to read as anything other than being extremely happy and satisfied. "Just enjoy the cuddling, Sabre."

"But you're happy, right, Dumisa?" Eztli asked with a happy purr.

"Hmm~ yes, yes I am. Dark, tight fitting and warm places are my favorite," the black mamba deeply smiled, laying his head against the host's plush chest. "I feel sleepy … I'm going to take a nap." Dumisa happily said, shifting a little bit to make everyone accommodate nicely as he got comfy.

Sabre's lower lip trembled a little bit and her growls softened before she took in a deep breath, calming herself, feeling her chest tighten up a bit. This was the last time she was going to be with these other wonderful Extraspecies and host … she almost didn't want to leave them. Everything felt so perfect and sweet here; but she already made up her mind to make her escape. She might, probably contact Dumisa indirectly at some point due to the clothes line she's made up, but still… still it simply didn't feel right to just leave and not say anything at all. She wanted to tell them how much she had come to like them all, even more than mere liking, they were ... special, but she had a difficult time trying to think of the words without making it obvious that this was goodbye; if she wasn't subtle enough they might catch on. But she would try to at least. "Hey, host?"

"Yes I know it's cramped but there's not much I can do about it." Jackie heavily sighed, trying to unsuccessfully push Dumisa's head away but he held firm, lightly rubbing her waist happily.

"Just so you know, your scent is not as bothersome as it was in the beginning, it's kinda nice actually. And you are a good nanny for Antain, even though you always forget we prefer our duck roasted and not grilled." Sabre meowed with her tail nervously twitching back and forth.

"Y-Yeah? Do I?" Jackie asked, craning back slightly and looking down at Sabre. The expression on her face looked almost heartbroken. The host blinked, surprised to see Sabre's expression looking so … lost, sad and trapped. "Hey, Sabre, are you alright?" Jackie asked, reaching her hand back and gently caressing her cheek. Sabre leaned into her palm, purring and

"You are very dull, uncultured, ignorant and gullible. But your pets are really nice and all." The leopardess sighed. She was going to miss the host's petting, that's for sure.

" … um … thank you?" The host said, unsure if that was a compliment like it sounded or an insult.

"Omph! Omph! Wump abouuth meph?" Eztli's muffled voice excitedly asked as he wormed his head free, looking over to Sabre excitedy, "what about me?" He wheezed out with an excited blushing smile.

"You are adorable, Eztli. You may be a bit confused and on the brink of being a cub and an adult bastet mentally, but you are sincere and idiotically well intentioned. You are caring even when you are being weird. I suppose you could be a great mate at some point, even if you aren't that much of an alpha." Sabre chuckled.

Eztli excitedly smiled, trying to worm out of the coils to give Sabre a hug but the black mamba's body tightened around him, burying him under another thick and heavy coil to keep the heat pack where Dumisa wanted him to be, "you aren't about to leave me out of this, are you?" Dumisa asked as he hugged the host, leaning over and hovering near Sabre's head, "give me compliments too. I don't deserve to be left out of your praises." Dumisa smirked, poking the kitty leopard on the nose playfully.

Sabre gave a smull purr and smiled. "You are a difficult and overly sensitive diva." Sabre chuckled. "But your sense of style is as shiny as your scales and you can make almost any clothing stand out with your poses. And overall, although you are incredibly selfish and normally inconsiderate, you are a great friend and a good cuddler … when you aren't being pushy, forceful, or squishing too tightly."

"And?" Dumisa enticed, leaning over and very gently bumping his chin to her head, going for a very light nuzzle, "what else?" He asked, tightening his coils around her just a little bit to encourage her to speak more.

Sabre giggled and nuzzled him. "And you are a good nanny too. Should I mention you are also a good learner and an awesome 'danger noodle'?"

Antain mewed and leaned over Dumisa's neck, pressing his little paws against Sabre's head and looking at her with an expectant smile.

"And you of course are the best, most intelligent, brave and wonderful pup, Antain!" Sabre extended to reach for her cub and Antian jumped towards her to receive licks, purrs, and love.

Dumisa softly smiled covered the hosts ears and tightening his coils around a loudly moaning Eztli before leaning in against Sabre's ear. "I want a better goodbye than that later." Dumisa softly whispered into her ear with a knowing soft smile, gently nuzzling against her before pulling back, "now, I'm going to sleep. Be my pillow, host." Dumisa said, dropping the host over his coils but before she could get away, he pinned her and laid on top of her with a satisfied smile.

Sabre's eyes widened for a second before her expression became serious. Without saying anything more she cuddled down, knowing that even if Dumisa had caught on, there wouldn't be any other chance to say good bye.

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 **.**

The other van, however, was not so cuddly and forgiving. Much less because Reza was out of his tank to 'cuddle' with the other predators, hugging them and refusing to return to his tank at all for the duration of the ride.

The ever present threat of Reza mistakenly stabbing his venomous spines into either Kroc or Jaska were a constant presence as the lionfish laid over them both, delighting in the warmth of their bodies. The slightest bumps and divots in the road made the other both of the predators tense up in alarm, struggling to avoid the fish's deadly spikes. At first they had high hopes of locking the fish back in the tank when he had to rehydrate himself but unfortunately for them, Reza was wearing a special covering of certain 'Wyld' Extra species fashion brand, which helped him retain water for hours at a time; much to the misfortune of the crocodile and tiger at his mercy.

"I wouldn't have considered it in the past but cuddling and getting pet is actually quite nice. Of course the host is not here to pet or lick my ears but the cuddling is nice. Weird but nice. I'm not saying it's 'that' nice because you aren't the most cuddly type but I'm saying it's still good enough. Some sushi and sake would make it better but that will have to wait until we get to wherever we're going. And wherever that is, it's surely a super secret place. Not even Smith's crew knew where we were going or even that they were transporting nobles, but, mep," Reza spoke nonstop, going on a long all winded 'purring', "Although I wonder if the council will get involved. After that incident at the warehouse, and I think I saw Longmei there. Longmei? Maomei? Menglong? Weimeng? Longyao? Weiweyao? Mengtao Longwei? Yaowei? Mengtao Longmei? Hmph, weird name. But I mean the big long carp. That's bad, I think that guy was in some meeting back when I was a guard. He was always a direct operative for that old … wolf? Cat? No definitely cat. That old cat is related to this grumpy cat, no? Why is it that the council isn't more involved? Oh, I guess it's like a secret flavor inside soy sauce, he doesn't know, maybe? Not that it doesn't matters, he probably is bad at cuddling and he looks it too with all those scars. Maybe our snake is better at cuddling with all those fat filled sausage links of a body that hugs all around? What if we give him a fuzzy sweater so he can cuddle all along? Like the host's fuzzy feet sleepers but a long cone, but a weird soft cone that's weirdly mushy. Have either of you noticed how much weight he put on? He says it's easy for snakes to gain a lot of weight and lose a lot of it but I doubt that. Maybe he'll grow so big he'll let me use some of him in a recipe sometime. Do you think his scales will naturally pop off at some point? I think his scales would be a beautiful accent piece to a special dish … maybe some of your scales too," he rambled on, poking Kroc's scales, "if your muscles get any bigger some scales will start peeling off, right? Would I be able to use them in a dish? After cleaning them of course but your scales aren't as beautiful … maybe I can make a whole dish out of everyone. Not of their meat, well maybe the tiger's meat, but most so pieces of everyone to add to the dish for accent pieces. But fur doesn't make very good accent pieces, so maybe a tooth or claw from the furry ones?"

The one sided chatting was so bad, in fact, that the driver up front had closed the small window leading into the back and turning up the music in the front in an attempt to mute the fish's constant babbling.

Throughout Reza's babbling of words, Jaska and Kroc cast a very subtle glance towards one another, silently communicating and coming to an agreement; in order for this torture to stop, they needed to lock this chatterbox away inside of the tank. Otherwise both of them would likely get poisoned at some point throughout this trip. Both predators got ready to pounce at the first sign of a distraction, all the while letting the lionfish chat as much as he wanted.

"And how had Baba survived? At all. Don't you wonder it?" He pointed at the tank where Baba was rolling inside his portable carrier. "It's almost as marvelous as sushi, but not as good. I still wonder how sushi from all of you would taste. Maybe you can give me some pieces to try? I doubt the any of you would miss mucha few fingers or the tip of your tails," Reza's chatting continued more and more before he stopped for a second, distracted by a particularly large bump in the road, after which, he turned to look up front at the driver's seat. "Hey, Driver! Are we there yet? And does the place we are staying at have a good kitchen?"

A new bump, a large one, made the fish jump in the air. The moment the fish was slightly in the air Jaska lunged for the box, opening it as Kroc grabbed Reza by the head and roughly threw him inside. Disoriented, Reza spun around in the water in confusion before Jaska slammed the top shut, locking Reza inside with Baba as the lionfish gasped, realizing he had been betrayed by his cuddlers. As the both of the predators sat down with a heavy thankful sigh, Reza glared at them with the look of betrayal and future murder in his eyes. His mouth opened and closed with speaking but with the box locked shut, none of his words would thankfully be heard, giving the predators a chance to finally give their ears a rest from being chatted off the entire time.

Without warning Kroc suddenly grabbed Jaska, making the tiger jolt and roar before Kroc got a lock on him from behind, holding him tight and still. Jaska snarled and hissed, thinking the crocodile wanted to wrestle in the back of the van which would have been extremely stupid before Jaska paused, managing to feel just how cold Kroc's body was. Jaska clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth in annoyance. The d*** reptile was freezing and needed his 'heat pack' now. That must have been what motivated Kroc to get Reza in the box; so he could warm up against Jaska's hot blooded body. "Not cuddle." He calmly growled, giving the crocodile a slight glare.

" … just let it happen, mate. I'm starting to fall asleep from the cold." Kroc said with a frown, pressing his head against Jaska's back, lightly hissing from the drowsy numbness sweeping over his body. Now with Reza in the tank, Kroc could finally get a little warmed up now.

"Then sleep, but no hug." Jaska growled, pissed off at the general situation.

"You think I like cuddling up to a self absorbed insecure tiger? Nah mate, I want to f***ing live, and it's too cold to be picky. You are the only fur rug around." Kroc weakly hissed, slumping over slightly before tightening his grasp on the tiger and closing his eyes, trying to concentrate on the warmth instead of the cold.

" … you and Sabre. Are you mates? Or you really no mates?" Jaska asked as he glanced back at the crocodile, seeing that in his weakened state he'd more likely tell the truth.

"No, idiot. We are not mates." Kroc heavily sighed, glancing away before mumbling, "not unless she wants to." Kroc paused, turning his glare back to Jaska. "It pisses me off that you keep thinking that. If I weren't so sleepy I'd rip you apart just for bringing it up again." The crocodile hissed, baring his teeth angrily. "You hurt the sheela a lot, and if you don't apologize to her I'll really rip you apart and not even the bloody host will stop me."

"Da? You speak honest truth?" Jaska asked, perking up with his tail flicking back and forth curiously.

"Ask me again and I'll snap your bloody neck, mate. This s*** that has gone down with Sabre is bloody pissing me off. You seriously think she only cared for that heat? After all she fought against it?" He hissed, hesitating, "and you might want to apologize fast. Never know when the sheela might disappear." Kroc sighed, bothered that she would most likely be gone by the time they got to the lodge. At the very least they were able to say their goodbyes, however brief. He'd miss her, that was for sure.

Jaska paused, "what do you mean?" Jaska asked, glancing back at Kroc in confusion. The way he said those words sounded strange. Kroc's eyes widened, realizing his mistake and that the tiger was catching on. The siberian tiger, seeing Kroc's sleepy panic, understood what he meant. The young Extraspecies was going to try and escape and Kroc knew that she was planning to do that. But why would Sabre try to run away _again_?! Jaska paused, rethinking what had occurred with her. Was she really going to run away because of what he's done? D***it, he needed to properly apologize to that spoiled cat but he had no idea how to do that. He understood that what was between them was over. He had f***ed up; however, she still _was_ Aleksey's mate, even if he was gone. No matter what happened, she was still considered part of his pack family to some degree and he had acted very poorly and spoiled towards her. He paused for the briefest of moments, recalling the world 'pack'. Tch; the experiment really did mess with his mind too much, giving him the weirdest desire to be part of a pack but also wanting to be alone. With a sudden lunge Jaska reached for the window, planning to rip it off and tell the drivers to call Ms. Smith immediately and inform them of Sabre's plans. Now was not the time to think about that, though; he needed to stop Sabre from escaping.

Kroc quickly grabbed the tiger. "Don't you F***ing dare. Don't bother the sheela, mate. She's free to do what she wants." Kroc hissed.

Jaska loudly roared, shoving the stiff crocodile off. "What you doing?!" Jaska demanded as Kroc grabbed him again, trying to lift the tiger off his feet as Jaska dug his claws into Kroc's back.

"Leave her be, you've done enough!" Kroc shouted as he picked Jaska up and slammed him into the ground. Jaska roared and punched Kroc's jaw, making the crocodile hiss as he teetered back and forth; the cold had taken a hard toll on him, weakening him considerably. He wouldn't be able to hold Jaska back for long.

Jaska snarled and kicked the shaky crocodile back. Kroc smacked against the wall of the truck, making the entire van tip to the side. Kroc's and Jaska's eyes widened, startled by the sudden shift in gravity against their bodies. The crocodile hissed as Jaska grabbed the window to the front seat, trying to open it to warn them about Sabre's escape. With an angry hiss Kroc barreled his body into Jaska, knocking them both over to the other side of the van.

Their struggling made the truck swerve before they heard a loud pop. The truck immediately began to swerve, knocking the predators around against each other before the truck suddenly sped up, wildly dropping through the air before hitting the ground with a sharp spin. Jaska dug his claws into the tin metal to try and keep himself steady but Kroc's large body knocked into him, making the both of them wildly tumble against each other before making a sudden stop, making the predators smack against the wall of the van with a loud aching groan.

"Ugh … the bloody f*** … ," Kroc groaned, trying to get up as Jaska flopped onto his belly, trying to get up and reach the window. Before Kroc could stop him, the cracking of glass made them both freeze. They whipped around and looked up, watching as Reza's eyes glinted before driving a hidden blade against the glass and made it shatter. Both predators screamed at the oncoming cascade of water, glass and more deadly than all of those, Reza's venomous spines. Kroc whipped around to protect himself as Jaska dove underneath of Kroc, using him as a makeshift shield as Reza smacked against Kroc's back and harmlessly rolled over, accidentally stabbing into Jaska's leg as Reza hit the metal ground with an aching groan of pain.

Jaska roared and thrashed around as the immediate pain of the poison made him howl in anguish.

"H-Hey, are you all alright back there?!" The driver barely opened the window as the van swinged about, peeking into the back to see their condition. With another small cracking of glass the portable tank holding Baba fell, falling perfectly through the window and smacking into the driver's face. "AUGH!" The driver shouted, startled by the hit before he smacked his head against the wheel, effectively KOing himself as his body hit the horn and made the loud sound drawl on into the forest.

"It wasnt nice to lock me in the box. ALthough the water was warm it wasnt as cuddly as you, and Im not saying I enjoyed the cuddling and chatting time, but inside the box it was annoying not be able to hear anything" Reza huffed before shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, we don't have an antidote with us, do we?. If the tiger dies, I can finally use him for sushi." The merman grinned, grabbing a spare needle to stab Jaska but the tiger threw him off.

"FOR F***'S SAKE, KROC, ARE YOU TRY TO KILL US ALL?!" Jaska loudly and angrily roared in agony, smacking his head against the van, "driver, call Smith! Sabre plot escape!" Jaska roared again but his roar twisted into a very pained yowl of anguish.

"The driver cant call because the driver is dead. And since we are far from anything, that means I can make sushi… well, no. I cant. I dont have rice, so then I can maybe sut the meat and salt it? Well, I would, but I dont have salt either… Then Ill have to let the meat freeze, I guess" Reza said while crossing his arms.

"What?!" Kroc shouted, started as he looked into the front of the window and saw the driver laying motionless on the wheel with Baba still in the resistant plexiglass container nearby. Kroc's eyes bulged open as he quickly leapt up, crawling over the broken tank and opening the back doors. The immediate cold that hit him made him hiss in anguish but he leapt out, quickly moving to the front before ripping the door off its hinges and reaching inside. Very cautiously he felt the driver's pulse, feeling it going strong. "Not dead; unconscious." Kroc said before glancing over in front of the van. His eyes widened, jaw dropping in shock. Beside him was easily a 100 foot drop into an icy river. All of them would have been dead if the driver hadn't managed to hit the tree on the way down. Kroc let out a shaky breath at the cold air, already feeling his joints locking up. This was bad; very bad. They needed to find a warm place to stay or else all of them could be dead.

"WHERE'S THE F***ING ANTIDOTE, KROC?! There has to be one up there!" Jaska yowled in anguish, trembling and shaking horribly from the effects of the poison.

"Do thrash around and make the poison spread faster, cat. It's not as if the antidote case is in the front under the seat as all standardized medic kits are supposed to be." Reza rolled his eyes before grinning. "But didn't you get some big doses recently? Wouldnt that be enough or are you trying to develop immunity? Not that it's going to work, mind you."

As Reza spoke, Kroc grabbed the medical kit, Baba's case and the hooman driver before hiking back up to the back of the truck and looking inside. "We need to hurry and get back to the road before we all freeze to death." Kroc warned, setting the three items down to the side. "Jaska, come here and help Reza out of the back." Kroc ordered.

"First give antidote" Jaska roared "You know what you did? This your fault we stuck in middle nowhere! "

"You want the antidote?" Kroc asked, holding up the medical bag for him to see. "Then you come up like a good bloody kitty and get it."

Jaska roared and grabbed Reza by the back of the neck, throwing him up and out of the truck before he leapt up after Kroc. Jaska madly shook and trembled, reaching for the antidote but Kroc held it away from him, "if you leave us, mate, you'd be leaving us to die." Kroc said, narrowing his gaze at the tiger.

"Just give antidote and get going. Destination at end of road." Jaska slurred between pants and huffs, finally fallen over from exhaustion, some of his previous wounds reopening and the new ones hurting. All amounting to so much that he finally passed out.

Kroc tsked, injecting the antidote to the tiger and looking at the long straight and empty road ahead that extended in the distance up above the hill, then shoving Jaska over his back and shoulders to use as a fur rug. He needed to get to the top but with a cliff this steep, it was going to be hard even for Kroc to get up all that. He was good at climbing, but not climbing up ice and snow.

"Hey, how do we get back to the road?" Reza asked as Kroc looked up the steep cliff the truck had swerved off of.

" … I think we're in trouble, mate." Kroc said with his face paling, suddenly realizing the peril that they were all in. They were all going to freeze to death soon if they didn't do anything … all of them except for the fluffy tiger, anyway.

 _Kroc note to self:_

… _Bloody d***it._

 **MWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWMWM**

Awe … poor Kroc XD LE GASP! What will happen in the next chapter?! _**10 REVIEWS**_ to find out! :D

Also, from both of us; KROC IS GREEN! Just look up on google 'killer croc cartoon batman unlimited' and that's more like what he looks like :3 ... but he has 5 fingers and 5 toes XD

 **Chaos-dark-lord. -** **SPECIAL NOTICE READERS** **: Sometime this week or next week and before the next chapter (Peeko: hopefully) we are going to release 2 special side M-shots (mature one-shots). Those of you who have read my M-shots know what we're talking about ;) The others, well, know that they are rated M for a smexy reason.**

 **Also, we are reaching some climax here as you can see. Anyone want to theorize any possibilities? We'll hand over digital cookies. (because we might use those as ideas)**


	32. Chapter 32

"Okay everyone! Time to get out!" Ms. Smith shouted unwanted light spilled onto the slumbering Extraspecies and host crammed into the back of the van. Dumisa lightly hissed and tightened his grasp on everyone, too sleepy to listen to the old hag shouting but too sleepy to bother yelling at her. "This hot spring snow lodge rented us rooms for 207, 208 and 209. Go and pick which one you want!"

"Not right now … later," Dumisa mumbled, too comfortable to move before his tail tried to push Ms. Smith away and shut the doors. Ms. Smith grabbed hold of his tail, making him groan in annoyance as she dug her nails into his sensitive tail.

"We've arrived, Dumisa. There's a spa inside so let your heat packs go and get out of the van." Smith smiled, opening the vehicle doors to the cold wind.

The cold air made Dumisa tighten his grip on everyone, groaning in displeasure. "No," Dumisa's muffled voice whined, burying his face into the safety of the host's soft chest.

"Dumisa, come on. We're all cramped in here." Jackie heavily sighed, lightly tugging on his hair to try and wake him. She just wanted to be free of this horrible prison; it was _way_ too cramped to stay here any longer without her cramps becoming permanent.

"Dumisa, let us go. You can squish the host inside." Sabre complained as she wiggled as she could, unable to free herself. Antain adorably stood on top of her head on all fours, mewing softly and nuzzling against her with a tight grip on his favored blankie. With another soft mew he crouched down, nibbling on her ear with a soft purr rumbling in his chest.

"Yes, squish harder!" Eztli happily purred in the coziness of the serpent's body which was crushing the jaguar just shy of suffocation.

Ms. Smith heavily sighed. She figured this would happen. With a smirk she pulled out a small blow horn from her pocket, stepping aside before turning it on.

The blaringly loud noise caused Dumisa to shout and jolt out of place, spilling out of the van in his panic to escape. The moment his recently overly ample body hit the freezing ground he lost all sense of warmth, shouting in startlement as his body came crashing down onto the fresh snow covered ground. All of the other Extraspecies tried to flee but were quickly buried under his sluggish weight, pinning them against the cold trail leading into the snow lodge.

After painstakingly slowly righting himself up, Dumisa had his claws digging into Jackie, holding her tightly against his chest as he sleepily looked around in a sluggish state to try and find the source of the loud noise that scared him so badly. "Watsh hapnend?" Dumisa mumbled through his barely moving lips, sleepily closing his eyes while trying to force them open, groggily looking around while crushing the others under his body.

A deep growl came out of Sabre as she used all her flexibility to try and slink out from under the snake, managing to at least free her head but the rest of her body was trapped. "Dumisa, move over or I'll scratch you!" She roared, gripping the serpent's body with her claws extended.

"Ohh … it feels good ... so tight." Eztli deeply purred, trying to move further beneath the heavy snake.

Antain looked over the snake's side, seeing his mama's tail angrily twitching around before he jumped onto it, biting into the tail end gently and giggled before hugging her tail tightly against his chest with a light purr and big cheerful grin.

Ms. Smith smirked and put the blow horn away, clapping her hands and gaining their attention. "Alright! All of you, go on inside and choose your rooms. And I don't want any fighting, got it?" Smith declared before pausing, looking down the road. "Where is the other van?"

"We don't know. They're not answering when we call." One of the workers said with a bothered frown, "Fred's probably playing the music too loud to hear us." He heavily sighed.

"Odd." Ms. Smith said with a frown before turning to the group, "go on and get your rooms set up. Feel free to enjoy the spa and other facilities for now; being by your host isn't applicable here, so wander around freely if you want." She said before pulling out her phone and turning away, trying to make some phone calls to the other van.

"I'm still not feeling well." Sabre said while picking up all of her stuff before carrying a sleeping Antain. "Antain is exhausted too, so we are going to take a nap. Don't bother us." She spoke quickly before going ahead of everyone else with a fast pace.

The others slowly began entering the snow lodge, shocked by how large the facility was. The stone, concrete and wood building was very easily about the size of 10 or even 12 football fields in each direction, filled to the brim with large rooms and specialized facilities; it looked like a very modern sky resort designed to look like a gigantic luxurious cabin. Snow rested quietly outside but winds picking up speed were beginning to make the thin windows of the building rattle.

They headed to the left wing and down a wide but short hall of the compound, which had been assigned for all of them only and was thus empty. The halls had been renovated to accommodate large Extraspecies and gave everyone plenty of room to frolic about inside as they pleased, much to the host's relief. At least Kroc and Dumisa won't have much trouble moving around.

"Yay! This will be so much fun!" Eztli shouted, leaping up and around Dumisa as the snake tried to sluggishly slither inside, already becoming very slow from the cold weather outside.

"Fun? How could this possibly be fun? It's freezing here." Dumisa said with slow words and a slight drawl to his tone brought onto the cold. His eyes glanced over to Jackie, studying her for a moment before picking up the host and tightly hugging her against his chest for warmth while his body coiled around her.

Jackie merely sighed, hugging and lightly petting Dumisa to help stop him from making any more of a scene than he already had. The prissy snake let out a faint hiss of annoyance, leaning his head into her hand with a deep frown of displeasure.

"This truly is the worst kind of vacation we've ever had. Next time, we go somewhere warm." Dumisa said with a very sharp hiss, glaring at Smith while the host continued to pet him, making his hisses turn to thrums of pleasure.

"There's so much snow outside! And this place is so big! I want to explore. Hey, I think I can climb the wall!" Eztli, all too excited began jumping around.

"Uggg. At least is warm inside. Where is my heat lamp!" Dumisa complained, looking around the room and passing his eyes over the heat lamp.

"There are many heat lamps around." Eztli pointed out at the nearest one, which was being used to warm up the lobby.

Seeing the heat lamp on and glowing alluringly, Dumisa's eyes greedily glowed. "Finally, some good news!" Dumisa hissed, dropping Jackie and slithering over to the heat lamp before turning it onto full power.

"Yes! So we can play in this place. Let's play, Dumisa." Eztli jumped over towards Dumisa and began pushing him softly but continuously. "Hey, host, move over. I want to play with Dumisa too!" Eztli laughed, jumping over Jackie and onto Dumisa.

"Off with you, mammal!" Dumisa groaned with a hiss, pushing Eztli off. With a satisfied moan Dumisa laid under the radiating heat, holding still and trying to absorb as much light as possible.

Eztli jumped back onto Dumisa and Dumisa pushed him off again, causing Eztli to jump back on and continue the ensuing game between the two of them.

Jackie laughed at how excited Eztli was before pausing, noticing a small blanket on the ground with little kitty faces on it. "Oh, hey Sabre, Antain left his blankie!" Jackie called but Sabre was nowhere to be seen. Jackie smiled and picked up the blanket from the floorboards, heading for the room that Sabre claimed as her own, which, knowing Sabre, surely was the farthest one.

She knocked on the door, alerting Sabre to her presence before opening the door, "hey, Sabre, Antian left this in the hallway," Jackie started as she entered the room, pausing as she saw Sabre looking back at her in surprise, stuffing some of the hotel's supplies into the bag she had. The look in Sabre's eyes was almost insane; she looked practically half feral as it was and her fur was ruffled and perked. "Sabre? Are you alright?" Jackie asked, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, hey host." Sabre looked at the host, her tail flickering back and forth. " … have I told you that you are actually a good host?"

Jackie paused, a little surprised by her saying her compliment out loud. She smiled, awkwardly happy at the compliment but it was so out of place that she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. "Um … yes, thanks? Sabre, you seem really tense. Are you doing alright? Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, walking over before catching a glimpse of survival equipment and a gun inside of Sabre's bag. Jackie's eyes widened in shock. "Is that a gun?!" Jackie cried, startled to see any of her charges with a gun.

"D***it!" Sabre hissed. "Now I can't let you go. You'd ruin my escape." Sabre grabbed Antain's blanket and then looked at Jackie.

"Escape?! Sabre, what in the world is going on? Why do you have a gun?" Jackie asked, backing away from Sabre.

"I'm sorry our departure will be this way. I really am." The leopardess then dropped low to throw a round kick to make Jackie fall to the ground with only a small startled shout. With expert motions Sabre immobilized the host and, using the rope that was in her bag, she tied the hooman up before using Antain's blanket to gag her up before tossing her into the closet.

Jackie shouted into the gag, struggling to get free before Sabre slammed the door shut in her face.

What in the world was Sabre doing?! Endless streams of shouting was muffled entirely by the blankie, barely letting any of her shouting reach her own ears.

Moving as fast as she could, Sabre continued packing the essentials while tossing away all that was not essential for survival. She only needed enough to get to the nearest town or city. Nothing more. Either by getting to the train tracks and catching any of the cargo trains that passed through the zone, reaching any small city or town, or getting back to the port somehow. After she was on a ship out of here, she'd be in the clear.

"Mew!" Antain meowed, pawing at the door with a frustrated growl, biting at the bottom of the closet door. Within the closet was his blankie which was gagging the host who was selfishly chewing on it. Antain huffed, calling out louder and trying to figure out how to get through it. Sabre let out a growl to make Antian quiet down and the pup hushed his growls but didn't stopped them entirely while continuing to try and retrieve his blankie.

"Sabre." Dumisa's voice called, making Sabre immediately grab the tranq gun, keeping her back to the snake. She nervously glanced back at Dumisa, seeing him remaining by the entrance with a frown on his face. "I want a proper goodbye, Sabre. I won't let you leave until you do." He huffed, pouting as he entered the room.

"Dumisa … I will still contact you … eventually. Meanwhile, would you like to run the designs of Wyld in this place? I can't offer more at the moment, but I still consider you very dear. Even when you are a huffy diva." She smiled, genuinely happy he came to see her. She wanted to make a better apology but it was hard to find the time; she was happy that he was there but she needed to be quick.

"I'm not interested in Wyld when you're not there." Dumisa stated with a stern frown and soft hiss, "and who's to say I'll ever get this so called contact later on?" Dumisa asked with a clearly very hurt expression. His tail flicked back and forth, struggling to contain the urge to bite her and show his anger. If he bit her, he'd kill her and he didn't want that.

So his 'friend' wanted to leave him like this? Without even giving a proper goodbye? This was truly disconcerting. His heart ached, remembering every woman in the past he cared about; they all left him. And why wouldn't they? He was just some breeding stock to them. Nobody important. Just someone to satisfy their filthy desires and then be dumped. The mere thought so this clouded his judgement, making his pupils change to slits in his anger. Sabre indeed kept her promise towards him, but this was far worse; if she would stay and break her promise, he'd accept that. But leaving was quite painful for him. He was taught otherwise in those foolish classes but this … this was different than being rejected by the host. Sabre was rejecting him entirely by leaving like this and disregarding his feelings about it. And that greatly upset him.

His hands shook, feeling horribly trapped in his swirling thoughts of Sabre daring to use and then abandon him. She really was like the rest of them. She promised him friendship but the moment it became an inconvenience, she decided to leave him. This was betrayal towards him, no doubt about it. His teeth clicked together as his fangs began to show, expressing his sincerest fury before he sealed his lips together, struggling to control himself. He cared for her; he didn't want to hurt her. And yet he wanted to show just how much her leaving like this hurt him.

"I promise you I'll contact you, but it'll probably take a little while." Sabre explained while unconsciously placing a hand over her belly. She had others to think about now; she had to take care of them before daring to contact anyone in her previous life, Dumisa included. It would endanger him.

"Promises mean little to me. You mean to say you'll only contact me when you need something?" Dumisa spitefully demanded with an infuriated hiss, feeling his animalistic instincts beginning to creep up on him. He bit his lip, struggling to keep himself calm.

"Stop being such a hissy traumatized reptile, Dumisa. I thought we were over this. I'm not just a woman; I'm not a lamia. I am your _friend_ and I have never broken a single promise I've ever made to you, have I?" Sabre asked with a grin, trying to lighten the mood but the snake wasn't enjoying her attempts.

Dumisa furiously sneered at her, feeling his arms begin to shake before he held himself, trying to hold off going feral. He had to leave but not before telling her what was on his mind. "But aren't you attempting to now? That half hearted goodbye in the van was enough to almost make me want to bite you." Dumisa honestly hissed in annoyance, feeling his mouth began to ache. "What sort of 'friend' leaves the other without saying anything? What sort of friend makes the other approach you before he leaves and demand for a proper apology? What sort of friend abandons the other so easily like this?"

"The sort of friends that needs to escape immediately, snake." Sabre huffed. "You think I didn't want to say goodbye better … or better yet, don't go at all." Sabre looked slightly away. "But at this point it's inevitable …. I-I'd like to see you again though." She added on, keeping her ears tense and listening to her surroundings. This was eating away too much time; she needed to go.

"Then why leave at all? This is safe enough, isn't it? What else are you looking for that's not here? Because whatever it is, you won't find it." Dumisa barred his fangs, trembling in his anger. Dumisa's pupils became tighter slits as he bit his inner cheek, trying to stave off the feralness just a little longer. He wanted answers.

"It's not safe, Dumisa. Not only is Smith a threat, if I stay, that menace will kill me and my … oh, and the council now knows of me. They would investigate a few hidden bastets, don't you think? More so because they saw me in that 'smugglers' incident." Sabre bit her lip. "I don't want to hurt your feelings but please understand I have my motives."

" … my feelings aside, you leaving now is a mistake. Having cubs on the run is going to put their lives in danger. Not to mention you are almost about to go feral, aren't you?" Dumisa hissed, pulling out as many tricks as it takes to make her stay. If she really did leave he was afraid he'd actually go feral. The instincts were becoming stronger; almost to the point he couldn't stop it. After this he'd likely have to go to the safe room and calm down … after figuring out where it is.

Sabre looked up at Dumisa with startled eyes, her hand again over her belly. "How did you … ?"

"I've been surrounded by females all my life. I know when one is heavily pregnant." Dumisa miffed in annoyance, lightly tasting the air, "and from the smell of it and your stress levels, they're coming quickly. Predator mammals have brief gestations. It's dangerous." He admitted, flicking his tail back and forth, "so leaving to go into the snowy woods is very bad as well; despite your fluffy coat, your species isn't meant to stay in cold weather so if you start giving birth without a well set nest, they'll freeze to death." He argued, feeling himself begin to twitch a bit, trying to hurry this conversation along.

"Clouded leopards can survive in wide environments. And the cubs aren't coming that fast. I have enough time to reach a train or port and then some city from where to disappear. Besides, I don't even know how far I am. I don't know if the father is my dear late mate Aleksey or that stripped menace." Sabre placed her finger in the trigger of the tranquilizer gun and approached Dumisa. "Also I don't know how many there are, but I think 1 or 2 is normal for bastet. I don't look that fat, do I? So, it's fine."

"You'd be surprised what stress does to the body." Dumisa said, feeling the impulse to bite her becoming too strong to resist any longer, "and going feral will just make it all the more worse." He said before his eyes brightened with hope. "If you go feral, you can't leave." He said as his tail flickered back and forth, darting his eyes to the bag and back to her again before lunging forward, grabbing the bag and ripping it out of her hands. "You can't leave, Sabre. I won't let you!" Dumisa hissed, throwing the bag aside and slithering between her and the bag. "You can't leave without your bag!" He hissed, baring his fangs to her. His heart raced, feeling the feral urge leave his body. One he made her go feral she'd be locked up and won't be able to leave. That is perfect!

"Dumisa … ," Sabre threw her arms around Dumisa's neck, hugging tightly the snake. "I'm going to miss you until I see you again, you diva. I don't even know how with such a terrible personality you have I can still care for you so much. And I'm promising you, so calm down."

"You're too cruel … getting my hopes up before trying to leave like this." Dumisa hissed, slightly trembling under her hug as he clenched his teeth, glaring at her furry neck that would deliver a perfect bite of anger.

"Your hopes? What were you hoping for, Dumisa?" Sabre looked at Dumisa straight in the eyes.

"For the friend I've never had." Dumisa admitted with an almost terrified expression, lips tightly pressed together while trying to figure out how to make her go feral. She was already close to it. He just needed to figure out how to push her over the edge and make her feral.

Sabre kissed Dumisa's cheek and tightened her hug. "You have me Dumisa, I'm your friend, and even if I go away I will still be."

"Then why are you leaving?" Dumisa asked with a slight baring of his teeth, "friends do not abandon each other. Women abandon their lovers but friends do not leave each other." Dumisa said with his eyes beginning to water ever so slightly. He was furious but he kept his lips sealed tight. He must not kill her; she was still his friend, albeit a traitorous one. With a twitch of his lip he pulled back the poisoned in his fangs, so if worse came to worse he would deliver a dry bite at worst.

Sabre's eyes widened, startled. This was clearly hitting him very, very hard in a very tender place in his heart. Sabre didn't realize that her leaving was going to hurt him so badly. But of course, taking into account his background, this was a reasonable reaction for the diva.

"Oh, Dumisa … ," Sabre nuzzled him and let out a sigh, sniffing and shedding some tears. "Males abandon females too and they can become dangers. Sometimes females leave for that reason. How can I stay knowing that a male will try to kill me or my cubs?" She rubbed her chin on the snake. "But it's not only that. Smith wants me and my cubs as a political move for her program. If she catches me she'll keep me captive and then brag on how her so marvelous program is helping endangered Extraspecies. The council will try to use me too if they catch me," she gulped and growled, her pupils mere slits, "I refuse be used by either of them. Which is why I have to do this." Sabre said, pointing the gun at him without his notice before pulling the trigger.

Dumisa sucked in a fast breath, startled by the pain in his abdomen before seeing the tranquilizer dart stuck in his skin. His shock at the shot and heartache at the betrayal in his weakened state very quickly turned to rage as his pupils became tiny angered slits; before Sabre could move away, Dumisa's head snapped forward, sinking his dry fangs into her shoulder before rearing back with an infuriated hiss.

Sabre jumped back with fright as the snake twisted in feral anger, trying to reach for her while the tranquilizer made its effects. She placed her hand on her neck and then pulled it back to see her own blood. The scent and the sight was too much, her fears getting the better out of her mind as she became feral herself.

All instincts piled up for Sabre, and as the snake collapsed her way right in front of the closet, she picked her pup and jumped out of the window, running away into the woods as fast as she could, leaving everything behind.

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Jackie huffed and puffed, out of breath after screaming into her gag for nearly an hour. She was dizzy from how hard she was screaming and the door was still blocked. Even though she managed to balance herself on her feet, she couldn't manage to open the door because it was being blocked by something very heavy.

( _Oh what did Sabre do, block the door with heavy furniture?!)_

This was crazy. Sabre WAS pregnant and Dumisa is a horrible diva incapable of thinking of others! She heard Sabre roar and Dumisa hiss before a heavy 'thud', but now it was completely silent. And that silence scared her more than anything.

Breathing hard, Jackie pressed herself against the wall and once again managed to get to her feet. She rammed her aching shoulder into the door again and again, much more weaker now than she had before. Jackie looked around the room, desperate to find somewhere that she could escape, like a window of some kind. Her prying eyes spotted a small wooden cheap vent, making her gasp and grin. Perfect-!

The host hopped over towards the exit before her foot hit a broomstick, sending her and the cleaning tool to the ground. Jackie let out a pained groan, rolling her head around and glaring at the vent. This was nothing. With labored breathing Jackie twisted around, rearing her legs back and slamming them into the wooden vent. On the first kick the wooden vent snapped to pieces, making her grin at her victory. She needed to get out and tell Smith what was happening - after checking on Dumisa and making sure he was alright. Their argument got pretty heated but the fact that Dumisa was silent made her very frightened. She shivered, not wanting to think the worst as she moved her body like an inchworm into the air vent.

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Aleksey Jeloudov laid in his comfortable bed, breathing in through an oxygen mask as he waited for his next doctor's check up. His ears were down, showing his concern as he wondered when Smith's 'surprise' would come. Despite his tiredness, he was so bored that he was eager for that surprise as much as he was eager to heal up enough so he could go and find Sabre, his mate. Smith had told him they had found her but he had asked the coordinator not to tell Sabre that he was alive until the doctors were sure he'd make it. That way, if he died, Sabre would not suffer the pain of losing him twice. The same went for his brother, Jaska. The coordinator told him Jaska was alive and under the programs. Aleksey didnt know if Smith told or not Jaska what was going on, Aleksey didn't care. He was very eager to see his older bratya after all this time. A deep rumbling purr built up in his chest, making him smile as his tail flickered with excited anticipation to see his brother soon.

He paused, hearing a loud bumping up inside the vent. He snapped to immediate attention, his eyes narrowing incredulously, listening intently to the heavy muffled breathing reverberating through the air shaft. _(Someone in vent? Suspicious)_. Whoever was up there clearly was not trying to mask their presence, a fact that alarmed Aleksey greatly. Could it be an arrogant company spy? Or an incompetent one.

"Who there!?" He roared, removing the oxygen mask and menacingly barring his fangs.

Jackie screamed into the rag as the metal vent snapped, dropping her down into the room. She twisted briefly in the air, hitting Aleksey's chest hard with her body.

"UUFFFF!" The tiger huffed, hurt by the body dropping over him and knocking the air out of him. Thanks to his training he still managed to grab onto the person and roll over to pin 'her' against him so she couldn't move.

Jackie achingly groaned, tilting her head to the side and staring at the tiger beneath her as he held onto her tightly. Her eyes widened, "Jaska?!" Jackie shouted although it was muffled through the rag. "Jaska, what happened!?" She tried to ask through the rag but her voice was too muffled to make out well what she was saying.

Aleksey, looking at the gagged and tied hooman, decided to remove the blanket serving as gag from her mouth. From the gag came a very familiar smell to him that both soothed him and alerted him at the same time but he was unable to place a name to it immediately.

"J-Jaska! Are you alright? What in the world happened to you?" She asked before gasping for air but more than her apparent need for air, the host began examining his wounds.

"Jaska?" Aleksey repeated in disbelief, hesitant to respond at all. How did this hooman knew his brother?

"Y-Yes? Jaska, what's wrong?" Jackie asked, unconsciously brushing her fingers over his chest and neck to gently pet him. "Why are you in a hospital bed? Did you run into Sabre, by chance? Did she did this to you before escaping?"

"Sabre?" Aleksey blinks at the human, then the scent of Sabre immediately became clear. He sniffed the hooman. She did smell like Sabre, his mate. And the scent was very fresh as well. So much that for a second he forgot the name she called him. Still, he had to be sure he wasn't hallucinating, so he sniffed the hooman more.

"Yes … Jaska, are you alright?" She asked, gently petting his neck in concern.

" … da, I am Jaska." Aleksey said with a straight expression, staring at the strange hooman who fell on him. She smelled of many Extraspecies; perhaps she was a host? Or something worse. He wasn't sure yet, but he needed her to speak and reveal information. "What about Sabre?" He asked.

Jackie blinked, puzzled by Jaska's strange words as she continued to pet him, "y-yeah. She said she had to run away for some reason and locked me in a broom closet." Jackie frantically said, jolting, "oh no, no! I need to go tell Ms. Smith! A-And check on Dumisa!" She said, trying to leave.

"Tell Smith what?" Aleksey asked, keeping his grip firm. He was very confused; the scents on the hooman's body were distracting him a bit too much, but she seemed to know Smith. "tell about Sabre. Cute clouded leopard bastet? That Sabre?" He held onto her and not letting her go.

"S-Sabre found out that she was pregnant and is trying to run away. We need to catch her before something horrible happens!" Jackie explained, scared for Sabre's sake. That poor Extraspecies was probably lost in the freezing woods by now!

"Sa-Sabre is pregnant!?" The tiger shook Jackie by the shoulders, menacingly hissing, "where she at now?!"

"I-I have no idea! Sh-She just said that she needed to run away and never come back before locking me in the closet. Now let me go, Jaska. I have to go tell Smith!" Jackie said, pushing him off before hopping off the bed - only to land face first since her legs were tied tightly together still. At the very least her arms were free.

"I NEED FIND HER!" Aleksey panicked, removing his IV's and then jumped out of the window wearing only the hospital gown, which he removed to move better in the snowy weather.

"Wait, wait JASKA STOP!" Jackie shouted, unable to chase him - not that she could catch up anyway. Jackie struggled with the rope on her feet, unable to get free from the startlingly tightly knotted bonds.

After almost half an hour of struggling, the host found the rope was impossible to get off and the room was sound proof. With an angry shout Jackie grabbed a nearby table, pulling herself to her feet before she started hopping towards the door. She shoved it open, hopping down the hall quickly before she tripped around a corner, smacking right into a furry chest.

Immediately a scaly hand grabbed her by the neck, barely giving her a chance to scream before she was pulled off the chest she had crashed into before slamming her against the wall, disorientated.

"You are the host from that incident." The one holding her spoke in a chilling tone. "We've been looking for you, hooman."

Jackie's eyes widened, startled as she breathed fast and light, staring up at a stranger's face; he had long graceful horns with his features being mainly oriental and in blue tones; his hot red arm gripped her neck firmly, not enough to choke her but enough to keep her from moving. The rest of his body was a cool blue steaming from what could have been a recent soak in the hot springs.

"What we have here? A hooman … ," the other Extraspecies, the one she ran into, spoke, eyeing her precariously.

While being held against the wall, Jackie looked up to see the Extraspecies who spoke, seeing a big white tiger at least 2 feet (60 cm) taller than Jaska and older too, full of muscles and scars, and even more intimidating than Ale could have ever hope to be. Just like the the man holding her against the wall, the larger tiger wore a yukata, but unlike any extra species Jackie had ever encountered, he held a very chilling air of demeanor, one that was not to be trifled with and exuded silent but obvious danger. The tiger's blue eyes sharpened, lightly sniffing the air so softly that the host could barely hear it before his lips pulled back to show his fangs. "I smell nephews. Where family, hooman?" He hissed so softly but menacing that Jackie shivered involuntarily.

"Nephews?" The man holding Jackie up, some sort of vaguely reptilian Extraspecies man with a dignified air questioned and small horns coming from his head, one of those broken, spoke surprised. He had sleek features and black hair, and looked surprised before he leaned in closer, sniffing her himself. "That _is_ Aleksey's scent!" the man gasped, shocked before he tightened his grip, making Jackie gag.

"G-Get off! I-I-I have to find Smith!" Jackie said, gripping the dragon's arm and trying to get free. "My charges are in danger a-and I need h-h-help!" She gasped out, feeling the dragon's grip tighten around her neck.

"I ask only once, hooman." The tiger spoke in a soft, intimidating growl. "Where nephews? And Smith has to do?"

"I-I need Ms. Smith!" Jackie said, unable to peel off the dragon's strong grip. She stared at the Extraspecies, trying to figure out what to say to get free. But looking into his eyes, she saw there was no way to get free except one.

Jackie shakily breathed as she ran her hands up his arm, making his grip tighten as she began to massage and pet the tense muscles on his arm. With surprising precision she pet his weak points

"A host undoubtedly. Trying such cheap tricks." The other man spat with disdain at the host's petting attempts. "Your tricks won't serve you hooman. Now answer before I make you. If you say your charges are in danger, then this is a clear violation of the agreements between the hooman's program and the council."

"I no ask twice, human." The tiger moved slightly back to crack his neck before he extended his razor sharp claws and drew his hand closer to the human's face.

"I-I need to talk to Ms. Smith, l-let go of me!" Jackie said, bringing up a leg and pressing it against the reptile's stomach which did not budge in the least towards her weak resistance. "Sabre, Sabre is in serious danger, she needs help!" She said. The more desperation that was in her voice the faster and more skillfully her hands worked over the scaly arm, rubbing and pressing against particular pressure points which instinctively made his arm a closer consistency to jello than pure steel.

"Who is this Sabre, and where are the tiger Extraspecies that you smell off?" The man tightened his grip, starting to choke her while she uselessly continued trying to pet him.

Jackie ceased her petting, feeling his fingers curl around her neck so tightly that she couldn't breathe. Her lips parted for air but did not have the strength to take in precious oxygen. Her face slowly began turning a bright red from the lack of air, seeing her vision beginning to get a little blurry before she began futily kicking his hip.

"Stop right there and release that host!" Smith's voice came, accompanied by the sound of a shot from her tranquilizer gun. Instead of hitting her target, the dart was caught easily between the tiger's fingers.

"You dare attack council member, human?" The tiger chuckled with a scary smile that showed his sharp teeth. Flicking his claws he tossed the dart away, making it impale the wall near the host's head.

"Nikita, this is Ms. Smith. The hooman coordinator for the American program. Currently implementing the new USA division." The reptilian man briefly explained, keeping his grip on the slowly nodding off host. "This hooman here is a host under the USA's human program. She was requested for questioning regarding the smuggling incident of late and is suspected of collaborating with traffickers along with the illegal hiding of unregistered Extraspecies. "

"Da." Nikita said, his amused smile never leaving his face. "Now take host for questioning, Smith. But first. Why human smells of nephews?"

"Would you please set _my_ host down, Longwei?" Smith demanded of the man holding the almost unconscious Jackie. "As part of my program she is under my jurisdiction, and as of the late coordinated program agreement revision of last June, the council has no right to 'arbitrarily punish' or touch a host without the proper enquiry and detention process." The coordinator turned to the tiger. "Mr. Nikita, please tell your operative to lower her."

"You, human coordinator, shot at Longwei." The tiger continued smiling. "That break many reglament you human like so much. There will be a case." His smile then became a fearsome snarl. "Now answer. Where Jaska and Aleksey?"

"Drop her and I'll tell you." Smith said with a very tense expression.

"She will still be questioned," Longwei said, uncaringly opening his claw to drop the host.

Jackie achingly rasped, trying to get her words together but her aching throat prevented her from speaking immediately. She heavily coughed, wringing her neck to try and get the blood circulating again as she dizzily leaned against the wall.

"You also attacked a host. That will be in the case." Smith informed Longwei as Smith hurried over to help Jackie to her feet, checking her neck. The host coughed, gripping her neck and gasping for air.

"The hooman started the attack by running straight at us. The word of a council member and a council operative and advisor backs it." Longwei countered dryly. "Now speak, Smith. I'm sure you have too much to explain before I deem this human as dangerous and decide to exert clausule orange 92 in order to protect a council member by burning her to a crisp" He exhaled and from his nostrils came a burning vapor.

"M-M-Ms. Smith, Sabre-S-Sabre ra-an a-a-away an-nd she's pregnant! With kittens!" Jackie barely wheezed out in short puffs of air, finding that getting the message across was more important than the company at the moment. "J-Ja-Jaska ran out of th-the medic room ver-y hurt after her!"

"Jaska? Kittens?" Nikita asked, taking a pause to run through situations that could possibly include his nephew and kittens; and in every scenario, he concluded that his nephew and the kittens were somehow connected.

"Jaska? So he's really alive." Longwei incredulously asked with widened eyes before narrowing them upon looking at the coordinator. "And you've been hiding him, preventing him from seeing his family. What about Aleksey then? Nikita smells it on the hooman. And what was that about a pregnant case of kittens? Every pregnancy with an endangered felines is required to go through the council, _not_ the programs."

For a second, Smith's face paled with an expression of horror and dread before she almost facepalmed. With every gram of composure she could gather, Smith began freeing the host from her bindings, avoiding speaking at all.

Nikita's angry gaze turned to Smith, "what you hiding from me?" He demanded in a very low and angry tone, tacking on a short hard snarl. "This has consequences for all programs, da?" He smirked darkly, showing his fangs in a smile that only showed teeth.

"L-Look, Smith-!" Jackie rasped out, gripping her neck and grabbing Smith's arm to get her attention, "whatever this a-argument i-s it can, i-it can wait! W-We have to go find her! She-she's probably lost, feral and scared!" Jackie achingly breathed.

Smith quickly turned towards the host. "What do you mean she 'ran away'?"

"She locked me in a broom closet. I-I crawled into a vent and then fell on top of Jaska. He was super hurt and removed the IV's and all and jumped out to window to go and find her." Jackie quickly explained through her heavy breathing, trying to keep calm and take deep breaths.

"T-That wasn't Jaska!" Smith stood up almost getting a heart attack, recognizing that the tiger in the host's poor explanation was not Jaska but Aleksey - the latter of whom was still very injured. "Jaska's van still hasn't called in … s***." Smith cussed. A moment later she jumped away to avoid Longwei's claw, pulling her tranquilizer gun out in a smooth motion and pointing it beneath Longwei's chin as his claw touched her throat, both of them at a glaring standstill. "Both of Nikita's nephews are in grave danger. One ran into the storm after the mother of his cubs and the other is stuck on the highway. Wasting time here will result in all of their deaths." Smith warned in a cold tone but Longwei did not flinch in the least. Instead he kept the coordinator in the standstill as his body very slowly began to shift while keeping a claw by her neck. The shift was very slow, hardly noticible by any means.

Suddenly, Nikita moved to grab the host and began walking away while Longwei blocked SMith's path. "You, human, coming with me. Tell _all_ while I search for nephew." He didn't bother looking over his shoulder. "You go look for van, Longwei. I go in snow."

Longwei did not answer, instead he let out vapor through his nostrils again, keeping his concentration as he slowly began to shift into his much larger dragon form, and making his way to the nearest exit.

"Don't you dare hurt my host or my charges." Smith growled her warning with a scary tone before she turned tail and ran, pulling out her cellphone and making urgent calls.

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMMWWMMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

Somewhere in the snowy mountainous terrain surrounding the isolated lodge, Aleksey Jeloudov achingly breathed in the cold air, feeling his lungs burning from the exertion of running, but he was hot on her tracks, trying to find her. His beautiful beloved detka was here, in these lands? And pregnant? He could hardly believe it. His wonderful mate was pregnant with his cubs! He couldn't possibly wait to heal to go and find her much less if she needed him now. The thought drove Aleksey harder as he dashed through the snow, ignoring the pain of his wounds reopening from the exertion. "SABRE!" Aleksey roared, looking around the forest and trying to pick her track back up. Luckily she was moving slowly, clearly carrying something and her tracks were still visible even if soon they'd be covered by the snow soon.

Very soon his darting eyes spotted a fluffy bunch of fur dashing away from him quickly, making his heart pause in beats. "SABRE, IT ME, ALEKSEY!" Aleksey roared, taking off after her quickly. Normally he would have been able to overtake her but his injuries kept him lagging behind to the point he had to depend purely on his sense of smell to find her. And why was she running away?

He came to a stop in the middle of a field, turning in circles and sniffing at the snow that now covered her tracks. Amongst the smells of his lovely mate he caught onto the scent of a bloodied fox that separated from Sabre's scent. He snorted, ignoring the fox's scent and turned towards the freshest scent of his precious mate, taking off running as fast as he could.

After a few minutes of running he came to a stop, finding a well positioned and protected small cave within a large set of rocks. As he detected her scent inside, a smile broke across his lip, "Sabre, Sabre it me, Aleksey." The tiger breathlessly panted, hurrying over to the cave entrance. Without hesitation he entered, spotting Sabre clutching her stomach and crouching on the ground, heavily panting and emitting some anguish mews.

Aleksey paused, his eyes widening. He could smell it in the air; Sabre going to go into labor soon. Rather than joy, he felt deep fear. Females never allowed males to get this close; never. And in that moment he knew why she had ran; she ran because she did not recognize him and she was very, very, VERY feral now and possibly the most dangerous she has ever been before. And she was about to give birth, to his cubs. And it hit him. He needed to get out of there before she killed him.

Before he could right his mistake and get away, Sabre twisted and lunged for him, sinking her long fangs into his neck. "No, Detka! Aleksey, it me, Aleksey!" Aleksey shouted, falling with her weight as he fell back, slamming his head against the rocky wall. Aleksey's eyes rolled into the back of his head, falling limp as Sabre continued to bite him repeatedly all around, hissing angrily and digging her claws into his thick fur and getting confused as where to attack due to the body already being previously bloodied.

Once she was sure the tiger was not going to get back up again she retreated to the opposite side of the cave, letting out an aching growl as she laid on her back, quickly panting and trying to handle the pains shooting up through her body.

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What an ending, huh?! Can't wait for the next chapter! Look forward to it! :D

OH! And guess what? WE ARE MAKING A GAME OUT OF THIS SERIES! :D I AM SO EXCITED IT LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL SO FAR YOU SHOULD JUST SEE IT NOW! But we need help. If anyone is interested in helping out, message either chaos or I for more details :D

Chaos-dark-lord: You can blame Peeko for the tardiness into updates (Peeko: Lies)(Chaos: Not lies!). Also for cutting the chapter here (Peeko: Truth :3). About that game… yeah, it was time I put my MBA in Computer Systems/IT to work XD (can't wait to start my PHD). What you think of this twist? Aleksey is (or maybe was) alive, and at the lodge waiting. Now things blew up, and you finally meet some Extraspecies council members. Ain't things spiraling off real quick?

Anyways and back on track, the game will feature the unlockable various characters POV's around the main story. It's already under development and its functional so far on Android, Windows, Linux, Mac (IOS and OSX) . About the general gameplay style, it's a visual novel (otome style) like the Phoenix Wright games or the 999 visual novel game.

Peeko: It also gives you choices to choose and depending on your choice, something different happens! Like rubbing their bellies or dying :D

Chaos: HEY DON'T ADD THAT! I HAVEN'T PROGRAMMED THAT STUFF YET!

Peeko: You do realize I'm putting this conversation up for everyone to see, right? Now they can see how much we fight XD :D

Chaos: I do .*

Peeko: :3

Chaos: Ehem… the programming part is working on (already a fre thousand lines of code =.=) , but since you all have been giving us so much encouragement, we decided to let you know and participate a bit even before we release the beta or demo.

Peeko: Yes :D

Chaos: We haven't done much art for it yet, so if you want to submit a character design you can (It doesn't need to be a final piece of art, just some design of how you think a character looks, like fur placement, scale placement, how much human skin to fur/scales ratio, etc). For art we could also hear your suggestions about a defined style you think would fit or background designs too. We'll also welcome general ideas.

Peeko: All artwork is beautiful! I can't wait to see what you all have in mind! I'm the one who will be finalizing the designs and I can't wait to see what you all have :D

Chaos: Actually, if any of you do want to participate and there are more than one design for the same character, we'll open it a voting poll with 3 votes. Chaos vote, Peeko vote, and general vote.

Peeko: It doesn't mean we don't love all of them equally. I'll make Chaos put all the submissions into the game somehow with your names attached … so many sure your name it clear XD either pen name or real name :D

Chaos: Or if you want to help in other ways, we do need help with synthesizing music.

Peeko: We are both equally in charge, right? Right? :D … chaos. Right. Chaos. Chaos right? We're both equally in charge, right? Right? Chaos? Chaos why you no answer.

Chaos:(ignoring Peeko) That was partly the real reason why this chap took so long to come out … because Peeko kept pestering me instead of getting to work :D

Peeko: Chaos stop ignoring stop blaming me. Share the blame 50 50. Like this game. It's half mine, half yours. Chaos say it. Say half is mine and half is yours. Chaos. Hey Chaos. Chaos? Chaos. Chaos why you no answer. Chaoooooooooooooos …

Chaos: 10 reviews for the next chap lads, and we're eager to read your thoughts on this. :D

Peeko: THAT IS MY SHTICK AND YOU KNOW IT **10 REVIEWS** FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER I FINISHED TYPING BEFORE YOU DID HA.

Also, check Chao's profile for the promised M's this week :3


	33. Chapter 33

Nikita darted through the cold winter storm with ease, leaping over the larger snow drifts and kept running, slowing down only to reassess the area he was in. Jackie heavily shivered and pressed herself against his warm fur coat, trying not to bite off her own tongue as she explained as much as she could about Jaska and his time with her as a host, explaining every situation she could think of and even making some minor things up to keep him interested while Nikita remained silent or barely growled at best. " … and then was the time when he broke one of the ceiling rafts while standing on it." Jackie said, beginning to grasp at straws. She had a bad feeling about what would happen to her if she stopped talking so she started bringing up the smallest details possible from Jaska sparing with Kroc to the ribbons she kept finding in his fur whenever she groomed him. She eventually moved onto Sabre, trying to explain as much as she could about the female bastet and her kittens without revealing the most hazardous parts. After running out on empty and out of imagination, she paused, frowning a bit while holding onto him tightly. "I-Is there anything else you want to know about Jaska?" She asked, her teeth chattering together from the cold air wiping against her.

"Niet. " The olde tiger said, and without breaking his pace he tossed Jackie over into the snow and kept running, leaving the host there in the cold. Uncaringly, Nikita kept his pace even after the human called his name, easily getting lost in the growing blizzard as he hurried on in the direction of his injured nephews and future grandnephews and grandnieces. He could smell the blood of one of them in the air and he did not like that one bit. He reached up, touching the earpiece in his ear. "Longwei, any sign of Jaska?" Nikita asked, coming to a stop by a rock formation to lessen the interference of the wind.

After a brief second of interference, Longwei spoke, a far deeper tone now that he was in his great form and flying over the terrain down the road. "No" he answered in Chinese. "But I heard the hooman host speak. Measures will be taken against the program for a considerable number of broken laws."

"Da. Contact when you find Jaska; I smell Aleksey blood." Nikita hissed apprehensively, worried for his injured nephew even though he did not show it at all. He would deal with all other issues once his family was safe under the council's protection.

"Shi _(Yes)_." The dragon answered and continued on his search, already planning the needed processes for dealing with this current situation. Surely after this they would be able to finally close off the programs; perhaps not all of them, but many of them in the western countries.

Not so long after, Longwei approached a part of the road where he could see a striped orange and white fur moving slowly forward. Too slowly. He frowned and activated his ear piece. " Longwei here. I've spotted him. I will bring him to the lodge before joining you." The dragon spoke as he twisted down through the air, landing softly before the slowly moving tiger. "Jaska," Longwei greeted before pausing, seeing a snow covered crocodile's snout lift up very slowly in response from under Jaska's bulk, staring at him. Upon closer inspection, Longwei realized that a crocodile, the same one from that incident, was carrying Jaska, a hooman worker for Smith and a very pleasantly happy lionfish on his back.

Looking at the dragon, the lion fish blinked a couple times before taking a deep breath. "Oh, it's you, operative Lingney from the council. Or are you still a, what was it? Counselor? Canciller? Consultant? Oh, whatever Langwei. I remember you were the other night in those horribly smelly docs in an operation with the rest of the household charges of my current host. But I also remember you in a few meetings from the council with the queen. Are you here on vacation by chance? We were supposed to be too, there's some sort of lodge up ahead but we got into a car crash because Jaska fought Kroc and knocked the car over … well, it wasn't a car, it was a van and it wasn't heated well, so the crocodile and the tiger were hugging but then we crashed, so oh well, anyways, we are on our way to the vacation side. Do you know if they have a sushi booth? I not sure Menwoi, but," the fish kept on talking, never getting the dragon's name right the entire time and coming up with rather clever spin offs that were close but never quite right.

Longwei ignored the chatting lionfish and tilted Jaska's head up, sniffing the air and gently making sure he was still alive. The siberian tiger appeared to be just find but looked like he has some growing bruises and bumps under his skin. He also checked the crocodile but it was so cold that he was barely moving at all; in fact, it seemed the crocodile was barely aware of his existence as he kept trying to move forward out of sheer will. Without a word the dragon slowly curled his red claws around all of them, picking them up securely before slowly soaring through the air back towards the snow lodge, heating his arm to keep them warm.

All The time they flew back, reza kept on talking, but while many people would just ignore all the lionfish said, the dragon knew better and listened to all the hidden details the ex-royal guard let on either on purpose or accidentally.

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Where in the world did that stupid tiger go?!

Jackie heavily shivered, rubbing her freezing arms as she tried to keep up but the tiger was long gone with only faint tracks showing his path and even those were disappearing quickly. Jackie shivered, genuinely scared as she felt her legs beginning to lock up, threatening to drop her onto the ground. She could very easily freeze to death out here. She glanced at her blistered red fingertips, clenching her teeth. Already she was beginning to freeze to death. Luckily she still had a jacket on from the car ride she never took off but it was thin and close to worthless against this kind of wind. What in the world was she going to do? She was going to die out here! Going back wasn't an option since they were way too far out to go back without collapsing partway back, also, Sabre was still out lost and needing her.

With a shaky breath Jackie began looking around, moving fast to keep warm albeit with no idea where she was heading, hoping she could find some kind of cover. She needed to get out of this storm if she wanted to survive. As she stepped into a large opened field on top of a hill she looked around, trying to find a good place to rest before spotting a small cave half hidden in the distance. Her eyes widened, relieved as she started to head towards it before she heard a scuffling movement and some crying mews from not far away.

Jackie jumped away from the sound, freezing in panic as she could only begin to imagine what kinds of bears and wolves and all kinds of other predators were out here and she would not be able to outrun any of them. A soft whimpering caught her attention as she froze, listening to the quiet crying within the snow. "H-Hey, who's there?" She called out, heading towards the noise. If she wasn't mistaken that sounded like an Extraspecies crying; not quite human, not quite animal either. She walked over to the snow pile it was coming out of and brushed aside the snow, nearly screaming. Curled up in the snow into a little ball was a small fox cub with his leg trapped in a small hunting trap.

"Aki ost!" Antain's eyes filled with hope when he saw his nanny. He quickly tried to move towards her but immediately recoiled from the pain, crying out loud and turning towards the trap to paw at it.

"Antain, Antain hold still," Jackie said, kneeling beside him and letting Antain learn on her lap and hide his freezing face into her lap, shivering profusely in the freezing cold. Jackie was mortified at the sight of the small pouching trap around his leg but thanks to his puffy snowsuit that Sabre must have put on him, the barbed wire was mostly caught on his pants. Jackie frowned and examined the trap, locating a central weak point in the springs. The hold itself wasn't strong; it was the barbed wire that was mostly holding Antian in place. Jackie slipped off her jacket and wrapped both her hands in the protective fabric, maneuvering around Antian so she could pry the trap apart. She grunted from the effort, pulling it open just wide enough to get his leg free but the barbed wire was stuck firmly to his pants. Jackie turned her body, wedging her thick shoe between the teeth and left it there, carefully moving Antain's pants before getting him free.

Antain yowled as soon as his leg was free, limping away from the trap and clinging to Jackie as best as he could, crying and meowing as he nuzzled against her.

Jackie smiled and hugged him tightly, letting the barbed wire trap keep her shoe as she pulled her jacket off the trap, getting quite a few holes in it. She wrapped the blanket around Antain and hugged him against her warm chest, glaring at the trap and the hollowed out snow around it. Antain would most likely have something broken after a trap like that. She needed to give him first aide and quickly. Jackie took another look around the trap, staring at the packed in snow around the area. After getting trapped Antain must have built a small den to keep himself warm; very smart. Sabre would be proud at that, but where was she?

Jackie kissed the top of the whining pup's head before quickly turning and heading towards the cave she saw. Smith should eventually come looking for them so they'd be fine. Jackie grit her teeth, realizing she'd have to give up finding Sabre for Antain's sake. She wouldn't be able to go anywhere in this snow storm with Antain injured. Sabre was important but she would be devastated if anything happened to Antain.

Antain softly cried and shook in Jackie's arms. He was scared, but still managed to meow towards the cave in the distance before hiding his head against Jackie's chest, stifling his tears against her wet shirt.

"Shh, it's okay Antain." Jackie muttered, kissing the top of his head. Once she reached the cave she'd have to check his leg and hope nothing was too hurt. Jackie half slid down the hill, half tripping and half struggling against the slippery snow, the host advanced, keeping Antain protected in her arms as she tried to hurry over to the cave. Her limbs were burning and her lungs slowly began to tighten from the freezing air being fed into her body. Pretty soon she was going to collapse.

She shivered and reached the base of the small hill where cave entrance was situated. Jackie made her way to slip inside before she was suddenly thrown into the air. She let out a short frightened scream as she landed in the snow, creating a protective ball around Antain. She leaned belly down, keeping her legs beneath her with Antain tightly against her stomach before she looked over her shoulder, her heart pounding from seeing Nikita standing over her with a fierce snarl, covered with blood over his thick white fur.

"You sold charges to a company." The tiger soundly accused with a steady glare in her direction. "Host had knowledge and sold to that company's remains, same ones who hurt Jaska, and who hunt Clouded Leopard. I just encountered them. They setting traps and shot at old tiger. Your partners no more. You follow." He took a step forward, his bloodied claw pointing at the host.

"What? What in the world are you talking about? You killed someone?" Jackie asked, flustered and frightened at the sight of the blood. Did he … did he hurt Sabre? The thought struck a hard cord in her as her eyes brimmed with tears of fright, hiding Antain from his view within the blanket to her chest.

"Only host new pregnant female bastet with her. Company seeking Sabre, and they knew where to find. Now tell if there more accomplices before I judge." The tiger growled fearsomely.

"What company are you talking about?" Jackie asked, severely confused. Sabre mentioned a company before but not much about it; was this the same company who kidnapped Antian that Sabre saved him from?

"Story common enough. Humans want money so they sell charges to higher bidder. What sold you out? Hm? For pathetic whelp like you, I say a mere few thousand." Nikita hissed.

"Nikita, you're not making any sense! Where is Sabre? What did you do to her?" Jackie asked, trembling from both the cold and fear. The tiger was talking insanity here. He was insane! "You're insane! Why would I do anything like that to my charges? I love them!" She snapped at him, watching the tiger's mouth curve into a cheeky smirk, seeming to be thoroughly enjoying this.

"You beg on lies. Scum ridden human, you think you trick me, council member? That why you told? So I here at same time, so they hit more prey with same attack, and make you more money? You made Sabre run and then tell to company few so we run after and get killed or caught." The tiger sneered, kicking the snow over the human and savoring the fear of his prey. "I'll enjoy ripping your skin apart, worse and slow than I did to company accomplices."

Jackie could barely believe she was having this kind of conversation with this lunatic. And worse yet, she was almost starting to feel guilty with all this he was telling her. What if this company _did_ track her somehow? What if they found Sabre and Antian because of her somehow? "Nikita, you can't be serious." Jackie said, staring into his eyes and seeing that he was deadly serious about every word he spoke; sadistically so. "Nikita, I did not do anything like that! Now where is Sabre?" Jackie asked as Antain softly let out a whine.

"What that noise?" The tiger hissed, jumping forward and kicking the human aside so he could see what she was holding. When he saw the pup in her arms, he roared with so much anger that Jackie's heart dropped to a mortified, stuttering halt. "YOU STOLE PUP!"

Antain let out a frightened yelp as Nikita ripped the pup from Jackie's arms, holding him up and seeing and smelling the blood on his leg. After a quick examination of the pup, he turned towards Jackie and roared again, infuriated.

"You dared hurt pup so he not escape! You were heading to accomplices to sell right under my nose?!" The tiger roared with rage.

"Nikita, you're wrong! Antain was caught in a hunting trap up on the hill! I-I-It's still th-there!" She tried to shout back at him but it came out more as a desperate frightened cry as her legs trembled so hard she wasn't able to bring herself to stand up.

"Company's traps caught pup and you got him to sell for self." He hissed, "I break human legs now" Nikita held Antian in one arm and hissed, but before he could slam his leg over Jackie's knees, Antain let out a loud barking roar-yowl, twisting around in Nikita's grip, trying to bite Nikita's fingers but the large tiger barely seemed to notice the pup's struggle to try and protect the weak host against the scary tiger.

A threatening roar was heard behind Nikita a fraction of a second before he was attacked from behind by a smaller bastet slamming into him.

Antain landed in the snow, yipping in fright and calling for his mama before Jackie quickly grabbed him and stumbled him away, hugging Antain tight to her chest as she pressed against the rocks, watching as the two fierce felines fought; or rather, Sabre fighting as hard as she could while Nikita was dodging her attacks with perfect precision albeit Sabre managed to land a couple scratches.

Using all of her weight and jumping impulse, Sabre was clinging with her claws digging into Nikita's back, trying to bite the back of his neck and break the tiger's spine. Nikita rolled over the ground and tossed her away with ease, rolling onto his legs as she was stuck on her back momentarily before whipping around onto her legs with a fierce snarl. When he saw the female bastet he growled, puffing out to look even more impressive than his grand size clearly showed already.

"You Sabre Nebulosa, I Nikita Sviet, High council member and Bastet representative. I here to take to safety. I also Jeloudov's Uncle" He spoke loud, clear and commanding. She was feral, but most bastet would recognize his name and alpha position; some would even get scared enough to switch out of their feral state.

The only response Nikita received was a roar of anger and a new attack from the clouded leopard. Sabre jumped forward, feigning a slash so she could move sideways and try to attack his flanks, but Nikita easily moved from it, impressed that even in her feral state she was attacking not brazenly but smart. Most feral Extraspecies would only attack viciously when feral, but here his new niece-in-law was using well placed tactics.

Jackie was stunned. Nikita was trying to reason with Sabre right now? ... No. He was trying to _intimidate_ her. That is the worst thing he could try to do! "N-Nikita, she's feral! Can't you tell?" Jackie quickly glanced away and sat down on the freezing snow, tilting her head back and showing submission immediately to them both. If she tried to run she was dead and if she stood her ground she was dead. Sabre may be feral but she should still be able to read body language.

"M-Mamaaaa!" The little fox loudly and desperately screamed, hugging Jackie and watching his mama fight but wanting to run out over to her. However, Jackie kept a firm grip on Antain, gently trying to pet him and keep him comforted; as best as she could manage.

"Shhh, it's alright, Antain." Jackie whispered, kissing the top of his head as he turned back to Jackie and sobbed against her shoulder, tightly clinging to her.

Sabre kept on attacking Nikita. She shot forward and then changed direction, jumping to a tree to use it as platform to hit the tiger but Nikita was prepared and tossed her off. Sabre twisted to slash a him, cutting his snout as he tried pinning her but she dropped herself down and then smacked the ground to grab snow and toss it over the tigers eyes. As Nikita leapt back, keeping ready for an attack, Sabre quickly jumped back and faced down Jackie with a fierce glare while Antain whined loudly.

"S-Sabre, Sabre," Jackie stammered, resisting the urge to try and move as she pressed herself against the snow to show submission. Antain continued to sob, reaching up for his mama as he grabbed at the air, desperately wanting to be held as Sabre stared at the host, almost as though trying to determine if she was an immediate threat or not. Jackie avoided direct eye contact, slowing her breathing and trying to stay calm despite her frightened shivering.

"Feh. Human, you easy prey." Nikita snorted, glancing over at her while rubbing the snow out of his eyes. "You should have let me kill slow when I have chance. Now you meat for new cubs." Nikita hissed with a smirk, laying on the snow to show he was not interfering, "suitable, da?"

Sabre hissed, crawling partially over Jackie as the human trembled from both the cold and fear, resisting the urge to fight back before she felt teeth touching the back of her neck through the jacket. Jackie's eyes burst open, startled as she looked back and saw Sabre dragging her by the jacket into the cave as Sabre glared at Nikita, hissing threateningly.

"S-Sabre?" Jackie asked, terrified as she kept a firm grip on Antain. Jackie kept quiet, letting Sabre drag her into the 'safety' of the cave before the clouded leopard dropped her an Extraspecies tiger's still body. "Jaska? ... no, wait, y-you're Aleksey"

"Calm down, bastet." Nikita ordered and approached the cave again, confident that the female bastet would be more calm now that she had a big chunk of meat in front of her but impossibly fast, the clouded leopard attacked him, slashing at his face and giving him scratches over his eyebrow and cheek before she tried to bite his neck, pulling back and the lashing forward again.

Sabre protected the entrance at all costs and used her agility to her great advantage against the hard hitting Siberian tiger. Nikita was a very experienced fighter but he didn't want to hurt the leopardess too much and she wasn't exactly an inexperienced cub either.

Nikita soon realized he was doing more harm than good so he backed away farther from the cave, giving her space. He was causing his new niece a lot of stress and that wasn't good for the cubs. Still, it made him proud of his nephew for finding a nice brave mate. Not many would have fought him like she was doing, and heavily pregnant at that. With a final growl he jumped away and retreated at least 50 more meters into the forest while she roared his way before retreating into the cave. Once she retreated into the cave, Nikita called for reinforcements and to prepare some medical treatment for Aleksey. He wouldn't be able to go in and grab him with Sabre like this; he'd have to wait. Hopefully Aleksey could afford that waiting.

Jackie stared, wide eyed before Antain began crying harder against her while shivering. "A-Antain, it's alright, shhh." Jackie breathed, looking around for something dry to cover him up with. Unable to find anything, she pulled off her own shirt, thankful it was mostly dry thanks to the jacket before she brushed off the snow. She aired it out a bit before swaddling Antian up in the warmth, seeing him shivering in fright and sniffling but his tears had stopped for a bit. Jackie turned towards the gravely injured tiger, hesitant to call out his name in fear of what she wouldn't hear back.

"Jaska? ... no, wait, y-you're Aleksey. A-Aleksey? Are you alright?" Jackie hesitantly asked, hearing no response. With the little light from outside the cave, she could see the horrendous claw marks in his head and shoulders and bite marks all around in his neck's fluff. His fur was bloody just about everywhere, terrifying her. She slowly pressed her fingers to his neck, feeling him breathing before grabbing her wet jacket and began pulling it into strips to try and cover the worst of the wounds. "D-Don't worry, Aleksey. I'll help you. I know how to do first aide." Jackie assured the silent tiger as she got to work, using her own clothes as bandages.

A loud roar, both pained and desperate came from the other side of the cave, where Sabre rolled on her back and twisted around somewhat, yowling before twisting over her belly and scratching the soil. Then the leopardess ripped off her own clothes and stood up, circling in place a couple times before looking at the host.

Jackie jolted, tense as Sabre stalked towards her with a steady gaze examining her. Jackie quickly finished tying off the last of her shirt around Aleksey's wounds before she turned and faced Sabre, again looking away and bringing herself low to the ground. Yikes … an Extraspecies going feral was nothing to scoff at.

Sabre drew closer and hissed at her, softly bumping her head against the host as Jackie wisely stayed on the ground. Antain let out a soft mew as he rolled around in his little swaddle for her attention. He whined, beginning to cry since his leg was hurting him but inside of the swaddle, he wasn't able to move around. Jackie carefully stared at the swaddle, hoping it wouldn't come loose. The less he moved around the less he'd hurt his leg.

Sabre's eyes widened as she quickly licked her pup and nuzzled him albeit while panting heavily, appearing to be struggling with moving at all. Jackie held her breath as Sabre lowered herself, staring at the small kit with worry before lovingly licking the top of his head one more time with a soft purr.

"Sabre … it's alright. You're safe here. No one is going to hurt you." Jackie softly whispered, holding her hands out for Sabre to either accept or reject her petting. Sabre turned towards the host quickly, making her jolt back before Sabre put her arms around the host and tightly hugged her while trembling. "Sabre … ," Jackie softly whispered, rubbing her back and kissing the side of her head. "It's alright, Sabre. Just take some deep breaths and relax."

Sabre's growls quieted to soft whines as she rolled onto her side, nuzzling her head against her as her hips began flexing. The host worriedly pet Sabre's shoulders and sides, nervously keeping her eyes on the Sabre's legs. Well, at least Sabre was laying on top of her clothes. The host froze, however, the second she saw Sabre beginning to breathe in rhythm.

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Nikita's ears anxiously flickered as he listened to the sounds inside of the cave before catching wind of Longwei's scent. Nikita glanced back, spotting Longwei's dragon form silently landing in the snow and looming over to him, looking towards the cave. "Ms. Smith and her program's reinforcements are on their way; they'll be here in a few minutes." Longwei informed him with a frown, "want me to get rid of them?"

Before Nikita could answer, his earpiece began to ring. He frowned, suspecting it was Smith and let it continue ringing until it became too annoying. "Da? If coordinator want something, she should go to contact protocol."

"Mr. Sviet." Smith began in a firm tone, "we have medical staff on their way. What is your location?" Smith said, sounding desperate.

"Da? Too bad company hoomans already disposed off." Nikita growled. "Host try sell charges."

"Activate your tracking beacon so we can come to you right away. We lost sight of your tracks a few miles back." Smith tried again to convince him, but by his stoic tone, it was obvious the old tiger was furious … and worried.

"You want to discuss or take Extraspecies? You think you can fight us? Me, Nikita Sviet?" The tiger's expression remained fierce with a smirk. "Longwei here in full form too. You no chance, and your program a danger to Extraspecies. "

"The lives of those kittens, the mother, my host _and_ your nephew are at stake here. Are you really that prideful that you would lose your beloved nephew a 2nd time?" Ms. Smith asked in an even tone, clearly upset. "Aleksey was right what he said about you, then. Maybe this is why neither of your nephews wanted to have any contact with you after they were tormented by those companies, Mr. Sviet." Ms. Smith stated, "now, Mr. Sviet, tell me your location so we have the slightest chance of saving the lives of those newborn kittens and your nephew." Ms. Smith stated, waiting for an answer.

"Medical staff." Longwei frowned, knowing that having such medical staff could mean life or death for Aleksey and the cubs but it was from the hoomans. "I can fly as fast as I can if I grab them by force but we don't know the condition they are at the moment."

After a huffing growl, Nikita turned on his location and answered the coordinator. "You no in charge of operation. You just aid in rescue mission, human. And hurry; I smell that she very ripe."

A soft sigh sounded from the other line from Smith's relief. "We have your location and are heading there now, which I'm sure Longwei told you. Do not dare turn us away; we have medical supplies that could mean life or death for those cubs, the mother and Aleksey." Smith said in a tone that ordering Nikita to stand down, something he surely did not like. "And I am very worried too. Those kittens are going to be born prematurely if Sabre is gets more stressed, and even with the medical staff they could pass away regardless. … thank you, Nikita." Smith said before hanging up and the revving of engines sounded from a far distance off.

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After around 20 minutes, Nikita picked up on the sounds of approaching snow mobiles heading towards their location. The snow mobiles quickly approached their location before coming to a slow stop from them. Ms. Smith stood up on her vehicle, glaring at the large white tiger as her operatives and emergency medical crew began immediately unpacking the medical supplies for emergency treatment, setting up a tent for Aleksey and the others if needed.

"Where is my host, Nikita?" Ms. Smith immediately demanded as she stepped off of her machine and made her way over to Nikita. "And where are Sabre and Aleksey?" She asked, glancing towards the cave and coming to the conclusion they must all be in there; if they weren't, Nikita wouldn't be here wasting his time staring at an empty cave.

"I smell Aleksey inside but no hear." Nikita answered, nervously shifting from side to side." I took care of company operatives, but they set traps in surroundings. Have non-medical staff so search and disarm."

Smith's gaze widened in shock before quickly turning to anger, looking back at her operatives, "find and dismantle the nearby traps; if Sabre takes off she could run into one." Ms. Smith ordered with such a fierce glare that her operatives quickly hopped onto their snowmobiles and hurried off to search for the other traps.

Some loud roars came from inside the cave, making everyone tense up in alarm and watch the cave intently; if Sabre ran away then they'd have to force her back into the cave; it was much too dangerous to move her at all at this point.

Smith frowned, knowing that Nikita was intentionally not telling her about her host. "Where is my host, Nikita?" Smith said, her eyes growing wide with fright.

"Host dead; in cave feeding Sabre." Nikita said, keeping his ears up and attentive. "We wait until bastet not feral. She pregnant, so she feral maybe long time." Nikita noted as his tail flickered from side to side in worry for the cubs Sabre was carrying.

"You killed her?" Ms. Smith asked, her face growing pale in horror.

He turned towards her and grinned wickedly, "what loss is there? She wretched human who tried to sell charges." He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"OH _NO_ -!" Jackie's voice screamed from the cave, immediately making everyone whip around towards the entrance. "W-What's wrong?! OH CRAP wait, wait what do I do, what do I do no no no no NO!" The host frantically cried out from inside the cave, making the entire staff look on in shock from hearing a human voice inside the cave with a feral bastet.

"Oh no? Oh no what?!" Nikita demanded with a biting shout, glaring at the entrance in shock. He was shocked the host was alive but more so worried as to what caused her distress.

"S-Sabre-! She's giving birth!" Jackie shouted from inside the cave as everyone's eyes bugged out of their heads.

"WHAT?!" Nikita shouted in shock, flinching towards the cave but knowing if he entered the cubs would likely suffer getting hurt. Now he knew that all those roars he had heard after the leopardess retreated to the cave had been her entering labor. He knew she smelled ripe but was hoping she wouldn't enter labor out in such terrible conditions.

"W-What do I do?!" The host shouted, mortified. "How do I help?!"

"Do not touch cubs, human!" Nikita roared. "I kill human if she touches bastet in cave." Nikita snarled with his eyes glowing angrily.

Thinking fast, Longwei grabbed his walkie talkie and flew over the cave silently. "There's a radio at the entrance, hooman. Grab it!" The dragon ordered in a hushed tone before retreating back to the others where he adjusted another radio to connect with hers.

Jackie carefully freed herself from Sabre's embrace and scurried towards the entrance, grabbing the radio and retreating back inside before turning it on. "I-I-I-It's so cold out! How do I help her?" She asked, still very panicky. She had never been in a situation like this before; she had no idea what to do.

Nikita yelled snatched the radio from Longwei, hissing into it. "Remove hooman's skin and give it to them or be meal for mother!"

Jackie stayed quiet in stunned silence before she spoke up, angry with the tiger who tried to have her killed; twice. "Well you're not the one in this cave, are you, Nikita? So either shut up or say something that actually helps me right now, Sabre is giving birth right now and I need help! I have no idea what to do, I've never helped birth a child before!" The host shouted back in anger. Over the noise of the radio Nikita and the others could hear sabre's growls and heavy panting in the background.

"Cyka blyat! Impertinent human! I take care of you if mother not make meal of!" Nikita roared in anger, cracking the walkie talkie in his grip.

"Just stay calm, Jackie!" Smith shouted, silencing the others in the field before she turned to Longwei. "Get all the cantines from the others and heat them up." She then turned to Nikita. "Tear up some pieces of clothes and lay them on Longwei arm to warm them." She ordered, holding her hand out for the radio.

Nikita snarled back, refusing to relent his grip on the walkie talkie in danger of being crushed. "I'm not taking order from a human." Nikita snarled as Longwei snorted in annoyance, releasing vapor from his nostrils.

"Nikita, Longwei. Those cubs are premature. If you want to give those cubs the best chance for survival then you _will_ listen to me. I have personally helped birth babies before. I know what to do right now. Do you?" Ms. Smith questioned in a hard voice.

Longwei's eyes narrowed in anger towards her before taking the metal canteen with his enormous claw, firing up his left red arm as the water inside began to boil quickly.

"Don't boil it! You'll burn the cubs with it." Ms. Smith snapped at Longwei, making him hiss but tone down the heat.

"How you know about cubs? Not even host knew until mother ran away." Nikita stepped forward, looking down and menacingly at the coordinator. "Too suspicious, da?"

Smith stood her ground. "I suspected it and in the trip to the lodge I checked her belly. Bastet may not show at all until very late in the pregnancy but those kittens were already kicking. I don't know how far she is, but they are premature and this is too dangerous, so let's _not_ fight until everyone is safe, Mr. Sviet. You more than anyone else here has more to lose with your own stubbornness."

"M-Ms. Smith, you're here?" Jackie called again through the radio, sounding quite nervous.

"Longwei, take these and give them to Jackie so she isn't shouting and irritating Sabre." Ms. Smith ordered as Mengyao took the clothing, canteens and a some sleeping pills. He floated into the air, approaching the cave carefully before setting the materials down outside of the cave and silently floating away." Smith then adjusted the frequency in her radio to match the host's. "Jackie! Get the supplies from the mouth of the cave, before she starts crowning!"

A few moments later Jackie appeared briefly, quickly taking the supplies before disappearing back into the cave with haste.

Ms. Smith pulled up her radio, "okay Jackie, I am going to talk you through this. How far apart are her contractions?"

" _Um … o-one moment,"_ Jackie's voice said as Ms. Smith, Nikita and Jaska anxiously listened to Sabre's heavy breathing and soft yowls of pain from the other line, " _o-oh no, no no no NO, u-um-UM-!"_ Jackie shouted before they heard the walkie talkie clatter against the ground, making everyone tense up.

"Human? Human! What is happening?!" Nikita demanded, ripping the radio out of Smith's hands as she anxiously listened to the other side.

"Jackie, speak up, what's going on in there?" Ms. Smith asked in a still serious and professional manner but her expression was desperate for an answer.

" _I-It … it's a girl."_ Jackie's voice said, silencing the 3 of them in shock.

"Girl-?!"

" _Yeah. A clouded leopard girl-oh!"_ Jackie shouted as she anxiously went quiet. " _A-Another!"_ Jackie cried as they heard the small cries of the baby cub from inside the cave.

"Two! Two small cubs!" Nikita excitedly breathed with an eager smile, beginning to pace back and forth with his ear towards the cave, waiting anxiously. He did not like the greedy human touching the young cubs.

" _O-Oh … I-I think a third,"_ Jackie's voice said, sounding shocked.

"So fast?" Ms. Smith asked, startled as she stared at the walkie talkie.

"Newborn cubs very small and healthy bastet deliver fast." Nikita grinned, pacing around the radio and anxiously waiting for the news.

" _Holy crap, another one?!"_ Jackie shouted in shock, " _and another! It's like it never ends-OOPS!"_ Jackie cried out, making everyone tense up.

Smith's eyes widened, startled by just how fast those kittens came out. Normally premature cubs came from long and painful birthings that took hours, but these came so quickly. But then again, she didn't know how long bastet births were supposed to be. She let out a relieved sigh. At least it sounds like they all came out safe and sound. Too bad she wouldn't be able to determine the father by the date of bir

Nikita's eyes were wide, but on his normally straight or snarling lips, he had a big and proud smile, looking dreamily at the entrance of the cave. "Five cubs … my family big."

"This is such a wonderful occurrence." Longwei exhaled, from his nostrils coming a bit of soft misty vapor

" _O-Okay … okay, I think she's done."_ Jackie said, sounding a little shaky from the radio.

"What are cubs? Tiger and clouded leopard only?" Nikita asked, a bit less tense.

" _Um … five. Three tigers, two girls and one boy, one girl clouded leopard and one boy ... snow leopard?"_ Jackie announced, " _they … they're so small."_ Jackie quietly said, sounding disturbed as, through the radio, they heard soft high pitched mews calling out with life along with some motherly grunts and purrs from Sabre.

Nikita's chest thrummed with purrs as he softly smiled towards the cave, wanting to go and introduce the new members into his family as quickly as possible but resisted. His tail flipped back and forth as his eyes slid shut, enjoying the small adorable calls of the kittens inside.

"I haven't seen you this happy since a long time, Nikita." Longwei mentioned, looking at the council member with slight surprise but worry at the same time. He scowled a bit, "There are no protocols for these type of scenarios."

Smith frowned, too worried about the safety of the cubs to worry about the consequences for her previous decisions. "We need to get those kittens to the lodge immediately. This cold won't be good for them in that improvised den." Smith said with a worried frown. "Jackie, feed Sabre some of the sleeping medicine after the kittens finish feeding." Smith ordered. "Nikita." Smith said, turning towards the mature tiger, "go hunt something, anything. Jackie will need meat to mix the medicine in so Sabre eats it and I want those cubs to eat before we sedate the mother." Smith said, staring at Nikita.

"You want me to leave cubs near you when I not around?" Nikita growled.

"I'll stay here and make sure these hooman's don't try anything." The dragon answered, showing his enormous fangs off. He then gave a side grin to the old tiger. "The mother would appreciate the welcome gift, Nikita. After all, your nephews can't provide at the moment."

Nikita perked up a bit, thinking for a moment before turning around and looking into the forest. "Call lodge and prepare den for mother and cubs." Nikita ordered. "She feral and might be for some time. Prepare all help needed." With that, the white tiger ran away, his figure soon lost and perfectly camouflaged in the snowy distance.

Smith let out a new sigh and grabbed the radio once more, sounding very tense. "Jackie, are you sure that's all of them?"

" _Yeah … I think that's all of them._ " Jackie breathed as she looked over the five adorable bundles huddled up in her lap, all wrapped with the what was left of her jacket and the scraps Longwei had given her, along with Antain's blanket. Even Antain was all bundled up amongst them, making the count go up to 6 as Antain happily laid in the middle of his new brothers and sisters despite his pained whining from time to time.

Sabre softly groaned as Jackie very carefully moved beside her, letting Sabre see her little babies. With a few soft yowls Sabre licked their heads, staying where she was and resting before the babies grabbed at Jackie's breasts, clearly trying to suckle but not knowing how. Jackie placed the two girls on top of Sabre's chest, letting them feed as she gently hugged the two little tigers and snow leopard to her chest to keep them warm and to wait their turn.

"Whats happening now? I heard the meows getting louder." Smith asked through the radio.

" _They're feeding now … the other 3 are getting a little rowdy._ " Jackie lightly laughed through the walkie talkie, "there aren't enough nips for all these cubs."

"Ignorant hooman. Female bastets have extra small sets of nips below that connect to the breasts and that swell up when cubs are born. Now make sure all the cubs are fed." Longwei said through the radio.

" _Really_?" She asked, puzzled and surprised before checking, " … _oh, you're right._ " Jackie said, seeing the little nips in 2 rows below Sabre's breasts further down her chest, which was a relief. It would have been too weird if Sabre grew more boobs out of nowhere. Jackie quickly organizing the cubs so all of them could feed happily together. Antain squirmed in her grasp, reaching out for his mother with a whine but Jackie held onto him tightly, petting his head.

"It's alright, Antain. Let the others eat; you can cuddle in a little bit." Jackie smiled, kissing the top of his head. Jackie watched everyone feeding, smiling happily before looking back to Aleksey. She frowned, trying to crawl back to him to check on him but Sabre held onto her ankle, refusing to let her go. Jackie frowned, holding Antain closer as he whined in pain. " _Hey, Smith, Aleksey is here and … he isn't doing too well. I patched him up the best I can but he's a little chilly and bloody. Still breathing. I also think Antain really hurt or broke his leg in a trap._ " Jackie said, turning Antain against her shoulder to keep him quiet as he softly whined against her.

"They are there with you? D***it." Smith cussed. "We need to get the medics to check them and quickly."

"If that is the case then we cannot wait for Nikita to return with some meat. We need to get them to the lodge quickly." Longwei said, deeply concerned for Aleksey's life.

"We need to find a way for Sabre to eat those pills." Smith frowned. "We can't risk tranquilizing Sabre, it would be too dangerous for her."

" _I can do it._ " Jackie said through the radio, " _I can make her take the pills without the meat._ " She said, turning to Sabre before the host began stretching her fingers, "do you want me to feed them to her now or once the little ones fall asleep?"

"You think you can force a feral mammal new mother to eat something suspicious?" The dragon clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "How pretentious for a mere hooman."

" _I'll have it done in 5 minutes._ " Jackie snapped back at him. " _Don't underestimate a host._ "

"Go ahead, your arm will feed her and maybe she'll eat those pills along with your blood, host." Longwei responded in a mocking tone, his long whiskers twitching.

" _Human or not, I am Sabre's host and I can get her to eat the medicine_." Jackie stated, brimming with confidence in her magical fingers.

"Very well Jackie, just don't die in the process." Ms. Smith unhelpfully added. "Are the cubs done eating?"

" _They're starting to yeah._ " Jackie said, watching as the cubs slowly began to lay on their mother's fur, forever attaching themselves to the scent of their mother. Jackie's smile softened, finding the little kittens to be adorable little fluffy jellybeans.

"Wrap up the kittens in the clothes Longwei gave you and set them on Aleksey to keep warm. Antain too. Then feed Sabre the medicine." Smith ordered before setting the radio down, taking in a deep, nervous breath. This entire situation has gotten out of hand but thankfully the kittens seemed to be alright. Now was the problem of taking them to the snow lodge.

The wind grew harsher outside the cave as the dragon's tail swayed, disliking this situation entirely. The cubs were born but now they needed to figure out who would watch over them. Longwei's piercing glare glanced over to Smith, frowning deeply. He couldn't let her take the cubs under any circumstances. "If this works then I will fly them back to the lodge." He announced, not bothering to look at the human coordinator. "I assume the medical ward is properly prepared and notified. And also a den is already prepared, is it not?"

"Yes. Before I left they were ordered to set up a den in the safe room for a feral Sabre; but now with the kittens, I suppose it is a den now." Ms. Smith said, thoughtfully staring at the cave. She couldn't allow Longwei to take Aleksey; not yet. He was too weak to survive the flight back in the claws of the dragon. "And when you say them, to whom are you referring to, exactly?" Ms. Smith asked, turning to look at the dragon.

"All the Extraspecies obviously. They need medical help as soon as possible, so I'm flying back so we get to the lodge before those pills wear off. However tired the mother is, she won't sleep long now that the kittens are born." The dragon took a step to shield the wind slightly.

"And how exactly do you expect to safely cradle all these little kittens with those monstrous claws of yours? Carry them in a thick blanket and you risk them freezing to death, along with Aleksey whose body temperature is likely much below that of what is healthy for a large Siberian tiger, don't you think? And the flight back is well over a half hour."

"We are not risking leaving them here longer." The dragon narrowed his slitted nacar eyes, vapor coming out of his nostrils.

"I'm not suggesting that. I am suggesting to take the host with the kittens to keep them warm while we give first aid to both Sabre and Aleksey who will be in dire need of it once she falls asleep." Ms. Smith said with a faint smile, "and you have my word as soon as they are moderately stable they will be sent to the snow lodge quickly."

"Your word?" He snorted, clearly annoyed. "Your words forgot to mention there were bastet in your programs, an illegal secret to the council, which will of course be investigated and punished accordingly."

"Very well, Longwei. Then let us compromise." She said, turning to him with a smile, "take the kittens, the host to hold the kittens, and Sabre back to the snow lodge while we give Aleksey emergency medical treatment, but only after we give Sabre an initial check up just to make sure things are alright." Smith tried suggesting this. "Once you drop the first load off you're welcome to come back and get Aleksey if he is in stable enough condition. Or, you may accompany us back while we transport him." Ms. Smith smiled cheerfully.

" _I-I'm done. Sabre is starting to fall asleep._ " Jackie said through the walkie talkie.

With a huff the dragon looked towards the cave. "I shall accept this only on behalf of their survival. If anything goes even slightly wrong, you will be fully prosecuted as direct culprit. And I'll be taking the host not only to hold onto the kittens, but also as a reminder that her safety is within our decisions. And it shall be your responsibility too."

"I expect nothing less. The blankets you can use to cradle them in are in the snowmobiles." Ms. Smith smiled before taking the walkie talkie, "Jackie, get ready. You will be escorting the kittens and Sabre back to the snow lodge, understood?" She asked as Longwei turned to the snow mobiles and one of the medics passed him the large thick blankets and a thick jacket and dry clothes assumingly for the host.

" _Uh, yeah, sure._ " Jackie answered.

"Good." Smith smiled before turning off the hand radio. Ms. Smith headed over to the cave as Longwei laid down the waterproof blanket into the snow, blocking most of the wind with his body as Smith stepped inside and saw Jackie holding all of the little kittens with Sabre sleeping against her.

"So uh, how are we getting them back to the snow lodge?" Jackie asked, concerned for the little kittens.

"Mengyao Longwei will be flying you there. So hold those kittens tight." Smith stepped slightly aside so Jackie could see an enormous scaly claw outside the cave.

" … y-you're kidding, right?" Jackie asked as her face paled, "he's flying us there? Won't we freeze?" Jackie asked before Smith walked over and handed her a very large jacket.

"Get dressed." Smith smiled as Jackie quickly put on the jacket, shivering at the warmth it provided. "Now hold still." Smith said, opening the jacket and fastening the small cubs to her chest with a very intricate looking sashing technique with long pieces of fabric she had, although it was obvious Smith wanted to pet or hug the small kittens really badly. Jackie stared down at her handiwork, surprised by how well that worked before Smith zipped up the jacket a little bit to cradle the little kittens. "Now come with me." Smith said, taking Jackie's freezing hand and leading her outside where a large dragon stood in the snow, the owner of the giant claw she had seen from inside.

Jackie's eyes bugged open, startled as she looked at his clashing red arm that contrasted with her general blue tones. "Y-You! You're the dragon from before!" Jackie said, hardly able to believe her eyes.

"Are there that many dragons that you could for a second confuse another one for me, hooman?" He huffed, looking down at her bulging jacket where the cubs rested, safe and warm with the host's body protecting them.

"Step into here; watch your step." Ms. Smith said, setting Jackie in the middle of the large thick blanket before stepping back and looking to Longwei, "make sure you tie it so it doesn't fall apart. It would be tragic if you dropped the host with those kittens that are Nikita's grandnephews and grandnieces." Ms. Smith said with a faint smile up at the dragon as some workers slowly carried Sabre out onto a separate blanket before medical staff quickly went inside to work on Aleksey.

"The mother looks fine… but the tiger is pretty bad. I'm not sure we can save that eye." One of the medics exclaimed at the coordinator.

"Let's not waste any more time." The dragon pulled the blanket and tied it up in a bundle, startling Jackie.

"Be safe with them, Longwei!" Ms. Smith called out to him before she slipped inside of the cave to check on Aleksey's condition for herself.

Longwei huffed thick clouds of vapor in his annoyance before he gently grabbed the bundles and slowly took to the air, feeling the host suddenly tense up and let out a startled shout, moving around in the bundle.

"Quiet, Hooman! Don't annoy me or the cubs. If the mother wakes up, I'll make sure you suffer from it." Longwei ordered while soaring the sky just above the tree lines, not daring to fly higher up due to the low temperatures.

"A-Are we flying right now?!" The host shouted, sounding disorientated and frightened as her stomach churned with fright. Was this what Ms. Smith meant? That this dragon was going to fly them back?! The thought made her heart drop into her gut. This was more terrifying than dealing with a feral charge!

The dragon didn't bother to answer. Were it not for the precious kittens she held, he would have dropped her or at least do some acrobatic maneuvers to make her shut up. With a hissing growl he picked up the pace, trying to get to the snow lodge as soon as possible.

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Once she was back in the snow lodge Jackie let out a soft sigh, gently holding the kittens on her lap and letting the suited up doctors check the kittens for any injuries. Luckily, all of them were happy and healthy even if they were a bit premature. Antain was taken into another room to get his leg checked out, which Jackie hoped his leg was not broken. The little kittens softly cried out, blindly clinging to Jackie and nuzzling against her stomach, away from the cold touch of rubber the doctors all wore, but since they were afraid that Sabre would get too panicked to feed her babies if there was any other scent got in the room, all the latex couldn't be helped.

"The doctors can't check Sabre appropriately if you are in their way, hooman, so get out of the room." The voice of Longwei announced not too loudly from the speakers.

"She's on the other side of the room. I'm holding the kittens so they don't get cold." Jackie said, looking down at the kittens who laid over her lap comfortably.

"She's fine right where she is; it's best the kittens are held for as long as we do need a bit more space in case we need to move in equipment." One of the doctor's chimed in before walking over to Sabre and gently checking her pulse and stomach for injuries. "Don't worry miss host, you can go and get something to eat."

"Thanks." Jackie sighed out a smile before gently setting the kittens aside, watching as they shifted uncomfortably and began softly calling out for their comfort to come back. Jackie smiled and made sure they were comfortable before she left, rubbing her head and seeing her greasy hair. Ugh. She needed a bath too. Jackie smiled and headed for her room, planning to take a nice long bath in her private quarters.

The doctors continued to check on Sabre before she let out a soft growl, twitching slightly as the first signs of her coming out of her unconscious state, her tail starting to sway.

As soon as the vigilant senses of Longwei caught on the bastet waking up, Longwei stood up. "Get out of the room, now." He ordered the doctors with haste.

Without another word the doctor's quickly left the room in a near panic, closing and locking the heavy door of the safe room. Longwei stared into the various screens of different angled cameras inside the safe room, watching as Sabre groggily got up, tilting her head in confusion and looking around. She ventured towards her kittens, walking over and checking on them. After ensuring their safety she looked up, clearly confused before she started to trot around the room and sniff at the ground before circling back to her cubs, fervently sniffing the ground by them where Jackie, the human host, had been sitting. She sat up, looking around some more before letting out some low yowls, starting to call for her host.

Longwei could hardly believe a bastet would grow attached to a hooman in this way but he had seen the bastet worried back in the docks as well. And although he knew that a thoughtful investigation was needed in order to see why such behavior occurred to the poor young feline, for now it was necessary to do something to calm her down.

He let out a sigh and got up, following the host's scent back to her assigned room. His ear flickered, listening to her in the bathing room while he grabbed her unpacked suitcase. Longwei carried it back to the safe room, stopping just by the door before listening inside. Once he was sure the coast was relatively safe he quickly opened the door, tossing in the host's suitcase of clothes with her scent before quickly closing it again, hearing Sabre roaring from the other side. Longwei returned to the monitoring room, looking at the screens as he found Sabre glaring at the suitcase with her little ones behind her. Once she was sure it was no longer moving, she leapt onto the suitcase and bit into it, fiercely growling and ripping it to shreds before sticking her head inside and taking a few sniffs.

Once she recognized the host's scent, Sabre began grabbing as much clothing as she could carry and set it down around her young cubs as a makeshift nest, gently nuzzling her kittens before returning to the empty suitcase and sniffing inside of it. She frowned, biting and attacking the suitcase before kicking it aside and sniffing the ground by the opening, staring at the door before lightly clawing at it and growling out.

The dragon frowned, vapor coming out of his nostrils as he figured what she wanted and that she would not be happy until she got her host-toy back. He crossed his arms in annoyance. As if things weren't suspicious enough already. Did this hooman do something to make her charges so dependant on her? He'd had to question her charges when they were healed up but for now the mother and cubs were priority; and Nikita would be back soon too, and he could be that the tiger would not be amused by the situation.

Longwei let out a snarling hiss, startling the nearby scientists before he turned away and walked out, marching right back to the host's room with an angry snarl curled around his lips. He did not like using a host to pacify a feral Extraspecies. He could not do something like that; not even the great Nikita could do that unless they knew of him. What made this pathetic hooman so special that her charges were all so dependent on her?

"Your presence is required, hooman!" He threw open the door of the host's room and strode towards the bathroom. Without any qualm, he entered her bathroom. "You are coming now."

Jackie let out a short scream, startled as she covered herself with her arms in startlement. "W-What are you doing? Get out!" Jackie shouted at him, shrinking back as the man that had grabbed her by the throat earlier appeared and quickly approached her.

"Are you deaf?" he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up, looking straight in her eyes. "You are going to come, now."

"Why? What the hell do you want? Let go of me!" Jackie shouted, leaning away from him in the bath while struggling to cover herself with the shower's curtain.

Esily and in one swift move, the man dragged her by the arm and headed out of the room while she screamed in distress and struggled to lean back, grabbing the door frame to stop him from dragging her off.

"I said get off!" She shouted, kicking him in the back, "where are you taking me?! At least let me get some clothes on!" She shouted, resisting against him as he continued to quickly drag her down the halls.

"We don't have time for such hooman customs." He said, nearly wrenching her arm out of her socket as he hurried her along.

"Stop, stop!" Jackie desperately shouted, extremely self conscious about all the people they were passing in the halls who stared at them with wide confused eyes at the naked woman being dragged around. "A robe! At least let me get a robe!" Jackie shouted, grabbing and yanking on his tail for his attention.

"If you are a host, you must be ready for your charges at any moment." He said while turning into the medical room with her charges were healing up, a shortcut straight to the safe room.

"Oh? Hi host? How you've been, we are fine. Well, I am, everyone else is not fine but they'll be … eventually … maybe." Reza happily swam to lean on the surface of the pool he was in. "Not that it's suspicious that you are naked and following a council advisor, but it is suspicious. Or is he bringing you here to us? Are you going to pet us? Are you finally going to let me see between your legs? I can see the front and back now. It's strange, there's nothing there but you can't see anything from females in general until they are ready, right?"

While Reza chatted up a storm, the rest of her charges stared at her wide eyed in confusion, shocked into silence as she looked on in horror and struggled to get free. Longwei dragged her right into the adjacent hallway, pausing on the other side of the safe room's door before covering the host's mouth, startling her.

"Don't be noise or you'll distress her more" The dragon huffed, blowing misty vapor on her face. Then he pulled her again until they reached the safe room, and once there, he opened the door fast, shoved the host inside, and closed the door again.

Jackie fell inside with a small scream before landing on her back, opening her eyes up to see Sabre staring down at her in confusion before jumping forward and standing in front of her kittens, growling at Jackie before advancing, leaning down and sniffing her. The host blinked in confusion before Sabre began licking her wet hair to try and clean her off, making Jackie jolt up as she spotted her clothes scattered around the ground.

She quickly got dressed, yanking on her more comfortable clothes before Sabre leaned on her heavily, softly yowling to get her attention while hugging the host's leg and purring contently. Jackie heavily sighed and thoroughly pet Sabre, listening to her happy purring as the host looked up a camera and angrily glared at it, unable to do anything else in retaliation for her way too many people seeing her naked in under 5 minutes. Someday she'd get her revenge … but it probably won't be much at all … and who the heck was that man anyways? Well, how long could she need to be here anyways? Sabre would calm down soon and she could go back to her room, right?

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"Now that I've seen a naked human female so close … it is weird. I mean, there's space between the legs. I thought they would be closer and then slowly separate, like tentacles." Reza went on rambling, letting his thoughts become noise in the room.

The others in the room, with exception to a still sleeping deeply tranqued Dumisa, remained silent before slowly getting over the startelement of seeing the host's entire body. Most of them had seen naked hoomans before but never someone they really knew, let alone their host who always, _always_ wore clothes and was very touchy about them. Most of the hoomans they saw naked prior to this were either dead dying or on their way to death … except for Jaska's and Eztli's encounters.

"Should … shouldn't we do something about that?" Kroc asked very slowly, blinking even slower; he was still half frozen from nearly freezing to death earlier, rendering him immovable in comparison to how the mammals easily moved about. Kroc continued to stare in confusion, very slowly looking to Jaska and Eztli since Reza was no help and Dumisa was even less help at the moment.

"Why? Maybe she finally wants to go all natural?" Eztli answered, jumping over Jaska before laying besides the tiger all cozy and happy that almost everyone was here. Jaska, awake as he was, was too weak to push the jaguar off or even growl convincingly, so much so that Eztli surely thought the tiger was purring.

"No idea." Jaska frowned, curious about the reason a rather high council member was yanking the naked host along, but remained fairly calm. The council members would never touch a human unless the situation demanded for it. They were too careful for that, especially Longwei, more so his uncle. There was no reason to be really worried at the moment. "Ignore it." He sighed, groaning as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"So everyone is here relaxing but the females? Do they have separate pools for them? This is a vacation, right? Although we can't relax much with the council the host was heading there?" Reza stretched. "But the good news is that we can have one of those weird bonding moments. I'm bonded enough, so please share your feelings and all that mushy incomprehensible crap. It should be entertaining to hear." Reza smiled and for once silenced himself, looking on in interest to see what the others would talk about.

Dumisa twitched, letting out a soft groan before very groggily flipping to his side, struggling to get up as he flopped back onto the ground. The room spun in circles for him, deeply confusing him as he tried to get up, falling back down onto his coils as he struggled to comprehend what was going on. "Unnnhhh .. shwe goe … gotta go get, get Shabrwea." Dumisa mumbled through his partially numbed lips, barely able to sleep before he deliriously slumped back onto the ground, struggling to get back up before closing his eyes, appearing to be falling back asleep.

"Hey … what happened to Dumisa? Does cold affect all reptiles like that?" Eztli asked, moving from Jaska to paw at the tip of Dumisa's tail.

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little heads over it. Dumisa was heavily tranquilized somehow but we're not sure how. We let him sleep it off for a bit so he'll be groggy for a little while." The nurse that came in said with a sweet smile before leaving placing a heat lamp near Dumisa before walking away.

"Oh? The snake was tranquilized again? Is he the designated target for training practice?" Reza chuckled in amusement.

"He was kinda tranqued then sluggish, and then they had to tranq him again because he was being rowdy." Eztli explained. He had seen it when he was frolicking around the place.

Dumisa shivered, trying to move and just rolling his large body around in the strangest ways possible. "Guys, guys come on, we habe tu, tu … tu get her. That … that uh….thish one."

"So the snake is definitely drugged." Kroc yawned, getting warm all too happily inside of the lukewarm water.

"Yes, they also drained his fangs." Eztli jumped on Kroc's back with a cheerfully purr, giving him lots kitty kisses before pausing. "Hey Kroc, what happened in the warehouse?"

"Oh, good question, black kitty. We need to make sure our stories coincide before the council interrogates us. And trust me, they will." Reza huffed, "having changing stories will just be annoying. I can only ramble so much before I run out of things to comment on."

"Nothing much. I finished what I came here to do." Kroc simply stated in a slow and mumbling voice, beginning to fall under the water before Eztli gently pulled his snout up a bit to keep talking.

"And who were those other friends? Want me to give you a massage?" Eztli insisted, moving to press Kroc's back but the crocodile's back was too thick for the massage to be felt.

"But, but Shawabre, guis, guys, shabre fan raway … gotya, gotta finsh hersh." Dumisa mumbled, laying on the ground unable to move.

"Oh? And what was that?" Reza leaned on the edge of the water. "I was not informed on that. I'm part of this school? Pack? Whatever. I don't know and I want to know. Does that mean you entered the program for some motive?" Reza curiously asked with an intrigued smile. "Tell us Kroc, you did tell Sabre, right? That's why she was there? Or was she looking for the host too? No wait, she ran away, I think. I'm not sure, maybe she felt hungry because I didn't prepared her that tiger sushi." Reza noted, tapping his chin in thought.

A doctor came into the room briefly to check on their monitors, making the predators instinctually silence themselves and stare at the intruder. After checking a few IVs to nsure they were full, he left the room without a word to give them their privacy; it was unwise to enter a room with an injured predator, let alone 5 of them and left after checking all of them was doing fine.

Kroc's gaze followed the last doctor out of the room and once the door was closed he turned to the others. "I killed my father. I chased him halfway around the world for that."

Jaska's eyes widened a bit before glaring at him. "And that's why you busted my head open?" He hissed.

"Yeah." Kroc said, lying contently and quietly in his lukewarm tub without issuing an apology towards the tiger. Instead the crocodile grinned, "I remember warning a sheela not to get between a predator and its prey … you should have known better too." Kroc teased.

"That's a wonderful tragedy!" Reza exclaimed with big happy eyes while flaring his broken spines. "The prodigal son that sets on a quest for revenge! You should have told us, I would have prepared nice sushi to enjoy the show." Reza said, chatting away happily with a light blush on his face. "How did it feel to rip out his throat? I bet it felt very nice. I wonder if I can replicate that beautiful bittersweet emotion into my sushi at some point." Reza fantasized with shining eyes, lost in a small world of bliss.

Jaska stared at the odd response from the fish, odder than usual, before slyly grinning. No matter how well trained a noble fish was, a fish was still a tragedy loving fish, "I thought you no like tragedy." Jaska smirked.

Reza paused, staring straight ahead before slipping a hidden scalpel from his fins, smiling and pointing it at Jaska with a threateningly empty smile. "I do not. I don't love tragedy." He said, his serious expression twitching, seeming to be breaking under his excitement.

Jaska eyes the lionfish with suspicion before he accommodated himself like a loaf of fluffy bread. "I never thought I'd find a mate, da? No female bastet will take me, and when Sabre accepted help I happy but I never asked her to be permanent mate, I too afraid of rejection. When heat ended I f***ed up and went feral, no hope anymore or ever. And since uncle found me, I now waiting heavy punishment for hurting mate and from disappointing him. I most likely be taken to fate worse than gulag." Jaska heavily sighed, truly fearing those consequences but was finding the fish's reactions to be entertaining.

"THAT'S WONDERFUL!" Reza beamed, getting up excitedly and splashing water around before pausing. "I mean, not wonderful, but the tragedy is magnificent, more so because you will never know if those kittens she's waiting for are your or from her late mate, and she'll never allow you close again too. The tragedy is so big that it could be a big boring soap opera." He said, trying to act aloof but wriggled back and forth in the tank.

"Yes it could," Eztli meowled, hesitating. Everyone else was talking about their pasts so it was only fair he did so too. "I saw many soap operas, they are like that, but worse, and with hoomans." Eztli trailed off, shivering and holding Jaska close. "I ... well. I was taken when I was very young and sold in some auction. The humans took advantage of me in every way possible … I was always so scared. And worst yet, that old host … ," Eztli shuddered just by referencing her, "is still alive. I don't know where she is … I'm always scared she'll come hurt me again." Eztli whined before cuddling up against Jaska in fear. "I really hope Jackie killed her but I don't know." He shivered.

"Can you tell us more details? It sounds terribly tragic but more detail would bring in the emotional pain that makes your story so alluring." Reza smiled. "I'll prepare you some sushi."

"Heh. Emotional pain? You should talk to traumatized snake." Jaska guffawed.

"Oh? The snake also has a tragic past? Why was I not informed? I thought he was just pissy naturally." Reza crossed his arms, confused but intrigued.

"Dumisa most tragic emotionally traumatized of all. All of life he mate and mate and mate and mate but women use him like towel. Use once a day and toss away. He so desperate for love, he bite host." Jaska said with a small smirk, finding it amusing a fish was actually hiding his love for tragedy all this time. Usually he wouldn't believe it, but he had to admit the fish had them all fooled.

Reza squealed in delight, already wiggling his way out of the pool and not knowing who to address to ask for details as he looked around to see who would give more details.

"You think that's tragic? Haven't even told what my father did." Kroc said with a small smile, finding this game to be interesting. Plus, he wanted to tell them. He liked these Extraspecies he became friends with. "I killed my own mother first time I went feral. I blamed my father and was on the run from him ever since before killing him. Now I live with my mistakes of killing my parents for the rest of my life. Talk about emotional trauma there." Kroc guffawed, eyeing up the fish. "It's surprising I ain't so bad, right mates?"

"All of you, all of you have such wonderful delicious tragedies-! Why can't I have such a tragic story!?" Reza nearly screamed in excitement. "I could have a delightfully tragic story but no, I'm just a runaway son that likes to prepare sushi and hates official duties as a noble and whose mother sponsors the runaway son in the program to see if I get a tragic story in the end!"

"So, Reza, who no like tragedy?" Jaska asked with a smirk, admittedly feeling a little better now that his worries were off his chest.

"Yeah. I knew every fish loved tragedy; it's what got me across the ocean." Kroc smirked over at Reza with a soft grin.

"But why you like tragedies? They are … well, tragic?" Eztli tilted his head. "I think happy stories and endings are better. Like in novelas; they are awful with all that drama and tragedy; only when the happy ending comes are they alright."

"But I don't love tragedy, I just know how to appreciate it. Its sour flavors mixed with the sweet moments that make a great tragedy as complex as the best sushi-," Reza stopped, realizing he was holding his blushing red face and breathing a little heavier than usual in his excitement. Reza paused, trying to think of a way to convince the charges otherwise, but it was too late. Heavily sighing, he gave up the charade. "My personal tragedy is probably that I don't have a worthy tragedy like mermen normally do. What's more tragic than a prodigy noble throwing away his title for the sake of becoming a sushi chef and then hiding it all under layers and layers of a strong exterior so no one knew how lonely he was? Ah~ it was a lot of fun." Reza said with a bright grin of excitement. "It was a lot more fun with you all too. But it's not as tragic still." He sighed before beaming excitedly. "Therefore, I appreciate you all like I would appreciate a good sushi knife."

"Heh. Thanks, mate." Kroc said with a softer smile. "Feeling a lot better with that off my chest." Kroc smiled, glancing over to Jaska and Eztli. "And you all?"

"Hmph. No fixes situation … but makes for good bonding." Jaska chuckled.

"Now … do we bond more?" Eztli began getting naked and rubbing his head on Jaska's side, purring happily.

" … whereg fhe? i ghouthy she ras rhere … no? Nuh? Nuk … nihhk. Fled?" Dumisa incomprehensibly slurred, looking around and appearing quite confused.

"And what about Sabre? What is her tragedy?" Reza asked, quite eager to hear it. "Her mate dying was soft, but not tragic enough I think, so what else? She's a noble kitty, there aren't noble kitties anymore, right? Is that part of it? Does it has to do with Antian?"

Everyone paused, giving it a thought.

"You know, I'm not sure. I know she saved Antain from a experiments. She said that not even the furs of his real parents remained … maybe?" Kroc said, not really knowing the details because he never cared to.

"Mmhh … I don't really know either." Eztli said, tilting his head. "But she did loved her original mate a lot … and she never spoke much about herself."

Jaska frowned, closing his eyes. Despise everything, he would never reveal her secrets. "Real tragedy is she sleep with me thinking I my dead brother. " He frowned.

"That's not tragic enough, not even close to standard tragedy, just some drama … well, the fact that your brother is really still alive and we won't know if the cubs are his or yours until they are born adds flavor, but it's still not tragic enough." Reza huffed in annoyance, "that's not tragic enough at all."

Jaska perked up. "What you mean my brother alive?"

"Oh, I saw a cart coming in with him laying on it. He looked super bloody so maybe he's dead now?" Reza said, looking thoughtful before frowning. "Eh, no, still not tragic enough." Reza sighed, now rather bored. "Better but not as good, I mean, Smith hiding your brother and then when he comes here he's dying and you may never see hima live again does makes your story better, but it still doesn't makes Sabre's tragedy all that wonderfully tragic. Still I'm curious, how is she so trained and knows so much about so much?"

"Bratja here!? SMITH!" Jaska roared before ripping out the IVs connected to his arms, leaping up and running out the door as he desperately sniffed the air. He caught sight of a doctor and he quickly grabbed the medic, "you! Where bratja?! Tiger look like me, but tip of tail is black."

"T-The other Siberian tiger? He's in the critical care unit just down the hall." The man said, startled by the sudden aggressive tiger.

Jaska's yes widened before he sprinted down the hall and shoved open the door, looking in and seeing his brother lying on the large table with too many IVs to found inserted into his arms. He was cut up nearly to pieces with too many stitches to see but on the monitor was his steady heartbeat.

"Bratja!" Jaska's ears lowered as he began emitting soft kitty whines. The doctors saw him and one of the nurses hushed him off, where Jaska began pacing outside of the room, looking up through the small window every few turns to peek in on his brother, being very anxious.

"Jaska."

A deep voice made Jaska's fur puffed up anxiously and his ears flattened as his blood ran cold. The tiger slowly turned around like a scared kitten to see the older white siberian tiger all bloody and carrying a massive dead polar bear and many rabbits and birds noticeable in a made up bag fabricated with some of the furs of the animals the tiger extra species had hunt.

"Uncle Nikita." Jaska managed, lowering himself down somewhat.

The older tiger dropped the corpses and pulled Jaska into a tight hug, purring and nuzzling against his long lost nephew. "I thought I lost family."

Jaska nuzzled back against him, flipping his tail around in pleasure before he tightly held the tiger back, admittedly missing the hugs of family. "Da. Me too." Jaska said, softly yowling as he strongly nuzzled Nikita and closed his eyes, enjoying the strong embrace of the tiger that raised him.

They began speaking in russian to one another, talking about what had been happening in the meantime in their lives and bonding again, uncaring about the world until Eztli's voice made them turn around.

"Can I join the hug?" The jaguar said, looking at the tigers and nervously flipping his tail around.

"A balam here?" The white tiger looked at the young feline. "Who you?"

"This Eztli. Jaguar from South America; one of host's charges." Jaska answered before seeing Eztli was buttnaked as usual, shich he would not have paid much attention to if it weren't for his uncle being there.

"Host's?" Nikita growled. "I want to speak about that, Jaska."

Jaska nervously swallowed, thinking quickly while lowering his ears nervously and adding in russian. "I there to spy for the council about programs. I no tell no one, I fear word get out too easily." Jaska said while staring directly into Nikita's eyes.

"Host told much stuff. I ought to kill nephew if," he began but suddenly he had a naked jaguar hugging him and purring. Both of the tigers paused, staring at the jaguar in confusion.

"You are Jaska's uncle? What's it like to have a family of bastet?" Eztli purred. "I like you, you are big and fluffy, not as fluffy as Jaska but still fluffier than me." Eztli hummed, resuming his hug on the large tiger.

Jaska's eyes widened in terror as he stare at the brave naive young bastet, nearly having a heart attack. Nikita was furious and rightfully so; Jaska just disappeared and never told him anything that happened. And now the jaguar was foolishly hugging the scariest and most important bastet in the world.

"So you friend of Jaska?" Nikita asked as he calmly pried off the jaguar, watching as he clung to the tiger's arm with looked up at him with large innocently happy eyes.

"Yeah! Jaska is super cool, and strong and mature and protective!" Eztli cheerfully grinned, happy he got to talk about his favorite cat. "He's super fluffy and even lets me sleep with him sometimes when it's dark out. He's super nice!" Eztli deeply purred, hugging the mature tiger's arm.

A small repeating thud caught Nikita's attention as he glanced down the hall, spotting a small fox running towards them with a small gleaming blade in his mouth. The kit's leg was in a cast, making the repeating thumping sound as the kit ran away gleefully laughing while a doctor tried to chase him down but was unsuccessful in trying to pick him up.

Jaska's eyes widened as he lunged forward, grabbing Antain and the handle of the knife. Antain growled possessively, trying to hug the knife as Jaska tried to gently wedge it out of the fox's greedy mouth. "Antain, no play with knives." Jaska said, tugging on it and trying to make his grip relent.

"Oh, thank you very much." The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and a smile, reaching for the little kit.

"Kit is fine, thank you." Jaska said, waving his paw to brush the doctor away. She smiled politely and turned away, knowing the fox was in good hands.

"So this fox is Sabre's adoptive son?" Nikita rose an eyebrow, dubious yet curious.

"How you know?" Jaska asked while trying to take the knife without injuring the kit's teeth.

"I just do." Nikita crossed his arms, remembering what the human host had said while babbling about and even remembering Longwei report. "But why bastet adopt fox pup?"

"The parents died; not sure how, but she found the pup and took him in." Jaska explained, hiding the whole experiments part, before successfully wedging the knife out of the pup's lips without cutting him.

"Tipped mena!" Antain mewed, pawing his arm and trying to reach for the shiny blade from the stripped menace. "Back! I want!" He whined.

"Oh, Mr. Jeloudov please wait! Just lay down, you need your rest!" A woman cried from inside the intensive unit, making the two tigers perk up.

"Niet! Where Sabre?!" The voice of Aleksey was barely heard along a roar before the heavy sound of a body flopping to the ground and the clattering of metal.

Nikita tossed the door open, spotting Aleksey laying on the ground and heavily breathing as he struggled to get up again but clearly did not have the strength for it. His breathing was shallow and quick, struggling to keep up with his own movements. The woman looked at the intruders with a frightened shiver, wisely taking a step back as Nikita walked over to Aleksey. "Aleksey. You rest or I make you rest."

"Where Sabre? Where my mate?" Aleksey asked, shaking a considerable amount considering how thick his fur was.

With a softer tone, the older tiger spoke. "She in safe room with kittens. She is safe; you need rest." Nikita reached down, grabbing his nephew's arm before picking him up. Aleksey let out a low growl of disapproval but it quickly turned into a pained groan as he clenched his teeth, allowing his uncle to redirect him back towards the bed as if he was a mere kitten.

Aleksey let out a pained growl as Nikita laid him back onto the bed, picking up the IVs that were knocked over and began reinserting them into the shaved part of his arm.

"O-Oh, please, allow me, Mr. Sveit." The nurse spoke, making a motion for the IV herself but did not reach for it.

"Be off. I take care." Nikita growled, effectively making the woman back off fast.

"Very well," she said with a slight nod before she turned away and left the room without another word.

"Tipped mena!" Antain exclaimed loudly, pointing at Jaska, then he looked at the other tiger and pointed again "Tipped mena?" The fox then tilted his head and squished his eyes at the big white tiger while pointing, his tial flickering. "Tipped mena?" He asked while reaching for Nikita, mewing for his attention.

"What? You no tell difference?" Jaska asked with a slight laugh at the fox, trying to settle Antain in his arms but he kept reaching for Nikita and mewing.

"Tipped mena!" He shouted, twisting back around and trying to bite Jaska's hand before pausing, spotting the tiger laying on the bed. Antain blinked, confused before looking between the others before pointing to Aleksey in confusion again. "Tipped mena?" He asked with his ears lowering, looking around at the towering predators. His natural instincts began unnerving him as Antain's tail slipped between his lets, trembling at the presence of all the stripped menaces around him. "Lots tipped mena." Antain softly began to cry in fear.

"What? Why you fear?" Nikita asked, staring at the young fox hugging his tail, "you predator, you no cry, you make others cry." Nikita said as he picked up the young kit and rubbed his back with expert care before nuzzling the top of the fox's head. "I no tipped mena, I Nikita. This Jaska, and this Aleksey. See? Smell." Nikita said, bringing his thickly banded arm up for the young fox to smell.

As Nikita turned towards Aleksey, Antain bit Nikita's arm with a soft growl, munching on the fur as his tail flickered back and forth.

Nikita, the terrifying living legend of a baster, let out a fake groan of pain at the cubs attack, letting the lil pup think his attack was strong. "Ah, good bite, you big predator" Nikita said, pulling back his lips and showing off his teeth as Antain heard the encouragement, pausing and letting out a happy yip before biting his fur again, earning another soft growl from the large tiger who grinned at the play from the young fox.

"Wit tipped mena!" Antain giggled, leaning back and trying to jump onto his chest, nuzzling against his thick fur with a soft and happy purr while Nikita kept his steady hand in place to keep Antain there.

"What 'tipped mena' means?" Nikita asked to Jaska.

"I think it means 'stripped menace'." Eztli claimed while cuddling comfortably next to Aleksey, purring contently beside him. "Sabre called Jaska that, so Antian probably copied it."

Nikita turned to look at the jaguar, surprised at the young jaguar's stealthiness as the young balam cuddled with Aleksey who was too weak to push him off. "Oh? Why would Sabre call her brother-in-law a stripped menace?" He asked, confused before turning to Jaska for answers.

Jaska glared at Eztli severely but shrugged his shoulders before looking at Nikita, knowing that if he didn't look at his uncle in the eyes, the old tiger would catch the lie. "No idea. I first bastet she saw besides brother and when I spy in contract I fought. She probably praise strength. I menace for enemies."

"Strange way to praise. English such a funny language." Nikita guffawed before brushing it off, not bothering to think about it.

"But Sabre speaks spanish too." Eztli tilted his head and nuzzled Aleksey.

"Bilingual? Very nice. Soon she add Russian to languages." Nikita grinned.

"She know some. I taught" Aleksey barely managed with a weak smile.

"Ah, very good! Soon she be speaking to whole family in Russian." Nikita smirked before pausing, "ah, speak of which, I need make phone calls to set up rooms for new mother, arrange meetings, special dinners," Nikita went off listing numerous other things as he left the room with Antain pawing at his phone as he stepped into the hallway to make some phonecalls.

As soon as Nikita was out of the room, Jaska lunged for Eztli and pulled him up and away from his dozing off brother, and after getting into a corner away from Aleksey's hearing range, Jaska spoke very quietly but clearly in Eztli's ear as the young jaguar purred in pain. "You no tell anyone I ever attacked Sabre, much less old uncle Nikita. I'll hate you if you tell single thing!"

Eztli blinked in confusion, startled by the intensity of the tiger. Jaska had never grabbed him or spoken so sternly to him before, confusing the black jaguar as his tail flickered in confusion, feeling the painful twist on his ear. " … ow … you're hurting me, Jaska. And not the nice kind either." Eztli frowned, tapping on his paw to make him let go.

Jaska let go of Eztli and gulped down, beginning to nervously sweat. "No tell." He repeated before letting Eztli go, watching as the jaguar stared at him in confusion but nodded. Somehow Jaska needed to find a way to convince the other charges to not tell anything about it either. If Nikita ever found out what he did to Sabre … he shuddered just thinking about it.

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 _ **10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter! I wonder how … meh ... I'm too sleepy. Enjoy this and goodnight 3

 **Chaos-dark-lord: Hello everyone. Another chapter done** _ **(this time Peeko pushed me to work on it XD**_ **) The game's programming is progressing well. There are 2 M-shot's already released for this story (** _ **Peeko: She's making us release the ones with Sabre first … revolt against her if you want otherwise)(We are actually releasing those ones first to not spoil things with Jackie)(Peeko: … I would argue but I'm too sleepy x-x) (go post that in your section :P .. And in my country is even more late**_ **) Anyways, What do you think of Nikita? I's say he doesnt seems to like hoomans. And what you think about Aleksey being Alive? Did someone expected that one?** **Too bad Sabre is completely feral now** **.**


	34. Chapter 34

"Are you ready, Jackie? Go ahead and administer the medicine; it's about time you got a break, right?" Ms. Smith's voice from the speaker asked with a small laugh tailing the end of her voice.

Jackie sat in the middle of her messy clothes staring emptily at a wall as little kittens crawled over her lap, mewing for her attention as Sabre dozed off nearby. The host had been scratched, bitten, bruised and repeated for the past 5 days without a rest in sight. And now, _now_ after 5 days enduring this, Ms. Smith was offering her a way out. She'd call Smith sadistic but no, there was a special place in hell for people like Ms. Smith. Jackie slowly turned her bloodshot eyes over to Sabre, seeing the young feline staring back at her with a playful smile dancing around her lips. Jackie held out her hand, showing Sabre the pills.

"Here Sabre, eat these." Jackie said heavy bags under her eyes from sleepless nights. Now that she had her chance at freedom, Sabre would just go to sleepy very fast after eating some tranq medicine Smith gave her. Now all she needed to do was feed her and then leave out the door and finally take a freaking shower. She wished she could have left the room sooner but it was too dangerous to open the door with Sabre awake and this annoying kitty was a very light sleeper; light enough to hear Jackie attempt to make an escape around day 3 but then get tackled over and bitten into submission. Jackie very slowly took the kittens off her lap, repeating the process dozens of times as the little fur balls instinctually climbed back into her lap to sleep while Sabre kept watch. Jackie let out a slow annoyed sigh before glaring at Sabre, clenching her fists around the pills. She was determined to get Sabre to eat the pills; it won't hurt her, oh no. She would just take a very long, nice nap while some nice doctors come and check her and the cubs, freeing the host from this weirdly fluffy prison.

Sabre barely rose her head in Jackie's direction, looking at the host from her spot and twitching her tail, but she didn't even bother moving; instead, she yawned and stretched before looking away like the feral jerk she was before looking down to count her cubs to start giving each one of them a tongue bath.

Jackie took a deep breath, stepping away from the kittens and walking over to Sabre. The large feline looked up, purring as he twisted around and hugged Jackie's leg, narly making the host stumble onto the ground before she caught herself. The host let out a controlled breath before gently pushing Sabre over, making her lay down in the small nest mostly made up of Jackie's packed clothing; most of which would sadly not survive this experience considering how often she had to change out the clothes. And of course they loved the more expensive clothes she had.

Jackie sat on Sabre's stomach, gently scratching her cheeks and neck, making Sabre deeply purr before Jackie pushed the pills into her mouth. After the pills were in she held her jaws shut, petting the base of Sabre's tail and making the feline groan in pleasure before tightly hugging the host. The clouded leopard twitched her head a bit, trying weakly to get her head free but remained still, enjoying the pleasure too much to push the host away. Out of options, Sabre swallowed the pills and made a weird face before starting to lick Jackie's face, shifting in place and demanding more pets.

Jackie collapsed onto Sabre's chest, laying on her fluffy swollen breasts in exhaustion. Finally she took the medicine ... ugh. The host was too exhausted to move; after 5 days of barely any sleep she felt borderline psychotic. Her sleepless nights were thanks to Sabre nuzzling her and the kittens calling out for food every hour very, very loudly. Jackie rubbed her eyes, trying to gather herself together.

Sabre rolled on the host to be on top and began grooming the host's greasy hair in apparent disgust at the host's hair state. She even gave a small bit to Jackie's ear as a reprimand for such lousy appearance before continuing to groom her.

" … ugh." Jackie heavily sighed. After this she was going to take a very, very long shower. And nap. And some alone time with no one to bother her.

Sabre's lapping tongue slowed down, letting out a groan before she tipped her head back and remained still. Jackie's eyes burst open, scurrying out from under the bastet and getting up and staring at the clouded leopard's unmoving body. The host resisted the urge to cheer and instead slowly and very, very carefully stepped away, taking a moment to appreciate the adorableness of the kittens cuddling with the mother.

The door slightly squeaked as it was pushed open, catching Jackie's attention as some Extraspecies and humans in hazmat suits came inside, looking over the mother and babies in adoration while pushing the host aside. Sleepily, the host stepped outside of the room just before Smith stepped before her with a satisfied grin.

"A job well done, Jackie." Smith spoke through her suit. "Go take a small rest; you've earned it."

"Yeah … I'm going to go take a shower." Jackie groaned, rubbing her eyes and trying to wake herself up.

"You go take that. Maybe a small nap too." Smith nodded while looking at the beautiful soft kittens, understanding the host's exhaustion.

" … yeah." Jackie said, too sleepy to argue against Ms. Smith. "Hey, what happened to Antain? Is he alright?"

Smith softly smiled. "Yes, he is just fine. He has a hairline fracture on his leg and is sleeping peacefully a few rooms down. But you need to take care of yourself before anything else, little miss nanny." Smith said with a cheerful smile.

"That's good." Jackie breathed, relieved. She was afraid it would have been much worse; Antain got lucky.

"Oh, yes." Ms. Smith said as though suddenly remembering something. "While I understand your exhaustion, unfortunately there are no showers here. The only baths available are the hot springs labeled for baths and the others labeled for pleasure. Ask the workers if you get lost." She smiled, going ahead and handing the sleepy host a wooden bucket with essential shampoos, conditioners and other items to clean herself with along with a change of bathingsuit. "Go ahead and clean yourself up. You did good work the past week." Ms. Smith smiled cheerfully.

The host emptily stared at her, very slowly blinking before turning away and shuffling her way over to the bathing baths. She was way too tired to deal with any of this right now. She'd be lucky to make it into the water and even then she'd likely drown in it from falling asleep. With a loud yawn the host stepped into a changing room, putting on the snow lodge bathing-wear before stepping into the large bathing hall.

The room was large with a massive indoor hot springs inside of the room with smaller reserved pools lining the larger pool in the center. There were small concession stands on the outermost ring and some chairs but most of the space was taken up by the large pools. In each pool was a small drain continuously pumping fresh hot spring water up into the pools for a fresh dip each time.

Everywhere she looked she could see Extraspecies and their hosts inside of the pool, most of them being herbivores and prey. In fact, the only female host with more than 1 or 2 predators was herself. Jackie rubbed her eyes again, trying to wake herself up before stepping into the closest bit of water that was reserved for her and her Extraspecies. Sh dunked herself in, immediately beginning to wash her hair while trying to keep herself above water. That was an exhausting 5 days; she never thought she would miss taking a bath so much in her life. After thoroughly scrubbing the grime out of her hair she dipped her head underwater, leaving herself there before pulling up for air and seeing Reza approaching from the large center pool the small pool she was in with a cheerful grin on his face.

Reza stopped for a moment to wave at some man in another pool but as soon as the man saw Reza, the man jumped out of the pool and ran away without looking back. Reza continued like nothing with a cheerful, "bye, old host!" before approaching the small pool. With a small jump he leapt into the small pool with Jackie, settling himself before swimming up to her with a smile on his face.

"Oh, hello host. Why didn't you tell us you were released from that fluffy prison? I would have prepared sushi … well, more of it because that's most of what your other charges have been eating instead of the poor food here they serve. But they never let me into the kitchen so I have to constantly sneak in for fresh supplies." Reza slipped himself into the reserved pool and began pouring a bag of salt in it before grabbing the host and making her lean over his chest which she did so without a fight. Anyone could do anything right now and she'd be too tired to stop it. "Since you seem alive … horrible looking but alive, it doesn't seem I'll have to figure out how to salt you to honor your memory by eating your remains. Isn't that great? Although I'm not sure Sabre would have let such big piece of meat go to waste. Are the kittens hungry? Do they eat sushi yet? I've never seen small mammal Extraspecies before. Well, nothing younger than Antain, so I'm curious about their eating habits. Could I chop up the meat into very small pieces for them to eat or maybe liquify it for them to drink? When can kittens eat solid food? I imagine not for a while, probably. Right?" Reza asked, cheerfully waiting for an answer.

The host slumped against him and let outs a pathetic cry of being extremely tired, wanting to sleep but not drown. "Sorry. Give me a little bit; I'm exhausted." She softly groaned, closing her eyes for a few moments while trying to get comfortable against his shoulder.

"Was that weird noise some kind of call? What does it mean? It reminded me of Sabre's mating calls. Is it something like that?" Reza tilted his head in confusion, wondering the meaning of the host's exhausted call. "Oh, I get it! Do you want cubs now after seeing Sabre with cubs?" He asked with a bright smile, excited to have perhaps guessed the right answer.

"Ah, there you are, sheela." Kroc's voice said as he crawled out of the main large pool for everyone and crawled onto the heated tiles, taking a moment to cool down with the cold air before laying on the hot tiles with his eyes on the host, "heh. Tired, sheela?" He teased with a toothy grin, seeing her not resisting the hold of perhaps the most dangerous charge of them all. One wrong prick and she'd be done for but in her exhaustion, it was probably a welcomed end.

"To the point I almost want to cry." Jackie whined, leaning against Reza's shoulder with more of her weight. "Right now I'm just trying not to fall asleep in the water." She admitted before very widely yawning off to the side. "But I needed a bath first … 5 days without a shower is gross.

"Don't worry about falling asleep in the water. It's quite comfortable and nice and super fresh so go ahead." Reza encouraged her by pressing her against his chest and laying a bit too low on the water, riding the water up along her chin as she sleepily stared into nothing.

"Yeah but I'd drown … can't fall asleep here." Jackie heavily sighed, closing her eyes and resting against him, feeling on the verge of tipping over the edge in exhaustion despite her words.

"The sheela's right; humans can't breathe in water and drown." Kroc said, looking ready to hop in and confiscate the host from Reza if he tried taking her deeper into the water.

"Yes I know." Reza proudly grinned, showing off his superb knowledge of humans. "But I'm here to keep her afloat ... somewhat. She can just fall asleep with her head above water, right?"

"I suppose." Kroc said, laying back down but kept an eye on Reza. While Kroc knew no one wanted to kill the host, Reza was most likely the one who'd kill her by 'accident'. "Sheela, how is Sabre?" Kroc asked, curious and a bit worried. None of them had been allowed to get near the females at all. The only thing they were told that the sheelas were resting.

"S'fine. 5 cubs all healthy. 3 tigers, 1 snow leopard and 1 clouded leopard." Jackie muttered, taking in a deep breath before slowly exhaling, getting comfortable on the lionfish. "I'm not too heavy, right?" She asked Reza with her eyes closed, trying to go ahead and go to sleep if she could.

"5?" Reza blinked. "where did Sabre have those? Hidden in the fluff?"

"It's possible. They were premature which is why they didn't show much and predator mammals are born fast and small from what I know. Even so, 5 is a lot." Kroc admitted, sounding quite surprised himself. "And with some variety too. Snow leopard?" He questioned, surprised at that one.

"Bastets can produce cubs from past ancestors and all bastet mate with all Bastet regardless of subspecies. Unusual but not unheard." Aleksey's voice answered as Kroc and Reza turned, seeing the tiger limping over towards the pool with ears attentive towards Jackie.

"Is that so? I did heard something about all cats being related at some point, but I don't remember." Kroc admitted. "Will the cubs be alright if they are so small?"

"Little cubs usually small." He confirmed with a nod. "Premature but not that much, all fine."

Aleksey stepped his legs into the pool and sat on the side, staring at Jackie as the thick scent of Sabre lingered around her. "Here, give her here." Aleksey said, reaching over and pulling Jackie out of Reza's grip before resting the sleepy host on his lap, leaning his head in and sniffing her shoulder deeply and heavily to fill his nostrils with the scent of his mate and cubs, making him purr.

Jackie stared at what she thought was Jaska's head, "Jaska … stop that." Too sleepy to move, she instead laid against his thick soft fur, trying to get some sleep and not caring about where she was. She was exhausted and no one there would let her drown; well, Kroc wouldn't at least.

"You hooman … how Sabre? She fine? No complications? This first litter, so all right? I know she feral, but she feral all time or in lapses?" Aleksey questioned, jostling the host in his arms a little bit to make her pay attention.

"Hmph hsianm." Jackie mumbled, burying her face into his fur, very soon drowning out the sound of everything around her as she succumbed to her sleep against the fluffy fur holding her.

"Hey! No sleep until you tell how sabre, then you sleep. Is Sabre fluffy now or not fluffy enough, she in winter coat, da? She eating well? Sheds too much? Her teeth clean?" Aleksey held her, asking even the most minimal an insignificant detail about his mate's health.

Jackie remained silent, remaining limp against the tiger as she rested her very heavy eyes against him, silently and very quickly falling to sleep against him.

"Hooman!" Aleksey growled a bit louder, shaking her until she tensed up, barely awake.

"Hm? Whut." Jackie mumbled, leaning back and nearly falling back into the water before Aleksey caught her and helped keep her upright in the warm water.

"You useless for giving information, hooman, but you help Sabre. I smell mate, so you nice. Thank you." Aleksey hugged the host, clinging to her tight to keep sniffing Sabre.

"Host!" Eztli came running from the other side of the hot springs, jumping right into the water and causing a large splash as he laughed, looking around at everyone before turning to Jackie.

"Hmmph." Jackie mumbled, feeling Eztli nuzzle against her face before stepping behind her and standing between Aleksey's legs as the jaguar happily hugged Jackie tightly, deeply purring in pleasure while his tail wriggled about.

Eztli paused, sniffing the host's smell before more deeply purring. "Your smell is super strong, host." Eztli said, flicking his tail back and forth in pleasure, rather enjoying the strong smell from the host. Her scent smelled like comfort to him.

"Humans hate to be smelly, mate." Kroc said, leaning over and cracking his jaws open to taste the air. "Hmm … ripe. She needs a bath." Kroc said, looking her over and seeing that if she attempted to wash her hair, she'd more than likely drown. "Eztli, wash the sheela's hair. She'll appreciate it later." Kroc said as Aleksey grabbed some shampoo and looked at it.

"But she took a shower back at New York." Reza pouted with some confusion. "Why do mammals take baths so often? They also groom themselves a lot. I've seen other Extraspecies groom often but hoomans are the most bothered when they can't groom daily."

"Because hoomans can't detect differences in smells or messages in it." Aleksey said calmly, then grinned and hugged Jackie while sniffing her somewhat with a silly grin forming on his lips. "But we can. Hooman can't smell it, but I smell Sabre and each cub on host."

"I can smell Jackie. It smells nice." Eztli purred, sniffing Jackie's wet hair as he gently massaged it. "Awe … the shampoo is covering up her scent." He complained a bit before grinning, enjoying the smell of the shampoo mixing with the host's scent, creating a unique mixture.

" 'Leksey … what you doing to host?" Jaska came into view, looking at his brother with a raised eyebrow and ears lowered.

"Hooman smells like Sabre." Aleksey purred, holding Jackie still and sniffing again. "Like mate and cubs. Smell nice."

"She does?" Jaska approached sideways to sniff the host too; when he noticed the scent of Sabre, his mate that never was and would never ever be, and the cubs that may as well be his but he was sure he would not get to see either. Taking a couple steps back, he swallowed the knot he felt in his throat and looked away.

Eztli joined in with the others sniffing the near unconscious host. He grinned in enjoyment as he lightly rubbed the shampoo into her hair, cuddling up against the two tigers at the same time while deeply purring in happiness.

Jackie stared at the tiger, not blinking for almost a minute straight as she struggled to understand what she was seeing. " … there are two Jaska's. I really am losing my mind." Jackie groaned, burying her face in the fluff and trying to fall asleep.

"Hey, wait. She needs to finish her grooming ritual." Reza said to Aleksey, tugging on Jackie's leg to urge her back into the water. She remained where she was, however, sleepily trying to doze off against Aleksey.

"You feeling better, bratja?" Jaska asked with a small sigh. "You should rest more in room. Not even uncle want you overexerting."

"Much better." Aleksey grinned, burying his nose against Jackie and savoring Sabre's smell on her, "I be even better after reunited with mate." He softly smiled with a warm longing stare at the host's skin, almost as though imagining if it were Sabre's skin from a long time ago.

Jackie looking between them both very confused and having clearly forgotten that she saw the two tigers just moments ago. " … why are there two Jaskas? Jaska, why are there two of you? Wait, didn't I just ask that?" Jackie asked to herself, lazily reaching a hand up and petting Aleksey. "And why are you so hurt? What happened?" She asked, sitting up somehow and sitting on his lap. She gently began petting Aleksey, trying to examine some of the lesser wounds but didn't dare pet near all the bandages.

"This no me, host." Jaska raised an eyebrow. "This bratja Aleksey. lil brother." He smiled. "And you too tired. You fine?" He asked, a little concerned for the host's health.

"Hmm … umph. Finme." She muttered, leaning her head on Aleksey's forehead. "Wayyy too tired … almost no sleep for pasht 5 days. Between kittens and Sabre I didn't get any shleep." She groaned, closing her eyes and trying to get comfortable.

"The kittens are cute." Jaska smiled, shifting in place and looking between super happy and super uncomfortable at the idea that those kittens might actually be his. He could only imagine how his brother would react when he found out what had happened, and he wasn't looking up to that.

"Da. My cute little cubs." Aleksey purred happily, nuzzling against the host. He then chuckles. "I a daddy, Jaska. How that sound?" He laughed, before lightly coughing before hugging the host with a big happy smile. "And you, uncle. You be good uncle?" Aleksey asked with a grin over in his direction, clearly flying high with the knowledge of kids on his mind.

"But is that so? Since they are premature it's impossible to know when they were created, so we don't know if the father is the late mate or the last mate Jaska. So which of you cats is the father, you both mated with her during heat, a regular heat and then that one. So I'm curious… how can we find out? Those fancy DNA tests won't work because you're too close in blood." Reza asked, "if two male bastets sleep with the same female, will the cubs be split in half as to who they belong to?"

Aleksey froze with his eyes bursting open, looking to Jaska in shock.

With Aleksey's loosened grip Reza grinned, slipping the host out from Aleksey's arms and holding her limp body above the water as she briefly awoke before falling asleep against Reza's chest. Reza smiled and retreated besides Kroc who stared at the two cats, sensing an oncoming fight. Rather than excited, Kroc was more aloof to the fight but interested nonetheless.

"Well … she entered heat and resisted, but," Jaska began, struggling to find words to explain what happened.

"YOU SLEEP WITH MATE?!" Aleksey thundered with a loud and powerful roar, immediately sending all of the herbivores into a frenzied panic before Aleksey leapt out of the water and tried to tackle Jaska over, attempting to bite him but missing horribly.

"Aleksey, it mistake! I not know you alive at time." Jaska said, surprised by how easy it was to hold his weakened brother back. "She thought I you when happened! Heat come and she seeking!" Jaska growled, trying to argue his case.

"But was that a mistake? After Sabre rejected you on various times you kept on insisting, did you not?" Reza added. "That's what I heard, that she really tried to fight her instincts … almost a tragedy. But then she had to accept Jaska's help to relieve her instincts. Day in and day out, almost every hour. I couldn't count how many times they got busy and that was just when I was there towards the tail end. It was always in the host's room too, the designated mating room. Sometimes I'd watch because they looked so funny afterwards, dropping to exhaustion." Reza unhelpfully explained in more and more explicit detail, only furthering Aleksey's rage.

"That true!?" Aleksey roared.

"Mmmhhh … Da? But, Bratja … !" Jaska tried to explain but Aleksey's attacks were weak and relentless.

Unable to take it more, Alekesy gave a loud and angry roar before leaping to attack, causing some small herbivores to run away from the area.

Reza smiled mischievously while holding the host besides Kroc who stayed where he was, floating in the warmth of the water. Reza turned to him, "aren't you going to join?" He said with a grin.

"Nah mate. Not much of a fight when I know I can beat them." Kroc said before his head whipped over to the entrance. "They are as weak as those kittens right now."

A large white tiger leapt into the room, letting out a terrifyingly loud roar that scattered all remaining prey Extraspecies, leaving their hosts to run after them. "What happen!?" He roared before spotting his two nephews attempting to claw each other's throats out. He blinked, confused before snarled at them. Without even needing to speak, Nikita let out an authoritarian growl that reverberated across the room.

Jaska and Aleksey immediately stop fighting, sitting down with flattened ears and large eyes locked onto the white tiger before both of looked away, not daring to challenge the tiger by looking him in the eyes.

"What happened? I heard roar and I come to see … sad, pathetic attempt at fighting. Why?" He hissed, harshly glaring at the both of them.

Both tigers lowered themselves on the floor like scared kittens. Both began making small sounds while mumbling a bit, too nervous to speak clearly.

Nikita let out another growl and immediately both bastet brothers stopped their mumblings.

"The most hurt cat learned that Jaska mated with his mate when she entered heat!" Reza shouted from across the swimming pool, making everyone turn to him and spot the fish at the furthest possible corner of the pool, already half submerged and coiling as much as he could. They blinked, startled to see him so far away and holding a near unconscious host up above the water. "It's because Sabre entered heat and then tried to fight it but Jaska wanted to mate with her and then they did mated a lot!" The fish gulped and lowered himself on the water. "So they mated as often as possible but mostly in the host's room!"

"Hmph. So no one who know who father?" Nikita asked, looking between the two tigers. "That why you fight?"

"Da." Both of them answered at the same time, lowering their heads and looking away.

"But why fight? Who cares who cubs are whose? They my grandnephews and grandnieces." Nikita reprimanded them in annoyance before turning to the fish. "Maybe tragedy loving fish instigate fight?" Nikita grinned showing his sharp teeth. "Not even noble status matters to council member who might see security camera recording later."

"I'm telling the truth! It was going to come out eventually a-and also, you need to hear this! Jaska was trying to keep it a secret but he went feral when Sabre rejected him and attacked her while she was pregnant! And he also attacked her a couple times before that! And Sabre is a noble kitty too!" Reza shouted before tossing the exhausted host onto the side of the pool before submerging himself as deep and far as he could to ensure his own survival. It wasn't a very kind thing to do, throwing Jaska as a sacrificial piece while he escaped and hid, but the lionfish's survival was at risk.

Aleksey snarled and tried to attack Jaska again but when Nikita roared, immediately stopping the attack. The mere sound of Nikita's growl pinned Aleksey in place. The Siberian tiger hissed and bared his teeth at Jaska as his blood ran cold in terror.

"Jaska … you explain." Nikita ordered in a very calm and extremely angry tone. "Nephew of bastet representative in high council broke bastet law? That very bad." Nikita snarled, baring his large teeth at Jaska.

Jaska stared at him, remaining silent before he turned tail and took off in a flat sprint across the side of the pool, making a fast escape through the exit into the outside blizzard.

Nikita let out a sigh before turning to Aleksey, "get rest; Sabre may wake soon. Make sure you no miss." The council member ordered before he chased after Jaska now that his nephew had a small head start.

The moment Nikita was out of the room Reza surfaced, swimming over to Jackie and poking her as she blankly stared at nothing in particular, too tired to feel anything. "Sorry host, but you see, that tiger is no average tiger and I like my scales on my body and not being impaled by my own spikes. I'll prepare you some super nice sashimi later for you." The lionfish smiled and then for better measure, he added, "I'll prepare some sushi and even noodles for you too. The really good chewy kind."

"Hmmmn," Jackie muttered sleepily as Reza grinned, gently dragging Jackie back into the water before swimming back over to the pool, staring at Kroc who had not moved from his spot at all.

"Hey, you are still in the same spot." Reza pointed at Kroc. "That's impressive." Reza admitted. "Either you have no self preservation instinct or you're falsely confident in your skills." He lightly laughed but it sounded a little strained and nervous.

"Scary tiger or not, I liked the spot I had," Kroc admitted, frowning nervously, "and moving would have attracted his attention." Kroc admitted, nervously stared at at the entrance where he disappeared after Jaska. "That tiger will be lucky if there's anything left after that alpha gets through with him. I always thought my father was an alpha; who knew that I would be so wrong." Kroc admitted before glancing over to Aleksey, seeing him gripping his chest and heavily breathing. "You alright, mate?" Kroc asked, cracking his jaws open and tasting fresh blood in the air.

"I need medic." Aleksey groaned before he dropped to the floor, lying on his side and breathing heavily, not even trying to grip his reopened wounds because of how many there were

"I can taste your wounds from here." Kroc said before he heavily sighed, relinquishing his spot. "Come here; I'll take you to the medic, mate. Can't have you dying on Sabre." Kroc said, picking up the large tiger by the arm and tossing him onto his back. Aleksey let out an aching groan as Kroc walked out of the pool area and into the hallway, heading towards the medic's office with the tiger's blood slipping into the cracks on his scales.

"Thanks." Aleksey heavily sighed, a little surprised a large predator like a saltwater crocodile would bother helping him. Either the crocodile was tamed or very stupid to help another predator of his size.

"Just don't die; that would break the sheela's heart." Kroc chuckled as he followed his sense of taste, finding the room Aleksey was originally in. He walked inside, spotting some doctors who looked surprised before directing the crocodile to lay the injured tiger down on the bed.

"I can't. I have mate and cubs to take care of." The tiger goofily grinned despite his wounds.

"Good attitude, mate. Once you're healed up, let's have a good spar." Kroc smirked. "Stay here; I'll grab you something good." Kroc said before turning and slipping out the large doors.

"Da, sure thing." The tiger tried to chuckled, but he ended up coughing some blood while the medics began checking him.

On his way to the kitchen he passed by the other medic's office, spotting Dumisa wide awake inside and looking around as though he was confused. Kroc hesitated, wanting to just keep walking before he heavily sighed. The snake was probably confused if he just woke up; and if he believed Sabre was still on the run then he was going to cause a ruckus. Kroc stepped into the room, catching Dumisa's attention.

"There you are; where did everyone go?" Dumisa immediately asked, looking around in the hallway in confusion behind Kroc to try and see if there were there; to his disappointment, they were gone.

"Had a good nap?" Kroc teased with a grin, walking over and snapping his fingers, seeing the black mamba's ears flicker in accordance to the sound and proving he was wide awake now after having slept the tranquilizers off.

"W-Wait, I need to speak with Ms. Smith fast, Sabre ran away! She's pregnant and very far along, I could taste it!" Dumsia cried, looking out the window and seeing a hard hitting blizzard going on outside. "Oh d***, I can't go out in something like that. SMITH!" Dumisa shouted, trying to shoot past Kroc but Kroc caught the snake's shoulder, forcing him to hold still.

"Calm down, we know." Kroc lightly laughed, "she already had her kittens and is resting in the nearby room. She's totally fine and won't be running away anytime soon." Kroc assure him. While Kroc was disappointed Sabre wasn't able to get away like he wanted, he was also glad; this meant the kittens would be safe and sound and if she went to be with Nikita's family, she'd be well protected. It was a good option for her, even if she decided to run away at a later time.

"R-Really? So she hasn't left?" Dumisa asked before letting out a relieved breath. "Oh good! I was afraid I'd have to chase her down in this snow myself. How is she? Can we see her yet? I think she went feral after I passed out." He said, trying to think of what happened before. "I need to go apologize to her. I acted foolishly." Dumisa frowned. Honestly, he was too passionate for his own good.

"Mmhh … well she did ran away." Kroc scratched his metallic chin. "But she's still feral so we can't get near to see those kittens yet. Oh, go see the host. She's in the pool resting. For the past 5 days she's been kept up by the kittens so the poor sheela has barely had any sleep. It's a funny sight." Kroc grinned with a laugh laugh.

"Oh? So she is defenseless in the nearby pool, you say?" Dumisa asked with a grin before shooting out the door faster than Kroc could stop him.

The black mamba shot down the hallway quickly, eager to be reunited with the host after sleeping for the past few days. She must have been so lonely without his scales to admire. With a smirk the black mamba slowed down, looking around the near empty pool before spotting Jackie lying against Reza's shoulder as Eztli sat behind her, continuing to rub shampoo into the host's hair. Dumisa blinked, surprised and thrown for a small loop. He had assumed the host was alone but clearly she was not. He clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth, a little annoyed at the interferences between him and Jackie.

"DUMISA!" Eztli shouted excitedly before leaping out of the pool and sprinting over to Dumisa before throwing himself onto the snake and hugging with his arms and legs around the snake's torso. "How are you, my friend? Are you feeling okay? You were asleep for so long! Are you hungry? They have super yummy meat here!" Eztli excitedly asked while tightly hugging the snake to express his happiness.

"It's a shame you didn't stay asleep for longer. You already missed the best part, so you might as well go to sleep again." Reza stretched in his spines a bit, eyeing Dumisa. Jackie remained unmoving against the fish's chest, fast asleep.

"Well, I'm here now so hand over the host. It's been nearly 6 days since she's had the privilege of tending to me." Dumisa said as he leaned over and looked at the host's face, seeing her dead asleep in the lionfish's arms. Dumisa softly smiled, finding her sleeping face to be adorable; although the bags under her eyes were rather unsightly.

"No. If you wanted the host you should have been here before and if she wants to appreciate anyone's scales, she might as well admire the colorful shimmer of my scales." Reza cuddled the host. "I'm not saying its too good, but her warmth certainly feels really comfortable." He hummed, nuzzling against her neck.

Dumisa stared at the fish for a moment, measuring the sincerity of his words before Dumisa burst out laughing. "Admire _your_ scales? What kind of nonsense is that?" Dumisa loudly laughed, holding his stomach, "that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" The snake laughed even harder, brought to his chest on the ground in laughter as Reza ignored him and soaked up the nice warmth of Jackie's body. After a few heaving laughs the black mamba soon slowed down, wiping a tear from his eyes. "You are too funny, Reza. Now hand her over; I want to hold the host's warmth." Dumisa chuckled, trying to take Jackie's hand. Reza's spines flared, forcing the mamba's hand to snap back before the smile was erased from his lips, studying the fish with an annoyed glare. " … you were serious?" Dumisa asked, sounding surprised.

"I'm an incredibly handsome noble merman who can prepare nice sushi. My scales shine with all the beauty of the coral reefs and are always nicely reflective. My colors are also quite bright and eye catching if I do say so myself." Reza claimed, acting a bit pompous while shuffling his spines. Normally he wouldn't bother arguing with the snake over beauty but the heat of the precious host was at stake here. Reza rather liked how warm the host's skin was. Now he knew why everyone tried to horde it so often.

"That is absolutely ridiculous!" Dumisa snapped at the fish with a sharp hiss, "no braindead moron would choose a fish's slimy filth over the beautiful scales that are a serpent's." Dumisa miffed.

"You forget that since humans have existed, they have been beguiled and fallen in love with the beauties of the sea, both male and female. All of them make for great tragedies, but humans continue to fall in love with fishfolk of all different eras and places. Even now it's a bit of an epidemic of how popular it is for male humans to choose fishfolk over their own breed." Reza lightly laughed, now more determined to win this argument.

"Ridiculous." Dumisa frowned in annoyance. "This game isn't funny, Reza."

"This isn't a game, it's merely the true. That's why hoomans have so many legends and tragically beautiful stories regarding mermaids but nothing nice about lamias." Reza grinned.

"Why don't we ask Jackie? She's a hooman, so she'd be able to tell who's more beautiful to a hooman." Eztli suggested while enjoying the weight of Dumisa's body laying over him.

"Yes, that's perfect!" Dumisa smirked, using his tail to whip Jackie's back a little bit, "Jackie, wake up. Tell this poor amateure of a male whose scales are clearly more beautiful than the other."

Jackie flinched against Reza and grunted in annoyance as Reza made her lean back a little bit, staring at Reza's face in confusion. "What do you want?" Jackie asked, leaning back a bit too far while rubbing her eyes before Reza pulled her in, gently resting her forehead against his own as he smiled up at her.

"So who's more beautiful, host? Dumisa or I?" Reza asked with a cheerful smile, nuzzling against her forehead.

Jackie paused. She had never really been this close to Reza before on account of his extremely venomous spines. Jackie stared into Reza's eyes before a deep blush covered her face, clearly offput by the sudden attractive qualities Reza was putting off.

" … Reza. Now let me sleep." Jackie huffed, leaning against Reza's shoulder again to try and fall back asleep.

"I'm so flattered, host! As a reward I'll treat you to lots of salmon sushi. You like those plain tastes more, right?" Reza grinned, hugging Jackie and humming in delight at her choice.

"How can you say that?!" Dumisa cried out, devastated by the host's answer, "Jackie, you are _clearly_ hallucinating if you think that slimy thing of rusted nails is more beautiful than I am. You need to go to the medic's office to get your brain fixed immediately!" Dumisa gasped, trying harder to separate Jackie from the lionfish but the lionfish's spikes followed him wherever he poised himself to be.

"She already made her choice, snake. If you still have a problem with it then you can just force her out of my arms, but I'm not saying it's true, but I would definitely prick you first before you bite me." Reza grinned cheerfully while keeping his spines up and sharp.

Kroc came back into the pool area, looking around and seeing Dumisa raising himself up and hissing angrily at the lionfish. It wasn't hard to tell why; Reza was clearly hoarding the host all to himself. And worst yet, the snake took his precious spot on the heated tiles. Kroc let out a sigh and walked over to them, finding a new spot to lay on for the time being as he enjoyed their company.

"There you are, Jackie," Smith said, walking over to the edge of the pool. "Reza, hurry up and release her. Jackie needs to go back into that room with Sabre."

"Hmm … I'm not saying I don't want to, but I don't want to." Reza smiled as he nuzzled against Jackie, savoring the last few moments he had with her before she would be thrown to Sabre's feral state.

"Reza. Enough." Ms. Smith stated, glaring at the fish.

Reza frowned, seeing Ms. Smith wasn't playing around any longer. "Boo." He said, huffing as he nuzzled Jackie a little bit, waking her up.

Jackie blinked, sleepily looking up and seeing Ms. Smith standing by the edge of th pool. "Huh … what?" Jackie muttered, sleepily sitting up and rubbing her eyes before seeing Ms. Smith standing at the edge of the pool. "What's up?" She asked, blinking slowly and trying to not fall asleep mid sentence.

"Sabre woke up earlier and she is very nervous and distressed." Smith said with her hands on her hips, "hurry and get out of the pool; we need to bring you back quickly before she comes to anymore than she has already." She ordered.

"W-What?" Jackie asked, looking up in confusion from Reza's arms. She blinked, staring at Ms. Smith as the meaning of her words slowly sunk into her half delirious brain.

"But would it be a good idea? Opening the door might let the cold winter air come in and damage those kittens, which I got to say I want to see alive, are they really that small? Oh! And Sabre is a mammal right? That means she feeds them through those mammary glands on her chest, right? Can I at least see that? Is that milk usable in other recipes? Like cow or goat milk? Or is it more like sea slug milk? Why would milk be used for so many recipes? I've tasted it in that fermented yogurt state, it's weird but not bad. I've tasted some sausages from india that use it … can the kittens drink yogurt?" Reza continued his rant.

"There's no time to waste; if she starts panicking the kittens may also be in danger." Ms. Smith approached, grabbing Jackie's arm as Jackie gasped, realizing she'd have to suffer through another however many days of no sleep.

The thought was so horrendous that Jackie screamed. Something in her brain had suddenly snapped from under the stress she had endured ever since she became a host. She had already been stuck in there for almost 5 terrible days of no sleep and she refused to go back. Sabre would be fine without her!

"NO!" Jackie shouted in a panic, grabbing Smith's hand and yanking her into the water.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, startled by Jackie's sudden turn of aggression towards Ms. Smith. The mere sound of terror and defiance in Jackie's voice startled them as much as her actions did; the host had never spoken with that kind of language before when it came to her own self preservation. They had all assumed she had no self preservation considering all of the near death experiences she has had in regards to all of them and each time she was a meek little prey. But now, against her own species, Jackie was actually putting up a fight.

"Ooh~ how fun, Jackie!" Reza cheered with a gleeful grin and clapped his hands. "Smith is going to be so furious!"

Jackie gasped, realizing what she had done with wide eyes. Jackie quickly leapt out of the water and stumbled back, staring as Ms. Smith slowly rose from the water, staring at her in quite a threatening fashion.

"You, host, are coming with me right now." Smith stated between clenched teeth, glaring at her in anger.

"NO!" Jackie shouted defiantly with a crazy glare to her eyes. "I absolutely _refuse_ to go back! Why do I have to?! She'll be fine without me! I am so tired right now that I seriously do not care, I _absolutely_ refuse!" Jackie shouted, heavily breathing at the end.

The charges all gawked with wide gazes. Their host's sanity had finally snapped. Which wasn't all that surprising considering how much she has been through the past few months but it was still shocking regardless to see the host defying someone, especially when that someone was none other than Ms. Smith.

"Is the host feral?" Reza asked, blinking. "When humans go feral can they speak? Or she is just about to go feral?" Reza asked, leaning forward eagerly, "I've never seen a human go feral before." He noted, holding his breath and waiting to see what Jackie did next.

"Pardon...You what?" Ms Smith looked shocked and surprising for a second before her expression turned menacing. "I said you need to go back, as a host." Smith demanded with a harsh glare.

"I said no!" Jackie shouted before she took off running, shocking the charges further as she turned and took off running in a desperate attempt to flee.

"You are going back there, Ms Penske!" Smith yelled while chasing after the running host.

"NO! I REFUSE!" Jackie desperately shouted, hoping there would be some kind of utility closet she could hide herself in and get some sleep.

"Jackie Penske you get back here this instant!" Smith shouted before tackling the resisting host over. They tumbled over each other as Smith tried to pin the host down but her wild flailing made it difficult to grab onto a limb.

"Ms. Smith, get off! I'm not going back there! That's another however many days of sleep I'm going to have to be without! I'm already going crazy, just let me go!" Jackie shouted.

"I will drag you down there if I need to. You signed a contract, host!" Smith grabbed her by the arm, trying to pull her up or to drag the struglgling woman down the hallway.

"I said no!" Jackie shouted, grabbing the door frame and holding on as tightly as she could. "I have the right to be selfish sometimes and right now, _I need my sleep_!' Jackie cried desperately, on the brink of tears she was so tired.

"Jackie, this is ridiculous, stop this at once!" Ms. Smith shouted, trying to yank her off the door frame. The host's fingers held fast as Ms. Smith picked up the resisting host, trying to forcibly yank her off.

"NO!" Jackie shouted, refusing to loosen her grip.

"You are required with the kittens and bastet, you hooman host. According to your contract, you must attend this situation. It is already too bad that you didn't manage to notice that the bastet was expecting cubs!" Ms. Smith admonished as Jackie wildly shook her head.

"It's been 5 days SHE WILL BE FINE WITHOUT ME FOR 12 HOURS!" Jackie shouted, still refusing to release her grip.

"The host snapped! She's feral, and she can talk while feral!" Eztli paced nearby, not knowing how to react. He wondered if he should run to get help but couldn't think of who would help the best.

"Mmhhh… should we do something? I don't remember any video mentioning what to do if a host went feral." Kroc blinked, undecided as he watched the host's unusual temper tantrum.

" … Ms. Smith, what do we do when our host goes feral?" Dumisa asked her, "you never told us hoomans could go feral!" He shouted accusingly.

"The longer you stay out here, the longer those cubs could be in danger!" Ms. Smith snapped at her, still yanking on her legs.

"They won't be! They'll be just fine, Sabre would never attack them!" Jackie shouted back at Smith, clearly refusing to go peacefully.

"But she might get so distressed that she rejects them, now go back and make sure she doesn't!" Smith tried once more.

"NO!" Jackie shouted, kicking Ms. Smith off her legs before she tried running again to escape.

"You are coming one way or another!" Smith shouted before taking out her taser. With the speed of an olympic runner Ms. Smith quickly overtook Jackie, jamming the taser into her back as the host's body seized up, letting out a scream as she fell to the ground rigid and speechless as she flopped around with her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"Such poor actions from the general coordinator … no wonder the hosts act that way." Longwei appeared, a criticising frown on his face. "And they say that past coordinators were even worse. No wonder the programs are a general failure." He casually commented but at the same time he approached to grab Jackie by the leg and began dragging her paralyzed body through the halls. "It can't be helped for now, I guess."

Jackie remained still, not resisting before Longwei opened the door and tossed the host's ragdoll body back inside in a crumbled pile before shutting and locking the door just as Sabre lunged for it and tried to attack him with a loud roar.

"Thanks for the help, Longwei. It was quite a scene with the host, wasn't it?" Smith thanked the dragon, letting out a sigh of relief. To be honest she wasn't sure if she could have muscled the host into the room without some help. The host was certainly strong for the average human; probably was all those workouts from petting the charges so often.

"I want to know how this host make her charges so dependent and confident in her when she is so rowdy and careless. By the records she doesn't seem to have taken all the necessary courses that your programs should have."

"To be honest, I'm shocked she's just now fighting back." Ms. Smith lightly laughed. "I do hope Sabre is nice to her." Ms. Smith said before heading over to the security room to watch on camera what happens. "And my program, mind you, has cause less violences between humans and Extraspecies than yours have."

"The bastet will act instinctually, with a chance of basing her actions on personal inclinations based on previous experiences." Longwei exhaled some vapor and followed the coordinator. "Only if you considered some recent contracts. Statistically, hooman programs have been more than problematic."

"That was before I was coordinator and you know it." Ms. Smith reached the security room and watched as Sabre ran around Jackie, sniffing and pawing at her groaning body as she struggled to shake off the electrocution that had jolted her entire body. "Hm … maybe I had the juice up too much." Ms. Smith said with a frown before checking her taser, with her eyes widening as Longwei looked over her shoulder to see the settings himself. This amount was enough to take down an Extraspecies, not a human. Ms. Smith nervously frowned, wondering if she really did kill the host by mistake.

"Well, the hooman is most likely dead. The problem is that the hooman's corpse will likely bother Sabre and the kittens." Longwei frowned.

"She's not dead." Ms. Smith said, face pale and full of doubt. "She's survived too much to be taken down by a taser."

The bastet happily purred, bumping head with the host, and when the hooman didn't move, the leopard emitted a couple growls while pawing at the hooman. Then, after more inactivity, the leopardess jumped over Jackie a couple times before jumping on the host's back and retreating fast. Finally, the leopardess walked forward and approached her jaws near to the human's flesh, then grabbed her and dragged her towards the corner of the room, she then began coming back to the pile of clothes to grab some before tossing them over the host's body until it was completely covered, buried entirely under it.

Longwei lt out an annoyed huff. "I suppose that settles it; the hooman is dead. Which adds another charge to your list, although a minor one in the council's eyes. The hooman's death is meaningless but the charges had been left without a host now." Longwei said, frowning as she watched the leopardess return to the cubs and lay down with them to groom them.

"It is not such a big problem. The contract she signed removes any responsibility." Smith waved her hand nervously. The host has been through too much to die from a little electric shock. "We should focus on Sabre for now."

Sabre begins to growl in distress, looking at the pile, getting up and coming near it to growl more and paw at it without touching it. She softly sniffled yowling in distress to the point her lips began forming words, shouting Jackie's name.

Longwei blinked. "It seems she's regaining consciousness." Longwei said before turning and leaving, going to get Aleksey.

Sabre shook her head a few times, breathing hard but calming down until she became normal. She looked around all confused before a couple small mews made her jump in place and turn her head so fast that her neck cracked, and what she saw, shocked her as much as confused her even more. In a sort of nest made out of piled up clothes over a white fur rug were 5 kittens.

She tensed up, startled, and approached slowly, almost cautiously, and when she came to the edge of the nest, she stared while her heart beat fast. The little balls of fluff were crawling in her direction and meowing, calling for her. She laid low, sniffing them and noticing their familiar warm scents, soft like baby powder but distinctive and special. Her tail flickered nervously as they kept on crawling towards her.

"Are these mine? … all of them?" She asked herself before she leaned forward to sniff them again, and yes, they were hers, which confused her a lot. "What ... happened?" Sabre then stood up and looked around before locking eyes with a camera in the corner of the room that was clearly a cage or safe room. Her heart nearly stopped; she was in a confined space at an unknown location for who knew how many days. She trembled with fright, feeling her anger heighten before she roared at the camera. In one jump, she ripped the camera with 1 hit. When was she captured?!

"Sabre, calm down. This is Ms. Smith; you are currently in the safe room at the snow lodge. You were placed there because you went feral and gave birth out in a cave during a blizzard." Ms. Smith quickly explained. "If you want to leave the room then you will have to prove you are not currently feral." She explained.

"Smith," Sabre growled. Maybe the camera had been destroyed, but surely there were microphones in the place.

"Sabre, I understand your discomfort but please answer this series of questions to prove you are no longer feral and then we will open the door, alright?" Ms. Smith asked, keeping calm and professional.

Sabre growled, standing up and looking around again in detail but the room was indeed heavily reinforced and even though the door had a lock from inside, it surely was also locked from outside; a characteristic of safe rooms. "Ask away."

"Very good. What is your name?"

"Sabre." The bastet thought on how to carry the kittens in a makeshift sack once the door opened in order to run away. But that would be dangerous for them. Surely, the one reason they had not been taken from her was because they were too small, needed to feed and the mother was incredibly violent while feral.

"And what is your species?"

"Bastet. Clouded Leopard." Sabre answered, glancing around to find something that will make a good sack, but most of the clothes in the nest were quite ripped.

"What is the name of your host?"

"Jackie Penske." Sabre hissed, crouching by her cubs and worriedly looking them over, noticing in a small panic that Antain was not with her. She clicked her teeth together; she couldn't leave without Antain. They must have anticipated that she would try to escape and were holding Antain somewhere for the time being… what if they were experimenting on him already?! The thought made her heart drop in fright, more determined than ever to escape. But now she had to think of a way to escape with 6 more Extraspecies.

"Very well." Ms. Smith said, satisfied with her answers. "Keep your wits about you, Sabre. Aleksey is going to come in now." She explained.

"Aleksey?" Sabre repeated, trying to remember if she heard Smith right before the door opened, making her tense up and growl before a large tiger stepped into the room very slowly, emoting small soft prustens as he crawled forward. He was slightly disfigured with bandages over his body, a missing eye and countless scars over his partially shaven body. His fur was choppy and uneven but despite the grievous looking injuries, he offered her a lopsided and soft smile.

"Detka." He softly spoke, remaining where he was and away from the young cubs as his tail flickered around in happiness, looking off to the side and avoiding eye contact to submit to her.

Sabre's eyes widen as she lays low and emits prustens too, she very slowly approaches just enough to smell his scent "It's … it's you? You are alive?" Her eyes began watering, hardly able to believe it. All of her fears vanished, now only seeing Aleksey before her now.

"Da. It me, detka." He softly purred, listening to the soft cries of his cubs. Whether they were his or not he would love them all the same because his precious mate had them, and therefore, his cubs. "Detka, you alright?" He asked, waiting for her to approach him, "no go feral, da? I want you." He said before closing his eyes, clearly having some trouble breathing as he kept himself very still.

Sabre roared and jumped towards him, landing by his side and almost tackling him in a hug while she began crying her heart out.

Aleksey turned and scooped her up into the hug, sitting her on his lap as he leaned in against her and nuzzled her head excitedly. "I miss you so much, Detka." He murmured, licking beneath her chin before softly yowling in happiness.

Sabre held onto Aleksey, nuzzling against him with all her might as Aleksey accepted her snuggling with a thrumming purr in his chest. He loosely held her as she twisted around, trying to get closer to him as she softly cried, tightly clutching onto him. After a few minutes of snuggling her teeth barred, glancing over his shoulder and finding the hall empty.

"Where are we … is this from the company?" She shakily whispered into his ear, her chest nearly beginning to heave in fright but Aleksey's warm smile washed away her trouble.

"Niet; at snow lodge. You go feral and run into storm. Lucky uncle and Smith found you. They make sure babies and you safe and sound." He smiled, licking her cheek and kissing her incessantly.

Sabre sniffled before tightly tugging him, burying her face into the crook of his neck as she softly cried in happiness. Aleksey smiled and gently held her in return, licking her ear to comfort her as he took a seat, shakily breathing as he tried to settle himself. His injuries were worsening but he didn't care; his precious detka was in front of him. The soft meows of his cubs made his ear flicker as he looked up, seeing the little babies just barely inside the nest of clothing.

"May I see cubs, detka?" Aleksey asked with a smile, glancing over to the softly sleeping cubs.

Sabre perked and nodded, grabbing his paw and taking him to where the cubs were meowing "I didnt knew i could have so many … it's a surprise… and they are so small"

Aleksey trotted over slowly, leaning in and softly sniffing the little cubs before purring, softly smiling. "We make beautiful cubs, da?" He teased, kissing her cheek. "Little cubs always small but grow fast."

Sabre softly smiled and nuzzled against Aleksey, purring and reveling in the presence of her mate.

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Jaska breathed hard as he sprinted through the snow, having no destination in mind. He was genuinely terrified; there was a very good chance Nikita was going to outright kill him… or worse. And he deserved it too. He deserved punishment for being so weak for all these years. His paws trembled in terror as he felt his heart aching deep in his chest, unable to tell where he was going. The wind came from behind him so he could smell Nikita approaching and how far away he was; and he knew Nikita was simply letting him run until he dropped from exhaustion before killing him.

"YOU NO RUN FOREVER, JASKA!" Nikita's voice shouted from behind, staying far enough behind that if Jaska attacked, Nikita could easily dodge and deliver his own deadly blow in return.

A lump stuck in Jaska's throat as he struggled to control himself. He felt so lost and mentally exhausted that he could barely take it; he just wanted it all to be over.

Despite the extra stamina Jaska had gotten from the experiments, there was a point where he could run no more. So he gulped down and decided to accept his imminent demise and stopped running and turning around to face Nikita as the older and far more powerful tiger drew closer.

"Why you run, Jaska? You keep running … that hurt feelings." Nikita huffed, approaching him but keeping a fair distance from younger the tiger. The white tiger frowned. This was not like Jaska to run away from his problems. He was … different. And Nikita couldn't tell why. Even Jaska's scent was a little off but Nikita couldn't tell what it was exactly.

"Keep away from me!" Jaska roared, trembling so hard his legs struggled to hold him up.

Nikita kept quiet, studying his nephew. "Why you so scared, Jaska?"

"Why? Why am I scared?" Jaska incredulously said, staring at the older tiger as his mind raced in fright. This was the real Nikita, relishing in the terror of his victims before killing them. He was the council member known to be a brutal fighter of many wars that never took prisoners. Jaska let out a strained chuckle, staring at Nikita while tilting his head before laughing more fervently, clutching his head as he struggled to come to terms with his quickly oncoming death. "Why I scared? You know exactly why, you old cat! Savor the kill, just like you always have!" Jaska roared at him, beginning to wheeze for air as his chest tightened and his eyes watered, struggling to control himself in front of his uncle, getting on all fours and shifting from one place to the other while clawing at the snow.

"Kill?" Nikita asked, seeming a little put off, "I no kill nephew. Punish severely, da, but no kill. Why I kill?" Nikita answered as his tail flickered back and forth. The way Jaska looked and acted was not a tiger about to go feral; seeing his nephew as he was, raving and panicking uncontrollably. The sight of Jaska's actions reminded him of cases of Extraspecies who were tortured for years into a permanent feral state. Nikita frowned, suddenly feeling very uneasy. Jaska looked like he was on the brink of insanity, just on the cusp of his tipping point.

"SO WHAT?! What's the difference between your punishments and you killing me here and now? And why the f*** wouldn't you, uncle?! I attack Sabre, I did! She rejected me, just as you reject me! And why not? You hate _everything_ hooman, no matter what it is, nephew or not!"

Nikita remained silent, watching his nephew's slow descent into breaking apart. Jaska was never like this. Jaska was a very strong bastet with a good head on his shoulders. But those years when he went missing, what had happened then to make Jaska act this way? "Jaska, what happened to you?" Nikita asked, carefully studying him. "You smell different from bastet. You act different. Jaska I know would never do this." He said, studying his nephew. What happened to his nephew?

"I not a bastet! Not anymore!" Jaska roared, feeling his anguish beginning to consume his mind. "I captured by a company, some f***ing company! For years they torture, breaking me to brink of feral before bringing back, over over again and again!" Jaska roared, feeling his fear heighten uncontrollably. "I never return to you, you hate hoomans! You hate everything hooman, and you hate me! You hate experiments! Experiments done by hoomans!" Jaska snarled, glaring at his uncle. "You hate so much you kill! You kill experiments, because they not natural, they synthetic and fake!" He roared. "I not even full bastet anymore! Those sick scientists, they mix something else, I part wolf now because of disgusting experiments! They do so many horrible things, they break apart thoughts and try to kill you, but keep you alive instead! It worse than death!"

Nikita froze in place, a storm of emotions invading him. Fury at hoomans, worry for Jaska, confusion at what Jaska was feeling and too many others to count. This company had kidnap his nephew and had experimented on him, but it was clear to the old veteran that the torture had not been only physical. They had damaged Jaska's mind, brainwashed him into fearing everything. Nikita now understood why Jaska never contacted him and kept hiding. His nephew had been forced to think he was scared of his own family, and scared of being ostracized by Nikita, the great fang of the winter. Those humans, that company, must have instilled this terror of him into Jaska's mind. After adopting a less threatening pose, Nikita spoke. "Jaska, listen. You not right in head now. Experiment was clear failure, wolf DNA not mix right with tiger DNA. There been other cases of faulty mixes," Nikita explained, suddenly understanding too that Jaska was in a lot more danger than he previously thought. Extraspecies who had their DNA mixed with non-compatible DNA of different species often had complications that led to a permanent feral state if not treated right. "Jaska, take deep breath. You confused because instincts and nature contradict inside; wolven pack mentality and obedience not mix with solitary and smart felines. It clash with instincts and brain, creates mental chaos. It make you go insane. That why you so confused, that why you unstable." Nikita said, reasoning with Jaska. This was much more dangerous and hurtful than he thought. He had no idea Jaska had undergone such torture. He had hidden it so well that Nikita had missed it. "It amazing you this stable now, Jaska. Many others much worse off."

Jaska glared at Nikita, confused. "What you saying? I not right? I not normal? I freak?" Jaska hissed angrily struggling to hold himself back from attacking his uncle right then and there. If it were anyone else he would have attacked them already to prevent them from killing him but Nikita was too strong; Jaska knew that.

"Jaska. When you go missing, I so worried. I search everywhere, use all information at disposal. Even asked human Russian military for help. I not done that since Stalin alive." Nikita gently spoke, trying to calm his victim of a nephew down. "Aleksey and I at loss. No idea what happen to you. You gone so long, we worry so much. You have no idea, how happy I am to see you, and Aleksey, alive. Broken and hurt, but alive." Nikita spoke, frowning, "I sorry I not notice something wrong before. I should have seen, I should have smelled. Jaska, you been strong for very long to endure so much. I could not be prouder of you to make horrible situation into better one, as you did." Nikita spoke, wanting to hug his nephew and protect him like a proper alpha but had a strong feeling if he got any closer, Jaska would lash out at him.

"You not kill me?" Jaska asked, feeling his fears lighten off his chest as he laid down on the snow, still in a position to leap but now more for cowering.

"Of course no, Jaska. You family; I never kill family." Nikita spoke, lashing his tail around. "Jaska, you suffer so much. Come to me, Jaska." Nikita said, letting Jaska come closer himself.

Jaska's lower lip trembled as his clenched his teeth, fighting back his emotions but they poured out over his face without a pause. "I'm so weak, uncle! I so sorry, I not strong, I try but I not strong enough. I failed to escape hoomans and I fail Aleksey to not fall into company's hands. I not strong like you." Jaska cried, stumbling over to his uncle like a lost little kitten.

"You very strong, Jaska. You just strong for too long. It okay, nephew." Nikita said, licking the top of Jaska's head and nuzzling against him like when Jaska was a small kitten. "You still young, but you much strong to survive all."

.

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 **.**

Some hours later, Aleksey and Sabre were still enjoying each other's presence. In the security of the safe room, the two bastet were nuzzling and licking each other's faces while the little kittens rested by their side. Sabre and Aleksey simply could not stop giving affection and reassurance to one another.

"I so happy, Sabre. You no bothered by disfigurements? Some may be permanent." Aleksey asked, admittedly self conscious when it came to his fur but did not stop holding her; on the contrary, he held her tighter, "maybe fur grow back someday; patchy fur looks funny, no?" He teased, kissing her forehead.

Sabre licked his cheek and then gave a very soft bite to one of his broken ears. "War wounds are sexy, Aleksey. You'll be fine, perhaps a bit scarred but you'll be fine." She rubbed her chin on his shoulder, softly purring in delight. "Also that eyepatch makes you look even more sexy." She then hugged him very tightly. "I'm just so happy that you're alive and here." she sniffled, burying her face into his chest.

"I so happy you alright." Aleksey smiled, purring against her before groaning, pulling back a bit, "d*** stitches." He grunted, glancing over his collarbone where the stitches had ripped, making him bleed. "I most stitches than tiger at this point." He heavily sighed.

"Aleksey!" Sabre quickly began licking his wound gently. "I'll go call a medic!"

"Niet, I fine. I'll go to medic later. Mate and kittens first, da?" Aleksey purred, holding her firmly against him to prevent her from leaving him. Aleksey's ear twitched, looking up just as a large white tiger stepped inside the room and quickly shut the door.

Aleksey frowned; since Nikita was back, it meant that Jaska has taken proper punishment for not only attacking his precious pregnant mate, but for running away from Nikita as well and who knew what else. Jaska may be his brother, but he had endangered not only his mate, but bastet species as a whole and had lied to a council member. Angry at what Jaska had done, Aleksey let out a general hiss of displeasure."What Jaska punishment, uncle?" Aleksey asked with a stern growl. He could figure out what the punishment was but he wanted to hear it from Nikita himself.

"No punishment for now; brother been through enough. He return home for rehabilitation and then we see. But for now, all calm." Nikita answered, making Aleksey's eyes widen in surprise.

"No punishment? Why not? He attacked pregnant mate." Aleksey snarled in anger, although he secretly didn't feel that angry. After all, for all this time Jaska could have been dead. Aleksey was very happy he was still alive but he still needed to be punished for what he did to Sabre. "so why no punishment?"

"The stripped menace?" Sabre perked up at what she had accidentally said aloud. She quickly looked away to keep a look on the white tiger's moves. "Punishment?"

"It law; no male can attack a pregnant bastet. Very strict law for bastets." Aleksey answered before turning to Nikita, "so why no punishment for Jaska?"

"Yes, he did attacked me, repeatedly." Sabre puffed her fur and her tail swayed. To say she was still more than annoyed with Jaska was far more than a misunderstanding. "That stripped menace attacked me and Antain on many occasions."

Nikita remained silent, frowning before he sighed. "Jaska was captured by nameless company; they mix tiger genes with wolf genes, try to brainwash. It amazing Jaska as stable as is." Nikita explained.

"That experiment only changed him physically, and slightly at best. It's not an excuse for his actions. He attacked me with the intention to kill me and he did that on repeated occasions. On all but the last one he wasn't even feral. He was conscious of his actions." Sabre narrowed her eyes completely serious and pressed herself on Aleksey for comfort. "He even used Aleksey's name to … to do something bad, ok?" She growled.

Aleksey remained rigid, catching Sabre's attention. She looked up at him, seeing Aleksey's mortified expression and feeling him tense up in alarm. She blinked, surprised to see as much fear as there was in Aleksey's eyes. "I-Is Jaska going to be alright?" Aleksey asked in a frightened tone, suddenly extremely concerned about Jaska's well being.

"I not know. He need return to Russia soon to undergo psychiatric evaluation and genetic testing. Need to know how much wolf DNA was mixed into genes, and see if recoverable." Nikita solemnly growled. "It amazing he not permanently feral or braindead."

"Aleksey?" Sabre placed her hand over Aleksey's and gave him a little squish even though she looked clearly confused at Aleksey's sudden change in opinion about Jaska.

Seeing her confusion, Aleksey explained. "Experiments on Extraspecies very deadly. Mixing DNA of different species affects brain badly, and behavior. Brain becomes confused, not knowing which instinct to follow, making it easier to go feral and insane." Aleksey explained with a mournful expression, "I have friends who permanently feral because of hooman experiments." He sadly frowned, trembling, "we keep them in much north Russia, away from hoomans. They eventually get to point where they unable to recognize friend and family, and they aware of it but can no stop it. It one of the most horrific ways to go of constant torture."

"Yes … it bad. But lucky, their brainwashing not work. It seem Smith help rehabilitate so Jaska not in danger of going permanently feral; yet." Nikita said, looking quite annoyed at the fact it was humans who made Jaska the way he was now and a human who prevented him from a much worse fate.

"I didn't know about the mental effects of that." Sabre lowered her ears, just maybe a bit guilty. The files and records she stole from the company and even Smith's programs didn't mention those mental effects, only the physical consequences and she really couldn't relate. She was after all a 'successful' experiment, while Jaska was a failed one.

"He hid it very well. Even I not notice until I corner him outside." Nikita frowned, "he with other charges now; seem stable enough for time being." Nikita said with a heavy sigh, "but for now, he stable enough to be safe. I no think he go permanent feral at this point. But I not know for sure until we give tests." Nikita explained before he turned to Sabre, softly smiling. "Enough about that for now. Aleksey, introduce me to your mate, my new niece-in-law." Nikita softly smiled, deciding to change the topic.

A soft mew caught their attention as the little clouded leopard girl called for attention, pawing blindly at Sabre's leg. Very quickly after the first call of hunger sounded, the others began mewing for food as well.

"Heh. Hungry little kittens; just fed hour ago." Aleksey lightly laughed, letting Sabre go so she could feed the kittens.

Sabre stood frozen from where she was, very suddenly coming to the understanding that she was butt naked in front of Aleksey and his uncle. A bright blush crawled over her face as she mechanically walked over the the kittens, embarrassingly staring at the two males who did not seem at all bothered by her exposed presence. They didn't seem to mind at all her lack of apparel but she was certainly bothered by their pointed staring. However, their stares were directed at the cubs and not her, making her feel slightly better.

"What you wait for? Feed kittens; we talk after you settle." Nikita smiled brightly, looking over the kittens with a loving gaze from the entrance of the room without steeping any further.

Sabre hesitantly nodded before laying on her side against Aleksey as he leaned over, helping to settle the cubs against her. He purred and smiled, gently nuzzling against a somewhat stiff and very red blushing Sabre.

Once Aleksey was done Nikita softly smiled, watching as all the little kittens eagerly munched away at their meal. Nikita admired all of the little kittens, in particular the white tiger. "Heh. Little white tiger runt of cubs?" Nikita softly laughed, flipping his tail around in pleasure at seeing the newest addition to his family up close; at least as close as Sabre would allow it, which meant that he should stay by the entrance of the door at best to not stress the new mother. Alpha or not, he wasn't about to tempt fate with a young new mother. "Aleksey, introduce me to mate, da?" Nikita asked with a smile.

Aleksey grinned. "Sabre, this is uncle Nikita. You remember what I say about him, right?" Aleksey explained, leaning over to her and licking her cheek lovingly.

Sabre gave a slight nuzzle to Aleksey before looking back up to Nikita, softly blushing in embarrassment. "So you are the one who raised Aleksey?" She asked, trying to attempt a friendly smile. "Mmh … nice to meet you. I'm Sabre Neofelis, Aleksey's mate."

"Da. I am alpha of bastet family, high council member." He said before looking over his grandnephews and grandnieces with a soft flush beneath his fur. "Such cute family to have." Nikita said, softly smiling with his expression melting cheerfully. "Nice to meet too." Nikita said, glancing at Sabre before looking back to the kittens.

"A council member?!" Sabre could barely hide her utter shock, displayed by her flickering tail and perked ears. "I didn't know that."

"Aleksey no tell?" He asked with a teasing raised eyebrow, leaning against the wall of the entrance. Even as an alpha he knew to keep his distance with a young mother, "da, I high council member for all bastet." He toothily grinned.

To cover up somewhat, Sabre gently moved from the cubs that had just finished feeding and grabbed the small pleasantly plump white tiger, picking him up before showing him to the older tiger, approaching all the way to the entrance of the room to place the cub into his big paw. "No, he didn't tell. And I … I was not raised by bastet. So I don't know a lot of stuff." She carefully eyed how he held with utter care the little cub.

Nikita looked with utter surprise the little cub that the mother had let him hold. " … you very young mother. You trust me with cub?" He asked, twitching his tail back and forth in pleasant surprise.

"You raised Aleksey and you are family now, no?" Sabre gave a small and careful smile, still looking at him somewhat wary. "I can see you want to meet the cubs"

"Da, but it clear you no raised as bastet or follow primal instincts unless feral." Nikita lightly chuckled, gently taking the small tiger in his paws. The young tiger yawned and cuddled into his paw, making Nikita's expression melt in happiness as he strongly began to purr in pleasure. "Hm, no matter. Welcome to family." He said with a grin, softly petting the small tiger with his thumb while in full view of Sabre as to not cause her any more distress.

Sabre slowly closed her eyes and exhaled before taking a deep breath, then she stopped for a second before sniffing the air and became a bit dizzy. "Your scent is, um, different but similar to Aleksey … stronger." She half purred without meaning to.

"Heh. Never meet alpha before?" Nikita teased, gently setting the little cub back into the mother's arms. "Alpha stronger than others." He said, casting Aleksey a teasing smirk.

"Uncle Nikita! No tease." Aleksey huffed, trying to get up before groaning and sitting back down, frowning in annoyance.

"You train and one day maybe you alpha, Aleksey. Wounds will heal." Nikita chuckled before he turned to Sabre again, eyeing her. "Hm. Sabre, you choose who want between nephews? Or neither?" Nikita asked, gently licking her forehead as a gesture of welcoming.

Sabre blinked in confusion as she set the young cub back down with the others, turning back to him. "What?"

"You mate with both nephews, had cubs with one. Who you choose for mate? If either?" He asked with a chuckling grin.

Sabre looked horrified before hugging Aleksey, a bit too tightly. "I didn't mean to! It was a stupid heat off season!" she sniffled, almost breaking down in fright before nuzzling her face into Aleksey's fur. "I love only you, Aleksey, I do!" She cried, trembling against him.

"It alright, I know. Jaska tell. And you no know I alive at time." Aleksey said, licking her cheek before hugging her back and purring. "I glad you safe. I no want to tell until I sure I survive." He said, nuzzling against her and licking her ear gently.

"Aleksey … ," Sabre looked him in the eye, gulping "I love you" She said before tightly hugging Aleksey, making him groan in pain but he tightly held her back as well.

"That settles." Nikita chuckled, happy. "Cubs are Aleksey's; I smell." Nikita said, holding up the paw he had held the little runt in. "Welcome to family, Sabre, and get rest. In few days we go to Russia to raise cubs and meet other family." Nikita grinned.

"Of course they are Aleksey's." Sabre huffed before stopping. "Russia? Other family? Mmmhhh." She suddenly seemed to get very nervous.

"Da. You will be safe in Russia to raise little kittens amongst other family. Plus, Aleksey need constant medical attention; he can get that in Russia as well. Our programs there better than Russian government." He lightly chuckled. "We Extraspecies have own technology and systems better than humans. Natural remedies help heal better."

"Mama, mama!" Antain shouted, running into the room with a bright smile on his face.

"Antain!" Sabre shouted, ecstatic with happiness upon seeing her cub. She rushed at Antain, freezing in horror as she saw the cast on his leg. "What happened to you!?" She cried, picking up the little laughing kit as he happily hugged her, purring lovingly.

"No worries, hairline fracture. In rush to have offspring, I think Antain fall behind and stuck in trap. He fine now, of course." Nikita explained, "oftentimes instincts trump logic when feral.

The realization of what had happened made Sabre's heart drop into her gut. Antain got hurt because she went feral. Her instincts told her that her own cubs took precedence over Antain, just a young fox cub. Sabre's lips trembled from her accumulating emotions of the day, overspilling in the form of sobbing as she tightly hugged Antain. She was mortified that something she did hurt Antain like this and it could have been a lot worse. "Antain, Antain I am so sorry!" Sabre cried, breaking down while Antain pawed at her face with a smile, not understanding the feline's tears.

"Why you cry? It natural to abandon offspring not your own for sake of own offspring." Nikita said, confused by Sabre's tears. "What is wrong? You no feel good?" Nikita asked, concerned for her health.

"It fine Sabre, all fine now." Aleksey understood her emotions from her human perspective; she saw it as leaving her child behind to die which wasn't the case. Instincts takes over everything without question; it was for survival reasons. He hugged her as tightly as he could. "You feral and about to birth kittens, even though you probably tried to search, you would have gotten in danger yourself and other cubs. You acted on instinct, and it fine because all family is safe now." He kissed her, extending his hug to the fox pup. "He a strong pup. Our extra cub, and he be fine. We both here for him." He softly smiled, nuzzling her comfortingly.

Sabre sniffled and kept a tight hug on the little fox, kissing his head. "I'll never leave you like that again, I promise." She softly cried, tightly hugging the little giggling fox as he cheerfully held her back, softly purring in his chest.

Letting a couple minutes pass, Nikita interrupted. "Sabre, may we speak in private?" Nikita asked with a gentle smile, "I have things I want to ask without prying ears." He explained, glancing up at the camera in mild annoyance but otherwise ignored it.

Sabre remained silent, staring at Nikita. He was asking her to leave her cubs for a bit? Sabre blankly stared at Nikita, trying to think of ways to refuse. She was not going to leave her cubs. Never again. Not like what happened to Antain.

"It okay, Sabre. I watch cubs." Aleksey smiled, watching the little cubs meow and paw at his thick fur.

Sabre hesitated, seeing Aleksey's calm smile as he lovingly looked over the young cubs. With a deep breath, Sabre nodded. "Ok."

Sabre gave a kiss to Aleksey and one to Antain's head before she stood up, making sure Antian was secure in her mate's arms before she went towards the older tiger.

Sabre followed Nikita down the hall, nervously twitching her tail back and forth as she stare at the tiger's large back. She really didn't know all that much about the council other than what Dumisa had told her and that they are extremely influential, basically, the formal government for all extraspecies.

Nikita stepped in front of a door, holding it open for her as she entered into a small room which smelled very … neutral. Without any kind of scent at all; the only things in the room were a table, two chairs on opposite ends and a small black bag. Sabre walked in and took a seat, watching as Nikita came and took a seat as well with a friendly smile on his face.

"Aleksey said you no grow with bastet and know little of Extraspecies." Nikita stood up for a second to grab a couple bottles of water and placed them in the table along a couple glasses and a bottle of vodka.

Sabre grabbed the bottle of vodka and served the old tiger before serving herself. "Da." She answered a bit meekly, twisting her tail around nervously. She couldn't help but want to leave the room and go back to her mate and cubs but she felt like he couldn't do so until Nikita allowed it. His presence was strangely overpowering and a little scary, making her nervous.

"Formal presentation would be I Nikita Sviet. High council member and representative for bastet race. Long list of titles attached." He gently took his glass and gave it a sip before smiling gently. "But I also Uncle of Aleksey; you call me uncle Nikita too. I happy for Aleksey to find perfect mate. Few bastet ever do."

"Y-Yeah?" Sabre asked, taking a cup and sipping on the vodka before pausing. She couldn't drink; she was still breastfeeding. Sabre frowned, rather missing the taste of alcohol before setting his down with a frown.

"Something wrong? It good catnip vodka brewed in upper Russia." Nikita said, taking another sip of his glass to encourage her.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry I can't share a drink. It would be bad for the cub's milk." She said with a frown, instead taking some water to nervously sip on.

The old tiger smiled "You thoughtful, that good. But a small drink every once in while is fine. And catnip vodka no problem at all." He winked at her.

Sabre softly smiled, taking back the cup of vodka and sipped on it, shocked by how good it was. She wanted to drink a lot more but resisted, knowing if she drank too much she'd be stumbling back down the hall towards her cubs.

"Now tell a bit about you, Sabre. I want to know about niece-in-law." The tiger smiled so affably that it would be hard to tell how feared he really was all around the world.

"A-About me? Like what?" Sabre asked, clearly too nervous as she sipped more on the vodka.

"No need to be nervous! We family now." Nikita grinned, "Where you from? What about past and rest of family."

"O-Oh … um," Sabre started, unsure of what to say; so instead she was vague, "I am from somewhere in centro or sudamerica. I can't recall exactly where and I have no other family." She lowered her ears. There was no way she could ever tell the truth.

"Good, good. That where last of royal line went. No clouded leopard there, so your blood came from elsewhere." Nikita grinned, seeming more sure now of who's Sabre's lines lead to; and they were quite impressive indeed. "Do you know the old lineages of bastet?"

"No, I don't unfortunately." She frowned. "I … I don't remember much about them." She lied, trying to be convincing. "The only thing I really remember is being in a lab." She said, shakily holding the cup of water as she drank some more, trying to calm herself and redirect the conversation as she wanted to; away from what he knows and into areas she could manipulate.

"A lab?" Nikita growled, his hand tense on his glass but not breaking it due to his self control.

"Yes." Sabre looked away. "I…" She gulped, ready to adjust her story. "I was raised with humans and got most of my education online, then the company hired the best graduates and I took the chance without knowing anything. Thats where I met Aleksey, he was there, infiltrated looking for his brother Jaska and for ways to prove the company was holding experiments on Extraspecies"

Nikita held back his growl.

"For some time it was good and well, I and Aleksey ... we became mates and partners in missions." She smiled. "All the time together, never going too far from each other. He trained me and I taught him." Then her smile dropped. "But one day he disappeared. After a couple days I was so nervous and worried that I hacked into their systems." Sabre's hand trembled while holding the glass, so she left it on the table and clenched her fist while looking away, her eyes watering. "I found out their experiments and that Aleksey had found out too … and he had blown up all the hidden lower layers of the facility."

Nikita remained silent, quickly listening to her with a deep frown on his face. He said nothing, allowing her to keep talking as he slowly listened to the events that had nearly killed his adorable nephew; who was assuredly going to be crippled for the rest of his days unless he got specialized attention for a long time.

"I then went insane. I-I couldn't handle seeing that happen to him. I annihilated their systems and used everything they taught me to destroy them. I caused fires and explosions and … and then I found Antian. They had kidnapped him and his parents were already dead … and I couldn't leave him there like the others. He was so little and so scared …So I took him with me and we escaped to the US where I knew the other facility of the company was." She shakily explained, her lower lip trembling. "I went there to destroy whatever still existed of that company. There were no backups from the place I destroyed; it was completely blacked out. All evidence of experiments there were wiped out by Aleksey and I. But there were other places who were probably doing the same things."

"It okay to cry." Nikita said, walking over to her before hugging her gently, offering her comfort. "You fought long and hard but it okay now; you safe here."

Sabre, unable to contain so much emotion, cried out. However important and powerful was Nikita, there was also something very strong and comforting about him.

"It fine, it all fine now." Nikita patted her back, softly purring to comfort her. "I impressed, you fought well and you strong. Take time, Sabre. You can explain more later if you want." He offered, comfortingly licking the top of her head in a calming gesture. "I wanted to ask about past, because it rumored that you are of noble bastet blood, royal even." The old cat tried changing the topic to distract her. "It said and it true all bastet mate with bastet regardless of subspecies. So some genes may be out there, but old royals died in past centuries, first internal wars, the human wars. Old royal line had many snow and clouded leopards, and capable of birthing many cubs of different subspecies; seeing snow leopard in cubs, and so many cubs, make me think you one of them." He smiled, hoping to give her some closure of knowing where she likely came from.

"What?" Sabre looked up surprised.

"Your coat also different. Pattern of clouded leopard but dense as snow leopard's, color too" He noted.

"I … my colors were different until I shed for my winter coat." Sabre mentioned, very confused. But if the company had indeed looked into the best genes for her … maybe it _was_ possible they used these 'royal genes' Nikita was talking about.

"You do?" Nikita seemed surprised too for a moment before rubbing his chin on hers. "I hope this give closure; clearly you no know past lines, but I think you part of royal line for many reasons. There are some still living in safety of Siberia Russia now." He smiled, trying to further convince her to come to Russia with him, and now having even more reasons for it. "It great bastet secret. Less than 10 and they too old or blood too diluted, but they someone you must met. They may give recognition or insight on family line."

"R-Really?" Sabre asked, seeming surprised. All the more reason to go to Russia, she supposed. Nikita seemed to be trustworthy enough; no one could lie in their eyes when Nikita first saw the cubs himself. In any case, she couldn't exactly decline and it would be best for her cubs too.

"Da. I sure they more than happy to see one of their own alive. All bastet happy if that case. We too few." He tightened his hug for a second before letting go. "Also, you liked polar bear skin and meat? I hunt as welcome gift." Nikita beamed.

"Polar bear?" She asked, puzzled, "you hunted a polar bear for me?" Sabre asked, looking very surprised.

"Da, the one you used in nest along those hooman clothes." The tiger looked serious on that last part before he grabbed his phone and search the gallery to show her a photo where she was naked, licking her own leg like a normal cat, right over a polar bear skin that was half buried under piles of clothes.

Sabre's eyes widened in utter embarrassment, seeing her in her full naked glory sitting on top of a polar bear rug surrounded by Jackie's clothing with Jackie laying on the ground with bloodshot eyes and with the kittens all on top of her sleeping peacefully. Sabre covered her eyes, thoroughly embarrassed. "C-Could you please delete that picture? I can give you a better one later." She offered with her face so deeply shaded red that Nikita could see it through her fur.

Nikita laughed, enjoying the bastet's unneeded embarrassment. "You healthy bastet." His gaze softened. "Too much problem made you ran. I understand. You fought well and delivered cubs in harsh place, but it fine now. I want you to tell me all, from how you met Aleksey to why you ran away now." Nikita asked, pulling out his phone. "No worries; I promise you, your cubs and mate safe place to rear cubs in Northern Siberia lands or the Urals, where family territory is protected." Nikita promised with a cheerful grin, "do we have deal?" He asked, seeming quite eager for her to accept the deal.

" … a-and what about Jackie, if I tell the truth?" Sabre asked, seeing Nikita's grin sharpen and his eyes pierce right through her.

"I pin host to wall with nails and eviscerate slowly. I promise. I make hooman pay for all suffering she caused and sink pathetic human program with it," Nikita smiled before leaning over to her, "you have full immunity regardless. You hidden from council, so you victim to human programs. Just tell truth." Nikita asked kindly. "I protect bastet, I protect Extraspecies from human abuse in large and I protect family in particular. We Extraspecies fewer in numbers, but we strong in many ways and we now can separate from human meddling, but first we must end programs."

Sabre's eyes widened. She had her chance to sink the entire program and Smith, who she's distrusted this entire time, especially after finding out all the secrets the coordinator hid. But in order to do that, Jackie would have to take the hardest fall of them all. Anything she said would be used as truth to the council; anything, no matter if it was a lie or not. She could see in Nikita's eyes that he would believe her words and fight for the truth with all his power. All she had to do with give her word on the matter. Sabre nervously gulped, unsure of what to do.

Did she want to sink that dishonest program in the U.S.A. or spare her host? Was there a way to do both?

"No fear. You safe now." Nikita encouraged. "I lost too many to humans, family and friends. Many of us have and we know it hard. But we united and want to be safe and free and that why council exists. We allowed programs to gain time, now we have power in human world to be left alone. "

Sabre licked the roof of her mouth, nervously frowning. She had to tread extremely carefully; now she knew what Reza meant about what the council wanted; to sink all the programs no matter what. All he needed was the ammunition of her words to do it.

She nervously took in a breath as she began to speak.

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"Thank you for words, Sabre. I put to good use. I appreciate you spoke clear, leaving spite aside." Nikita softly smiled, leaning down and gently nuzzling her. "No worries; humans no longer hurt you or family. You have my word."

Sabre nuzzled back. "Thank you, uncle Nikita" She pulled back and then tilted her head, looking sideways. " ... Uncle Nikita?"

"Da?" The tiger smiled.

"Have you questioned the other charges yet?" Sabre asked, seeming a little anxious. If he questioned the others then he could probably find a lot of inconsistencies with her story.

"Niet, but I planning to. Any idea who I speak to next?" Nikita asked with a friendly purr, twitching his tail around.

"Actually … uncle Nikita, would you mind asking Longwei to do the others? I want you to spend more time with the kittens. I want them to get used to your scent." Sabre innocently asked, looking up at him with big baby doll eyes. "Longwei saved us from those smugglers so they know him already and might be less wary and more eager to share information."

"You want me to spend times with the cubs? Even when they are still so young?" Nikita seemed very surprised but extremely pleased. In batet culture, it was a great honor and occasion if a female let a male who wasn't a mate to come and spend time with such young kittens. His niece-in-law didn't seem to stop amazing him. With a great big grin he purred. "I be honored."

"Great! And I think Reza would be the perfect one to ask. He notices everything that goes on in the house." She suggested, "he may have been the last one to the house but I bet he would notice more weird things that I didn't because I was so stressed." Sabre said with a cheerful smile. "I can go and get him and then we can go to see the cubs, it's almost their feeding time too."

"Very good! You tell Reza to come here; Longwei will come and prepare tub for him. I wait for you before getting to know cubs." He purred, nuzzling against her some more and seeming extremely happy.

Without another word he stood up and went out of the room and down the hall, looking for Longwei. The moment he was gone Sabre sprinted down the hall and into the large bathing area, looking around spotting Reza in the reserved pool for their rooms. "Reza!" Sabre shouted, running over to him.

"Sabre!" Reza quickly swam towards her with a cheerful smile on his face, cupping his chin against the side of the pool. "How is my royal kitty? It's not that I was too worried but-."

Sabre set a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Quiet. I need you to do a huge favor for me." She said, nervously frowning.

"Yeah? Do you want to me kill someone and make them into sushi?" Reza cheerfully asked. "Of course I'd do that for you, my dear sushi connoisseur! Who is it? And can I-," he started up again before Sabre covered his mouth again to silence him.

"Not that right now." Sabre took a deep breath. "I just finished being questioned by uncle Nikita and Longwei is going to question you next. Our stories must match. And if not match, then talk around it as much as possible." She then told him the testimony that she had told Nikita. "So, Reza … I need you to talk until Longwei runs out of every recorder and paper he can get his hands on in this entire snow lodge. Luckily they can't use cell phones for taking notes or recordings under the current circumstances. Do you think you can do that for me? The host's life depends on how long you can talk for and it will probably take a long time." She said, nervously staring him in the eyes. "Please?"

"That's a wonderful tragedy after all! I want to hear the details later." Reza just stared at her blankly before widely smirking, looking rather excited. "Of course I can. I'll run him out of every last napkin here in the snow lodge." He grinned. "When do I go in? Do I have time to prepare you some sushi? You seem weird, but also fine. And I'm not saying I want to see those small mammals you created, but I'd like to measure their weight."

"Right now; let me get you a cart and take you to the room." Sabre said, hurrying off to the side where some large rolling carts of shallow water were for the fish Extraspecies.

"This will be fun. That dragon is too stoic, I long to see the an expression of despair in his face. "Reza easily climbed inside and relaxed as Sabre began pushing him into the hallway, heading towards the room where she spotted Longwei listening to the recording that was left on Nikita's device, familiarizing himself with her story before spotting Reza.

"There you are. I can take things from here; go join Nikita in the safe room." Longwei said as he took the cart from her and pushed Reza inside of the room.

"Thank you Mr. Longwei." Sabre smiled and waved goodbye before turning around.

"Hello Lontei. Maybe I start? Well, I'll start anyways, you may want to take a seat. It all started when I was a little guppy and my mother got me into the school for nobles. I'm not saying it was long ago because I am not old, but it was so long that i must start from the beginning to reach the part where I enter the program … now that I think about it, I think I did eat some guppies when I was young. What were guppies doing in salt water? Maybe they arrived on some boats that came in often overhead until the treaty was enacted that hoomans weren't allowed in our waters."

Reza's voice was cut off from the door closing but even from the other side, Sabre could hear Reza loudly explaining when his parents met for the first time… and since Reza was indeed a noble, there was a bunch of protocol he could add to make things even longer just by adding all the appropriate titles every time he added a member of his family in the story.

Sabre let out a sigh, hoping that Reza would be able to do as he said; and knowing what kind of mouth Reza had, it was very possible he would run Longwei into the ground with his reports. After a sigh of relief she kept on her way to meet with Nikita and go with Aleksey to see her cubs.

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 **Peeko: 10 REVIEWS for the next chapter! :D this is so much fun :3**

 **Chaos-dark-lord: Those kittens are adorable. We rushed to get this chapter out (peeko: I rushed her :3), so enjoy it. And by the time Reza finishes his rant we'll probably have the next chap prepared.**


	35. Chapter 35

"And that is how Ponzu sauce is made, although I at some point experimented with different citric and non citric … do dragon's like them? I'm not sure, but old tales mention dragons being a picky eaters, which makes me wonder why humans think dragons are all hard carnivores, at least in human tales. I once read those human tales because my mother got a bunch of such books digitized. They were weird. Hoomans didn't have any idea did they?" The noble merman on talking without stop, his voice slightly beginning to waver and rasp out from his throat.

The incessant rambling which was Reza's voice had nearly placed a few physical twitches onto Longwei's face as his expression emptied completely of emotion, writing down each and every word that Reza was speaking; during this interview, all of the recorders had been filled up, 456 pages front and back from the snow lodge and Longwei was very quickly running out of paper. The lines in the paper were hard pressed, the only sign of the dragon reaching the end of his rope in regards to Reza's explanation. One thing continued to lead into another and no matter how Longwei tried to redirect the noblemerman's train of thought it always went off into the wind along with Reza's concentration for the task at hand. Interviewing this fish was impossible, Longwei decided, after he had just used up the last of his papers.

Reza took a moment to pause, making Longwei glance up at Reza as he leaned down and took a sip of the water to quench his dry throat. Taking advantage of the fish's very rare pauses, Longwei stood up.

"That should be enough, Reza of … do forgive me if I don't use all your noble titles. But we are running out of time … and paper." The dagon sternly and spoke, a small vapor coming out from his nostril and freezing in the air in front of his face. He could remember everything perfectly but the only problem was that for use of evidence he could not rely on memory alone; it needed to be recorded on paper, annoyingly enough, and within a certain time frame of interviewing the interviewee.

"Are you sure? Oh, are you out of paper? Maybe you could try using napkins or," Reza paused, coughing lightly off to the side before taking another drink, trying to cool down his sore vocal cords, "mmhhh … maybe you can use some towels too but I don't think that would be good, there are a lot of guests that want to use the towels, so table clothing then? Or maybe some stone tablets." Reza said aloud.

"That will not be necessary." Longwei immediately stated, "I thank you for your cooperation, and I shall take you to the resting areas."

"You sure? I want to help out as much as I can, I can provide with even more details about everything if you'd like." Reza kept on talking, albeit his voice was much more raspy than before. He at least could detect the dragon's great discomfort, even if it wasn't that noticeable.

"Thank you but no. I have enough." Longwei grabbed the handles on the medium sized tub and began pushing Reza out of the door, heading to the room where the other charges were waiting for their turn to be interviewed. The door opened as everyone perked up, watching as Longwei pushed the cart inside. "There. Now if you excuse me, I need to go make a run for more voice recorders." Longwei stated before leaving the room.

The moment the door shut, Reza let out a very long sigh and slouched in the tub, drinking up some more water. " … I think I talked too much." Reza admitted with a very scratchy tone to his voice, lightly rubbing his sore neck before slipping his head under the water and began breathing in the water to help soothe his irritated vocal cords.

"You spoke too much. You? For real?" Kroc stared in surprise. " _You_?"

"Who was that?" Eztli asked, curiously sniffing the air and memorizing his scent. "He smells familiar."

"Mengyao Longwei. A dragon." Jaska looked at Reza, surprised at how the merman drank away without stopping. "He aid for my uncle and high operative for the council." He then looked at the jaguar. "He the big dragon you saw at the warehouse."

"But why isn't he big like before?" Eztli asked, sounding confused. "Or so scaley?"

"Dragons one of few Extraspecies who shift sizes and have mid form." Jaska explained, "it take time to shift, but he can be giant dragon, little dragon or in midform. He be whatever size he want to be." Jaska explained.

"Quick, before he finds more paper." Reza looked up, suddenly spitting out some of the water. "It's Sabre's plan. I need to tell you the story we must tell."

"Sabre?" Dumisa uncurled, paying attention to the annoying fish. "What plan? If she plans to leave then I want no part of it." Dumisa miffed, indignant. "Wait, you spoke with Sabre?"

"Yes, she is not feral anymore and told me to run the interrogation out of paper. She has a plan of how to save the host." Reza explained.

"Plan?" Jaska asked, suspicious. He was sure that such plan would doom him in some way.

"Nikita wants to take down the program using Jackie and us. He wants to permanently disband the programs, meaning we can't hang out with Jackie anymore and she'd go to hooman jail … at best. Would she survive jail? I doubt it. Maybe if she pet them but hoomans don't like being pet, do they?" Reza asked, getting a little side tracked before lightly coughing, drinking some more water.

"Host no guilty, but council do want to terminate programs. Uncle blames for incidents." Jaska curled up like a very big and stripped loaf of fluffy bread. "I no want programs to go down, but I can't do anything." He admitted with a stiff frown.

"And Sabre? What is she planning after this?" Dumisa asked with narrowed eyes.

Reza stopped for a moment. "I don't know, she barely had time to tell me the general plan but I'm sure she is also worried about those cubs."

"So what now? She expects us to lie for her?" Dumisa asked with a frown, twitching his tail back and forth in thought.

"But why does the council want the programs to fail?" Kroc asked, confused. "I thought the programs were given permission from the council, right?"

"Because they used them to gain time and more power so Extraspecies could secure land and treaties and whatever was needed to not be bothered by hoomans. The programs are now the most successful thing about integration and cooperation, so if those fail they can argue it's better to not mingle with hoomans and vice versa." Reza briefly explaining, "and if our stories don't match up, Nikita is going to hurt the program with Jackie taking the fall for it." Reza said with a frown before lightly coughing, getting some more water.

"But why would Jackie get in trouble? She hasn't done anything wrong." Eztli said, blinking in confusion.

"Because she hosted charges not registered, because she hosted special charges, endangered a noble outside of regulations, because she was in smuggling incident, because she did not notice female pregnant or tended properly and charge ended up in danger in middle of storm, because she had too many fights and incidents under charge … list goes on." Jaska exhaled, flattening against the ground with a deep frown.

"Sheela had no choice." Kroc said with a frown.

"Stop speaking and let me speak!" Reza huffed, and then proceed to explain the story they ought to agree on if asked, and to everyone's surprise, he did so in a very clear, fast and concise way, and with a very raspy voice after having previously speaking for so long. "Do you all understand what to say now?" Reza asked with an annoyed frown, rubbing his own neck more vigorously to try and ease the aching.

"Yeah, we got it mate." Kroc said with a nod before glancing at Jaska.

Jaska frowned, seeming annoyed. "Da, me too."

"Yay! Me too!" Eztli shouted excitedly with a grin.

"Hmph. They both owe me after this." Dumisa miffed.

"Good. Now … I'm going to take a nap." Reza said before slipping underneath the tub water and closing his eyes, breathing through his mouth to help ease his strained vocal cords.

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A few short hours later a small knock on the door made everyone tense up. They turned towards the door, watching as it slid open to reveal a very tired looking Longwei looking into the room, scanning the charges to try and pinpoint a weak link to bring into questioning next to discover more about the manipulative host. His eyes looked around once again before spotting Eztli's tail falling out of Dumisa's coils as the jaguar tried to hide from Longwei.

"Why is that jaguar between the lamia's coils?" Longwei asked, curiously eyeing the strange phenomenon. It didn't seem like the lamia wanted to hurt the bastet but it appeared he was hugging the young bastet quite tightly **.**

"He likes it there. Make him feel safe." Jaska explained with a shrug. "He odd cat."

Longwei looked at Jaska and then back the Eztli's black tail, figuring out who was the one he ought to question next. "Eztli Balam, please come with me. I'm going to question you."

Eztli jolted, startled before looking back and spotting the dragon making eye contact with him. "M-Me?" He asked, his fur fluffing up in alarm.

"Yes. So come with me. We'll go to a neutral space." The dragon let out some mist from his nostrils, bothered the balam did not immediately follow him.

"No!" Eztli childishly shouted before trying to burrow himself underneath Dumisa's safe coils. Dumisa's coils loosened, allowing the jaguar to embed himself firmly within Dumisa's coils before Eztli turned around, peeking between the tiny opening in Dumisa's coils and anxiously watching Longwei.

Longwei blinked, a little surprised by the strong disposition the jaguar had towards him. "Pardon?"

"No! You're mean!" Eztli growled before crawled behind Dumisa, trying to hide in his coils. "You hurt Kroc and let Dumisa get hurt!"

"We told him that you were the dragon at the warehouse, so he remembered that you stepped on Kroc and let Dumisa get tranqued a lot." Reza explained and to his amusement, Longwei flinched slightly at the mere sound of his now scratchy voice.

"Regardless, he needs to present his testimony. All you do." The dragon took a step forward but he stumbled when the door behind him was opened hard and hit him in the back. He quickly stepped out of the way, spotting Aleksey in the door.

"Quick! Sabre coming to see you all." Aleksey entered the room in a small haste that made him breath fast. "Oh, Longwei? Nice seeing you, how you do?"

"What? When?" Kroc blinked in attention, standing up.

"Why?" Dumisa questioned, also perking up in surprise. "She just had her kittens. Why would she leave them to come see us?" Dumisa asked in confusion. New mammal mothers were particularly ferocious when it came to their offspring so why was she leaving them?

"She bringing them." Aleksey said, walking forward and eyeing everyone.

"To us? Here?" Jaska asked, equally surprised as his eyes widened. A new mother bringing her cubs into a room where it smelled nothing more than male scents everywhere? "When she comes?"

As if to answer that question, the door opened again and Sabre, now fully clothed, stepped in with a light blush, glancing away while presenting a basket of little fluffy babies all cuddled against one another and quietly napping. Immediately, the males minus Eztli moved back, with Jaska jumping away towards the farthest corner where the tiger cowered. They all stared at Sabre with a wide eyed gaze, shocked that a new mother, carrying her cubs, was entering a room full of males who weren't her mate.

"Sabre, hola! Wow, are those the kittens?!" Eztli jumped forward but Aleksey, despite his wounds, tackled the jaguar over and blocked him from accessing the kittens with his over enthusiasm.

"Be careful with kittens." Aleksey growled, very protectively.

"Mmhh … was the surprise so big? Why are you jumping away? I'm not feral." Sabre took another step, holding the basket forward while looking down at her little ones with a smile.

Everyone but Kroc backed away this time as Sabre walked up to Kroc, presenting him the big basket of kittens. Kroc blinked, looking down at the sheela a little sheepishly as he looked into the basket and saw all of the young kittens nuzzling one another, laying down for a soft nap. "Well ain't they cute." Kroc said with a soft smile, enjoying the view of the kittens sleeping quietly together.

"Yes they are." Sabre smiled, taking out one of the little kittens. Kroc's eyes widened in surprise as Sabre pulled his claws out and laid down one of the little tiger girls in his palm, resting the little sleeping girl with him.

Kroc's eyes widened, stunned speechless as he remained completely still, not daring to move at all as Sabre trotted off to Dumisa, lightly nuzzling him. "Um … Sabre, why did you give me one of your cubs there?" Kroc asked, severely confused. Was the sheela testing them? He honestly could not figure out why in the world the sheela would give such a small and delicate kitten to him.

"So you can meet her and so she can meet you." Sabre explained, taking the small snow leopard and walking towards Dumisa, placing the cub in his hands and watching the lamia freeze up.

"B-But that's strange, Sabre. You shouldn't be handing out your kittens to just anyone." Dumisa said, not daring to move either as Sabre moved on to Eztli, who eagerly picked up the little leopard girl and gently nuzzled against her.

"But you aren't just anyone. I trust you and I know you are going to be very careful." Sabre happily purred while looking at the basket, not even looking at how Reza was eagerly reaching out for one too.

"Hey, hey can I have the white one? It looks different." Reza said with shining eyes of excitement, lightly tapping the side of her basket for attention.

"No Reza you can't … mmhhh … because … because you are wet and they could get sick." Sabre said, quickly inventing an excuse "But you can watch from where you are." She said, not feeling comfortable letting the lionfish hold one. He was a little … unstable when it came to little cubs. She still hadn't forgotten about him teaching Antain how to use a knife and using him to hold up an apple for target practice.

"I can dry off my hands." He said, looking around the tub and trying to find a rag to dry off his hand. "No way! I want to hold one; they look super soft." He smiled cheerfully, spotting Eztli. Reza reached over to Eztli's back, wiping his hand off on his fur before pulling back a dried hand. "Now can I hold one? The white one looks interesting. Is there something wrong with him? Does that make him defective? Is he the runt? Will you end up killing him if he's the runt?" Reza asked, reaching out for the little cub as Sabre stared at him, trying to come up with another excuse.

Silently Aleksey went up to Kroc, gently taking the cub from his claws before moving on to Dumisa, taking the cub from his hand and trying to take the cub from Eztli who whined at him. Aleksey lightly growled, gently biting the jaguar's ear before picking up the cub from Eztli's hands and walked over to a corner away from everyone, gently setting the little babies down on a small blanket before walking over to Sabre. "Niet, Sabre. Stop handing out kittens like candy." Aleksey admonished, taking the basket from her as he gently hugged and nuzzled her, licking the top of her head. "You no hand out kittens. It strange and dangerous." He said, tugging the basket away towards the corner of the room to reunite the little cubs.

"It's not strange, I'm just presenting my munchkins to them." Sabre nuzzled back, not entirely understanding. "And I trust them."

"New mother no trust others with small babies; it out of bastet character." He said, setting the basket down and gently laying the babies inside of the basket, watching as they cuddled with each other to sleep with exception to the leopard girl who mewed excessively, rolling around where she was laying. Aleksey softly smiled, looking over them all before looking over and seeing Jaska laying down in the corner with his back to them, clearly nervous about being in the same room.

Sabre followed Aleksey's gaze and puffed out, giving a small growl when she spotted Jaska, her tail flickering dangerously. "Kroc, Dumisa and Eztli are my friends and pals and I know they would not hurt the munchkins or me."

"What about me? Sabre? But I make you really good sushi. Sabre?" Reza called from afar as Sabre ignored him, continuing to glare at Jaska.

Aleksey caught on her gaze and then whispered in her ear. "You no need worry. But, Jaska brother-in-law now. Get along when can; not now, but later." Aleksey softly nuzzled Sabre, keeping her calm before he walked over to Jaska and laid down beside him with a cheerful smile. Neither of them spoke, and although the tension between them was still there, they merely began enjoying each other's presence as Jaska picked up on the scent of the kittens and enjoyed their scent, getting familiar with them too.

"What are you doing?" Eztli asked aloud, sounding a little frightened. Sabre turned, spotting Longwei trying to herd Eztli out of the room.

"Mr. Balam should come for his questioning now." Longwei interrupted, taking advantage of the distraction to approach the jaguar but not daring to step closer to the bastet female.

Sabre quickly perked up and nervously gulped, looking between her cubs and then at Eztli and the dragon. She quickly grabbed the rowdy leopard girl and placed her in front of the dragon; carefully but with haste, she placed the cub in the dragon's hand while stepping in front of Eztli. "Mr. Longwei also is a trustworthy member for the council, he saved us in that warehouse and works very hard for all Extraspecies wellbeing."

Longwei paused in confusion, staring at the little leopard girl in his grasp before he gently pet her, listening to the little kitten purr happily. Longwei softly smiled, petting the little kitten with his thumb before Sabre turned to the others.

"We should have a party." Sabre suggested with a clap of her hands.

"Party? Why?" Dumisa asked, staring at Sabre in confusion.

Sabre turned to face Dumisa. "To celebrate the cub's birth, that we are all fine and together and just because the last one we had we were only Kroc, you and me." With her back turned to the dragon she winked at the other charges, giving a sign to her accomplices to play along.

"Huh … yeah, sounds like fun." Kroc grinned, finding this a good way to get out of being questioned. "I'll go grab some drinks." He said, slipping out of the room and heading for the kitchen.

"I'll go find some napkins and plates … I heard someone stole all napkins, so we better secure some." Dumisa said and slithered out of the room with a smile towards Sabre.

"Me too! Let me come with you!" Eztli shouted, running out the door after Dumisa.

"I'll take care of the food!" Reza shouted, leaping out of the tub and slipped out of the door, crawling towards the kitchen as well. "Kroc! Hey, hey Kroc! Carry me!" Reza's voice from the hall sounded as Sabre lightly laughed in enjoyment.

She turned towards Longwei, walking over and gently taking the kitten from him. "Can you please go find a safety pen of some kind of thing to keep my munchkins together for the party? And I need someone to watch them." The leopardess gave him the big kitty eyes, clearly pleading for him to take the role. Longwei stared at her, hesitant before letting out a light sighing smile.

"I'll watch after them." The dragon agreed with the ghost of a smile at the corner of his lips, also knowing how precious they were to Nikita. Admittedly, seeing a family of Extraspecies, damaged but not destroyed by hoomans, was endearing, hopeful even. And that was something worth protecting.

"Thank you." Sabre purred with half closed eyes. "The host can help nanny my cubs." Sabre looked around, expecting the host to be there but she was not. Sabre looked around again, surprise the host wasn't there. "And talking about the host … where is she?"

"Oh yes, your host. Unfortunately she did not survive the experience. I believe her body is in the safe room if you want to eat her." Longwei said, bringing the kitten up to his face and nuzzling against the soft kitten without the slightest bit of worry.

"What?!" Sabre shouted, the color draining from her face.

"Host dead? How?" Jaska asked, looking at Longwei with a horrified expression.

"Tazed by the hooman coordinator and then tossed to a feral bastet. It wasn't that hard to predict. Sabre even buried her body under as many clothes as she could spare from the nest like a good mother." The dragon uncaringly answered while sitting next to the babies with the leopard girl climbing all over him and mewing loudly. "The body's meat should still be fresh, so she is still of use."

Sabre then ran out of the room and back to the safe room as fast as she could. As soon as she arrived she spotted the pile of unmoving dirty clothes in the corner and she jumped towards it, digging the limp body of the host off. "Jackie!" The bastet began shuffling the host around the floor and then nuzzling and licking the host's face.

"Is she alright?" Jaska asked, frightened for the host's life as he approached, not looking in Sabre's direction.

The young feline turned and saw the stripped menace hurrying over towards her as her eyes widened and her fur rose up in alarm. A powerful protective switch flipped in her mind as she roared, making a small lunge for Jaska.

Jaska leapt back, startled by the attack and warily kept his distance, seeing Sabre hissing in his direction, puffing out her fur and standing over the host in a very protective stance, her pupils stretching and appearing to hedge closely to a feral state. Worried as he was, he forgot that he hadn't even made any kind of peace with Sabre. "Calm, Sabre." Jaska growled, backing away into the corner without thinking. The powerful scent of the kittens reached his nose as he realized he was standing on top of the young mother's nest for her kittens; which was empty but still retained their scent on the fabrics and over the polar bear fur bellow, making it a point of interest for the young mother or even a territorial right. And that was an interest she instinctively wanted to protect. His ears lowered, not turning his head away in submission but kept his distance from Sabre in the confined room.

"Stay away, menace!" Sabre roared, arching her back and preparing to attack and defend herself and Jackie from the stripped danger. If anything was keeping her back it was that the menace's scent was slightly reminiscent of Aleksey's. But it was also near the scent of her cubs and that was maddening her.

Jaska's eyes widened, deeply frowning. So this is how Sabre still treated him? But he supposed her reaction shouldn't have changed at all. She was defending the host against him but he was under the impression they were over the idea that he would hurt her. But then again, with everything he's done he wouldn't expect her to forgive him. Jaska's tail flickered back and forth, seeing she was hinging dangerously close to going feral. And with the host so close to Sabre, she would most likely get caught up in the fight and as lucky as the host has been thus far, that luck could only protect her for so long. "Careful, Sabre. Host in danger if you act with instincts."

Sabre jumped forward, trying to scratch him before she jumped back in order to stand over Jackie again to protect her. "Are you here to try and kill us again, menace? Go away!" she growled with desperation, trying to control herself for Jackie's sake, knowing that going feral again would really put the host in danger.

"Hmn," Jackie muttered, feeling Sabre's soft fur against her. Jackie leaned forward and hugged Sabre, finding her to be a very warm and fuzzy pillow. "Sabre, stop sneaking into my room," Jackie muttered, rubbing her head against her shoulder, "hold still, you're my pillow right now." With a soft sigh the host kept her eyes shut and held onto Sabre, trying to pull her down to lay next to her.

"Jackie, no … not right now." Sabre was distracted by the host being alive enough to speak as much as by the hugs, and thus, she almost automatically hugged Jackie back, nuzzling against her head as Jaska quietly but hastily slipped out of the room.

Sabre looked up to glare at Jaska some more, finding the silence unsettling, before found Jaska gone and out of the room. Her ears perked up, trying to listen for him but he was long gone. With a soft general warning growl to anyone nearby, Sabre nuzzled against Jackie, finding the host unresponsive to her snuggling gestures.

"Jackie!" Sabre panicked, moving away and kneeling in order to shake the host around, waiting for the hooman's response.

"Ugh, Sabre, stop. I'm tired so let me sleep." Jackie grumbled in annoyance, trying to groggily push Sabre away but the feline yanked the host into a tight hug and softly purred, hearing the host's heart beating for herself.

"I thought you were dead, Jackie." Sabre tumbled to the floor with the host in her arms and from her eyes began coming out some tears. "Don't die, Jackie. You are a good host."

"Dead? Of course not." Jackie said, waking up a bit more after hearing the genuine distress in Sabre's voice. "Hey, come here. I'm just fine." Jackie softly chuckled, hugging Sabre and petting her back a bit to reassure the shakened feline.

Sabre nuzzled back against her, softly whining before gently licking Jackie's cheek. "You are a good host and a not bad person. And you helped a lot with the cubs too. I'll let you play with them. You are a good nanny."

"Of course, Sabre. Anytime." Jackie smiled, gently cupping Sabre's jaw and petting her cheek, making the feline happily purr in contentment. Sabre's eyes slowly blinked, relieved the host was alright. Jackie paused, "wait, where are your cubs?" She asked, looking around in confusion.

"They are with everyone, and we are having a party." Sabre purred, headbutting Jackie lightly, and once more nuzzling against her. "And my mate Aleksey is alive too. He's protecting them."

"Aleksey? He's alive?" Jackie asked, stunned before eagerly hugging Sabre, making her jolt. "Sabre, that's great! I'm so happy for you!" She cried, petting and nuzzling the clingy kitty before leaning back, "where is everyone else?" Jackie asked, looking around the room in confusion.

"Everyone is waiting, so let's go, it's over here." Sabre said, turning to guide Jackie to the room before spotting the polar bear rug. With a grin Sabre trotting over to the rug and picked it up with ease, slinging it over her shoulder. This rug would be perfect for her babies to rest on instead of the hardwood floors.

"What's with the rug?" Jackie asked, staring at it in confusion, "that wasn't in the safe room before, was it?" She asked, trying to recall the large white rug which would have been impossible to miss.

"It's been here the whole time. It's a polar bear that Nikita hunt as a present. Have you met Nikita?" Sabre smiled, smelling the scent of her kittens over the fur.

"Nikita? The white tiger?" Jackie asked, stiffening up a bit before a disgruntled expression crossed Jackie's face. "Why would he give you that rug?"

Sabre stopped for a second to look at jackie and tilted her head. "He gave it as a welcome gift. I'm his niece-in-law ... or grand-niece-in-law, I'm not that sure which. But he hunt it especially for me."

"Oh … okay." Jackie said with a bothered frown, following after Sabre almost a little nervously. _(If she was taking the rug to the party, did that mean Nikita would be there?)_ Jackie frowned. She hoped that wasn't the case.

When Sabre reached the room she walked right on inside but Jackie stayed in the hallway, staring at the door. Nikita was a bully; that much was for sure. After leaving her for dead in the snow she really wasn't sure what to say to him. And he even though she was selling her own charges!

"Don't worry host, I'm going to help you remain alive." Sabre came back for Jackie and pulled her forward. "I can't let my favorite nanny die." She purred and then dragged the host inside.

Jackie glanced from side to side, seeing Nikita wasn't in the room. Feeling much more relaxed, Jackie smiled before seeing a very injured tiger holding the basket full of fluffy little kittens trying to escape their temporary housing but the tiger quickly collected them again, putting them back into the basket without looking at the host. Jackie blinked in confusion, about to call out to him as Jaska but Sabre walked right up to him, giving the tiger a big hug and licked his cheek lovingly. Jackie sealed her lips up tightly, deeply confused as to why Jaska was holding Sabre's kittens and too sleepy to process that it wasn't actually Jaska at all.

"Ok, Jackie. This incredibly handsome, valiant, strong, protective, loving, fierce and wonderful tiger is Aleksey Jeloudov, my mate." Sabre puffed up her chest while blushing slightly, clearly far more than proud and happy of her mate.

"Da." The tiger stood closer to Sabre in a relatively protective way, observing the hooman more cautiously than what he had done in their previous encounters. Now that his uncle had told him everything regarding the incidents that had occurred with this host, he found himself not liking her near so much.

Jackie's eyes widened. So this was who Sabre kept talking about for all those months? Jackie grinned awkwardly, finding herself being a little sheepish as she finally met the famous not-dead Aleksey himself. "I-It's so great to meet you, Aleksey! Um, you're Aleksey. Jaska's brother, right?" Jackie asked, running her eyes over his many wounds. "How are you? I'm Jackie, Sabre's host." She smiled, feeling a little unsettled looking at such an injured tiger who was admittedly very similar looking than Jaska. She paused, suddenly realizing that the feline in the medical room she landed on was Aleksey, not Jaska.

"But he isn't the only one you should properly meet, host." Sabre grinned, getting the basket of kittens and handing it to Jackie. "You already meet them, but here they are! My lil fluffy munchkins!"

"Sabre, stop!" Aleksey snarled, grabbing the handle of the basket while hissing towards the host before his threatening sounds twisted into pain, slowly falling back against the wall and gripping his side in pain but still holding onto the basket and setting it out of the hooman's reach. His breathing hitched and shook, clear signs of exhaustion and pain.

"´leksey!" Sabre jumped to her mate's side, emitting some small huffing growls of worry while she helped him stay up, hesitating before leaning over and nuzzling her head.

"Your bandage became loose, Aleksey. Let me tighten it for you." Jackie said, kneeling besides Aleksey and reaching for his bandage.

"I no need a hooman near me or my family." He growled, narrowing his eyes and lightly snarling in Jackie's direction.

"Aleksey!" Sabre blinked "She is my host and not a bad hoo ... person." She looked down, burying her face on his side.

"I don't care how friendly you are with her, Sabre. I not comfortable with hoomans being near cubs." Aleksey said with a frown, flipping his tail back and forth while casting annoyed and distrustful glances at Jackie. "Much less _this_ hooman in particular. I know now what happen. She took money to accept you and cub as charge, she let fake reporters in house to expose. She didn't present brother and that cause problem. She keep you away from program safety, even if hooman program bad. And she let charges get hurt. Jaguar burn claws, crocodile in fights, you end in smuggler ring. She not detect you with cubs. I can go on. She not good hooman."

Jackie stared at Aleksey, finding the response a little harsh but understandable. He was hurt and hurt Extraspecies were more likely to be aggressive in general to make up for their injuries, especially predator ones. Jackie stared at him in shock, however, startled by the one eighty made by the once friendly tiger. "Well, look, Aleksey it's more complicated than that. Let me tighten the bandages back up so you don't cause more damage to yourself. If you don't want me doing it then I can get the doctor." Jackie offered, staying where she was while her gaze drifted off to the side, showing submission. After that time with Eztli, she had learned how to react with an injured Extraspecies although thanks to a certain suspected white tiger, Aleksey now hated her too which sucked.

With all due calmness Sabre gave a small bite to her mate's flesh in mild annoyance. "Aleksey. Let her tighten that bandage. Whether you like her or not, you need the help right now. I'll tell you all the details later." She murmured, gently licking his ear to try and calm him a bit.

Aleksey hissed but turned away, allowing Jackie to come close as he held onto Sabre tightly.

"I'll be gentle." Jackie said, gently tugging on the bandage before the door opened with Longwei stepping into the room. Sabre turned and looked up at Longwei. Because the host's back was turned, she did not see the expression of disgust and fury over Longwei's face as Sabre did. The look was so harsh and unexpected that Sabre found herself quieted by the mere glare in his eyes.

"Move out of the way, hooman." Longwei stated, reaching down and tossing her aside. He did not consider the strength he used to toss her, however, and ended up throwing her right into the wall against the baby gate he had silently brought into the room.

Jackie let out a loud pained shout, holding her forehead where she felt a small cut on her head. She wavered slightly, feeling a small hot drip crawl down her skin and over her eye, blinding her only good eye.

Sabres eyes widened as her pupils contracted, suddenly struck with shock. Longwei who had treated Sabre very nicely just threw the host aside like she was nothing more than garbage in his way. She could hardly register that fact as she stared at the host, admittedly very disturbed.

"There; your bandages will stay in place with this." Longwei stated, finishing tightening the bandages on Aleksey's body before he sniffed the air, glancing back at the hooman with cold eyes. "You're blood is dirtying the air here, hooman. Get out." Longwei stated before he approached the dazed Jackie, grabbing her arm and forcing her to her feet.

Smelling the blood on the air so near by her cubs, made Sabre's fur puff as she roared a second before she jumped to attack the dragon, feral due to what had transpired. Aleksey's eyes widened, instinctively covering the basket of kittens with his body.

Longwei turned around in surprise before his arm shot out, grabbing the fierce feline's neck before pinning her to the ground, forcing her to flip onto her stomach. With an expert hand he gripped the scruff of her neck tightly and the base of her tail, keeping her against the carpet as she angrily roared, trying to twist around and slash at Longwei.

"Sabre, what happen?" Aleksey asked, startled by what had happened. "Why you feral now?" He asked before the door was shoved open, revealing a startled Jaska who had been keeping his distance from everyone. His eyes darted around the room, quickly taking in the scene before spotting Jackie covering her bleeding head.

"Host?!" Jaska approached Jackie. "What happened?" He then looked at Sabre and nervously frowned at the state she was in.

"I don't know. It was probably caused by that hooman's incessant bleeding." Longwei hissed in annoyance, not having much trouble keeping Sabre down against the ground as she menacingly hissed, ripping up the carpet with her claws.

"Da. Sabre feral because of smell of blood too near kittens. She a very protective mother." Jaska calmly said towards the dragon. Jaska of course couldn't say directly that Sabre was also very upset at 'her' hooman being hurt, considering Longwei's background. "Let Jackie calm her down."

"Calm her down?!" Longwei angrily demanded, glaring at Jaska, "how could a hooman calm down a feral cat? Are you trying to tell me that she could bring Sabre out of her feral state?" Longwi incredulously demanded.

Keeping the appearances, Jaska glanced at Sabre and then at Jackie. "Maybe. Sabre likes this hooman for toy and for grooming. She also there when cubs born so scent familiar during important moment."

Jackie glanced up at Jaska, staring at him in complete confusion. What in the hell was he saying? "Toy?" Jackie repeated, frowning in annoyance up at Jaska as he gently licked her blood away to make the wound look better.

Looking at his mate and at her cubs that were now beginning to mew louder and making Sabre even more restless, but what Jaska said was true. Sabre did care for the hooman. So Aleksey lowered even more and looked at Longwei. "Let try, if hooman gets hurt no problem, right?"

"Da. Important thing is to get Sabre to calm down." Jaska nodded in complicity with his brother.

" … I'm starting to think you all dislike humans quite a bit." Jackie said, stating the obvious in a very sarcastic manner before the door suddenly opened.

"Hey, we got the-," Reza started to say before Dumisa, Kroc, Eztli and Reza saw the state of the room with a feral Sabre being pinned against the ground and everyone looking very tense.

"We're back!" Eztli excitedly cried, flinging himself into the room before Kroc silently caught Eztli, pulling him back as Dumisa very quietly shut the door, all of them clearly having no intention getting involved with a feral mother.

Jaska stared at the door, hearing the other charges silently waiting for the host to take care of everything.

"Absolutely not. That hooman can upset her even more." Longwei said while starting to feel Sabre wiggling out of his grasp. "I'll try to drag her towards the safe room again. That should suffice."

"Look, Longwei, whatever your problem is you can take it up with me later. Right now, you need to move aside and let me take care of _my_ charge." Jackie said, standing in front of him before kneeling down within clawing distance of Sabre, letting the feline grab onto her ankles and angrily yowl while keeping a firm grip on Jackie.

"Have at it then. Your death shall be your fault." The dragon let out a cloud of vapor through his nostrils in the host's direction before he let Sabre go at once, leaping back out of the way while protectively leaning over Aleksey and the cubs.

Sabre's eyes flashed as she leapt forward, tackling Jackie over onto the ground before hovering over her, turning and angrily roaring at Longwei with a very hateful and angry glare directed at the dragon.

"Sabre, hey, look at me." Jackie said, leaning up in front of her face before hugging Sabre's shoulders, gently petting Sabre's lower back. "Everything is just fine, Sabre. Just relax." Jackie said, feeling Sabre lean back away from her a bit before Jackie followed on through, leaning in and kissing Sabre's cheek, nuzzling against her while her fingers ravished her in just the right spots, making Sabre's growls strangle off a bit. Her fangs remained ever present in a threatening display but her body began relaxing a bit within the host's grasp.

Sabre hugged Jackie, falling right over the host's chest to nuzzle and purr against her, slowly relaxing and calming down faster than the host expected her to. With a soft smile Jackie tightly hugged her, continuing to pet her back and calm her ruffled fur down.

Everyone in the room remained silent in shock. Longwei's jaw was wide open as Aleksey stared with wide eyes, both of them trying to process how a hooman had just pet the feral right out of a new mother.

Longwei's eyes narrowed, refusing to admit to what he was seeing. "What did you do, hooman?" He asked in a controlled hiss, being careful not to set Sabre off. "Did you drug her? What do you have in your pockets?" He demanded, remaining stiff as a board.

"Drugs? What in the hell would I need drugs for?" Jackie snapped back at him, laying her cheek on top of Sabre's head as Sabre purred against the host, trying to messily climb onto the host's lap but failing, instead remaining right where she was, comfortable against her.

"You obviously have done something to your charges to make them dependant on you, even more so in their feral state. Something like that cannot be achieved through anything but usage of drugs or other underhanded techniques. Speak the truth now before I burn you to a crisp or freeze you into an icicle. What brainwashing technique did you used? Or is it that you got someone to utilize mind control?" The dragon growled as icy mist flowed from his nostrils, struggling to comprehend how this hooman just calmed down a feral feline. Being in the state of feral was purely instinctual. If this hooman really did calm Sabre down just by petting her then that would mean Sabre instinctively felt safe with her, a hooman. And this upset Longwei more than anything else the hooman had done.

The host just stared at Longwei, trying to figure out if what he said was a joke or not but taking into account his expression, the dragon was deadly serious in his questions.

"You've got to be kidding me right now. I'm not doing anything like that to her and I have never done anything like that to _any_ of my charges." Jackie snapped back at him, hearing Sabre let out a low growl before Jackie turned back to Sabre, petting her quickly to calm her down.

Aleksey's tail flickered back and forth, observing with a troubled frown how much Sabre trusted Jackie. He didn't like that she trusted the hooman so much that she would allow the host to get so close to her while feral, let alone cuddle the feral right out of her. Feeling uneasy with Sabre being in the hooman's grasp, he slowly approached, emitting soft prustens before he laid by Sabre's side, nudging his nose into her back. Sabre twisted around, looking over him with a happy hazy smile before she rolled onto her mate, nuzzling against her and purring happily.

"Speak, hooman!" The dragon stood in front of the host, towering over Jackie and letting his chilly breath blow some frost on top of her head.

She leaned back, rubbing it out of her hair in annoyance.

"It not brainwashing, Longwei." Jaska spoke up, keeping his distance from Sabre, "her petting genuinely amazing. It put you to sleep pretty quickly; that only hypnotizing thing I ever seen her do."

"You've mentally suffered heavily for sometime, Jaska. Your memories could have easily be altered." Longwei harshly retaliated, making Jaska frown in annoyance.

"If you no believe me, try out for self." Jaska shot back at Longwei.

Longwei's expression twisted into disgust at the mere thought of letting the hooman touch him in such a way.

"I know." Jaska stared at the dragon right in his eyes. "I not believe it either, until I decided to subject self to it." He crossed his arms, twitching his tail back and forth. "It something that only understood through experience. But that be reason why charges came trust and like this particular hooman so much. It weird situation, so I think higher operative for the council should test it. After all, hooman just calmed down feral bastet, new mother with cubs nearby, with mere petting." Jaska suggested, knowing that Longwei wouldn't believe it any other way.

Longwei frowned in annoyance, twitching it tail back and forth. What Jaska was saying was true; there was something going on with the host's hands and he was determined to figure out for himself what it was. "Fine, then. I'll give it a try and determine for myself what tactics this hooman is using to control her charges." Longwei agreed, shocking Jaska who did not actually think the dragon would admit to it.

"You sure, Longwei?" Jaska asked with a frown, hesitant. Seeing Longwei being pet by the host might actually be very interesting. Longwei was one of Nikita's best and had perfect self control over himself. "Hm, maybe not, Longwei. So far, not one immune to host's petting."

"We'll see about that." Longwei said with a stiff frown. Smith had tried the same thing on him before but it was unsuccessful. Just the thought of allowing a hooman to touch him made him gag in disgust but there was something this host was doing that was more effective somehow. "Just watch for anything underhanded she may do." Longwei stated with a glare are Jackie. Longwei walked to the corner of the room and sat down formally on his knees, turning his glare to Jackie. "Come here, hooman, and we'll test this theory of your petting." He demanded.

" … really? You want me to pet you now? Just to prove I'm not doing anything underhanded?" Jackie asked with an annoyed frown before she lightened up. Well, at least this would be a good chance to knock him down a few pegs. "Fine. I will pet you into total submission, Longwei." Jackie grinned, holding up her hands and wiggling her fingers.

"You dare think yourself capable of 'petting' such a creature as myself?" He growled, angered by the hooman's arrogance. "A mere hooman thinks she can 'pet me into submission'? I will take such a presumptuous claim and prove it false." He hissed, expelling large plumes of mist from his mouth and nose into the air.

"Yeah, fine." Jackie said, walking over to him in annoyance as Aleksey and Jaska intensely watched.

Longwei stayed on his knees, staring down at the hooman with near disgust as her fingers gently slid over his collarbone and around his neck, using her palms to warm up his scales just as Dumisa liked it. Since he was a dragons he figured he'd react to being pet as a snake too but to her disappointment, it didn't seem to be working.

"This is pathetic, you are only wasting my time." He menacingly glared.

"Just relax, Longwei." Jackie said, feeling how tensed up he was. She needed to figure out where his weak spot was in order to make him understand it was just her petting that made her charges turn to mushy piles of fur and scales, not any kind of brainwashing or crap like that.

"Relax? With a hooman dirtying my scales?" He criticized with a small huff of mist.

Jackie's eyes narrowed over him before she straightened out her spine, very gently running her hands over his ears. Reza's weakness was his ears … but it doesn't seem to work on Longwei. Not at all deterred, Jackie leaned in a little closer, making Longwei lightly growl at how close she was getting before the host slid a hand down his tail, gently rubbing the tip of his sensitive tail in hopes of getting a response but there was nothing. Looks like Kroc's weakness wasn't panning out anytime soon and he wasn't a cat so she doubted any of their weaknesses would apply. Despite the thought she reached around him, hugging his waist and rubbing the base of his tail but to now avail.

Hmmm … it definitely seems like mythical creatures would be more difficult to pet. Jackie stared up at his broken horns, slowly sliding her hands up his neck and sides of his head, gently massaging the base of the horns. Ever so slightly, so slightly that she barely caught it, Longwei's eyes tightened as Jackie grinned. She was getting closer but he had to have a weaker spot somewhere. As she pet around his horns she paused, turning her gaze to his upper lips. He didn't have any whiskers now but he did have very long ones when he was a dragon. Maybe that would be a sensitive part for him? Jackie slowly drew her hands over his cheeks, making him tilt his head back a bit before she very slowly rubbed her thumbs over his upper lip.

Longwei's lip began twitching, anticipating the movement of her fingers before it took place and found himself waiting in anticipation for each brief stroke of her thumbs across his lip to bring him pleasure. Finding himself indeed being affected by her petting, he suddenly grabbed her wrists to stop her before standing up, glaring down at this lowly hooman. How dare she think so highly of herself. She was a mere hooman, and he was a mighty dragon! He refused to admit to her good petting. But then again, he was just in his human form at the moment. Longwei dropped Jackie to the ground, stepping past her with an annoyed hiss under his breath.

Jackie looked up to Longwei, surprised before she grinned. "Did I win?" She teased. She had to have gotten it; his horns and upper lip were his weakness.

"Come seek me outside in 30 minutes, hooman. We will see if you really think you can pet a mighty dragon." Longwei bitingly demanded with a stiff sneer in her direction.

"Why 30 minutes?" Jackie asked, confused as both Aleksey and Jaska's jaws hit the floor in shock. They knew what this meant; Longwei, a perfectly trained dragon, was actually affected by her petting.

Not bothering to answer, Longwei walked away with his tail's tip flipping around behind him before he shut the door quite hard, leaving the room entirely.

Everyone stared at the room, hearing him retreating as Jackie evilly grinned in victory. " … I think this means I'm winning." She said before seeing the stunned expressions on Aleksey and Jaska. "But what did he mean by wait for 30 minutes?" Jackie asked, looking to Aleksey and Jaska for answers.

"It means he takes this seriously." Jaska gulped, his ears turned down nervously.

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked as Sabre hopped back over to Jackie, nuzzling against her with a purr.

"He going to change form to real form." Aleksey said, cuddling against Sabre. "Changing size take time."

" … you mean into his dragon form? That giant one?" Jackie asked, surprised, remembering how big he was before. She paused, thinking about it. "Hm. I've never pet something that big before. I guess we'll see how it goes." Jackie grinned, a fire in her eyes as she was determined to win this little challenge.

"Mhmm," Aleksey frowned, flipping his tail back and forth as he stared at the hooman. He's never seen a hooman make Longwei react like this before. Maybe there _was_ something different with this hooman, something that Sabre saw and he did not. "If you manage to pet dragon into submission, hooman, I consider listening to your side. For Sabre's sake." Aleksey said, nuzzling with a cheerful Sabre.

"It's not a problem. I've handled worse than him before." Jackie said with an eager grin before she got up, heading out, "I'll be back once I finish up. Until then, go ahead and start the party." Jackie said as she left, planning to grab Dumisa's scale polish she knew he always carried around with her. She was going to pet that dragon until he begged for mercy!

The other charges watched as Jackie hurried off while looking eager before they daringly peeked inside of the room, seeing Sabre nuzzling against Aleksey before she looked up at him, her eyes beginning to appear more clear.

"Aleksey … is everything alright?" Sabre asked, calming down and coming out of the feral state in the arms of her mate. Although confused, she leaned up and kissing his chin, purring against his chest.

" … is it safe to come in, Sabre?" Dumisa asked, staring at her with a frown on his face.

"She doesn't look feral." Kroc noted, flipping his tail to either side in thought.

"Yay! Sabre, Sabre look! We got the party stuff!" Eztli shouted as he ran inside over to the furry little pile, throwing himself on top of Aleksey and Sabre to join in their snuggling.

Reza, for once in the entire time of knowing him, remained silent, holding up the large platter of food he prepared for everyone to see for themselves, considering his voice was still in bad shape from the long interrogation.

" … what happened?" Sabre asked, looking up to Aleksey in confusion before gasping, looking around the room. She located her safe babies before trying to find the host. "Where's Jackie?"

Aleksey sighed, kissing her forehead. "You go feral, attack Longwei. Jackie calm you, but Longwei challenge to see why she calm you so fast. Now Jackie outside with Longwei." Aleksey briefly explained, licking her ear gently as Eztli munched on his.

"The sheela's out there with that thing? Why?" Kroc asked, sounding astounded and alarmed as he looked down the hallway after her, frowning in discontent at the thought of the host being anywhere near a giant monster like Longwei.

"Hmph. The host doesn't need to bother with such trivial things." Dumisa huffed, bringing in some of the drinks.

Reza slowly crawled across the ground with a lot of food, setting all the sushi prepared meals in the center of the room for everyone before Kroc picked it up, setting it on a table to be out of the way. But by doing so, he made the food out of reach of Reza who tried to speak up and complain but his voice did not come out of his throat. Disappointed and sad that he could not speak, Reza simply laid on the ground like a stick in the mud, leaving himself to dry out before Kroc huffed and dragged the fish over to the water and unceremoniously tossed him in.

"So are we going to party like hoomans or not?" Kroc asked with a hardy laugh, getting the Vodquila bottle shaped like a skull before downing the entire drink as everyone else watched, laughing and egging him on before he finished the entire bottle with a grin, setting it off to the side.

Sabre grabbed a bottle of catnip vodka and grinned, but before she gave a sip, Aleksey gave a small grunt and she bumped noses with him before quickly swallowing a good amount of Vodka and kissing him in the lips.

Dumisa chuckled, grabbing a bottle for himself. "Think you can outdrink me, Kroc?" Dumisa asked with a sneering smirk before tipping the bottle into his mouth and began chugging the entire bottle, not stopping until it was empty. He set it onto the table beside the one Kroc had just drank to show off the fact he drank more than the large reptile.

"Me too!" Eztli grabbed another bottle and began taking small delicate sips from it with many small but fast kitty licks. His chest rumbled, purring excitedly as he tipped the bottle a little further and lapped it up faster from the small entrance of the bottle.

From his place, Reza raised his hand and opened his mouth to say something, but instead of speaking, he made a scowl and grabbed an ice cube to place in his mouth and calm his aching throat.

"What wrong with fish?" Aleksey asked after making a double take at the flailing arms of the lionfish.

"Oh?" Dumisa said, turning and staring at the lionfish. After a few moments of studying his eyes widened, realizing that Reza had burned out his voice distracting Longwei in accord to Sabre's plan that he didn't know in full yet. And so, the serpent began to laugh quite loudly at the fish's misfortune with a nasty smirk on his face which surely was more handsome than that of the fish's poor exasperated expression. "What's wrong, Reza? Feline caught your tongue?" Dumisa asked with a snickering smirk, leaning over to the fish and poking his nose. "Whatever will you do without your grating voice, Reza? Hm? I suppose now you're quite ugly having no voice, clearly leaving me as the superior looking Extraspecies in terms of best looking." Dumisa grinned maliciously, not forgetting the fact that the host, in a moment of weakness, stupidly admitted that the fish was better looking than he. "Fish pride themselves with how beautiful their voices are to the human ear, don't they? I suppose now you merely sound like a fish rasping for air now. Go on, say something." Dumisa taunted, grinning evilly.

Reza took out his phone and began writing in its screen really fast before he pressed the 'read aloud' function, making a digital voice speak, "Jackie still thinks I'm more beautiful than you are even without my voice, you dull serpent with tarnished scales."

There some chuckles and sighs in the room before Reza wiped around in the small pool and drenched Dumisa with water from a well performed splash of water, drenching the snake from head to waist.

Dumisa reared back, angrily hissing before a large bottle of sake was thrusted into his face, startling him before he glanced down at a rosey cheeked Eztli who looked up to Dumisa with adoration in his eyes. Dumisa grimaced in disgust at the affection the jaguar held towards him but took the bottle regardless, biting off the cork before chugging it. Eztli excitedly squealed, leaping onto Dumisa's belly and hugging him tightly his his arms and legs, purring loudly while nuzzling against the annoyed black mamba.

Reza smirked, grabbed some more ice cubes and sucking on them, trying to help his throat recover faster from his recent speaking spell.

Sabre grabbed a bottle of some cold fruity liquor and passed it to Reza. "Here Rez, this one will be good for you."

Reza perked up, quickly grabbing the liquor before he began sipping on it. He found the taste strange and annoyingly tart but he didn't care; his inflamed throat was beginning to feel better the more he drank, and so the more he drank he stopped feeling the ache.

Sabre let out a small chuckle while slowly closing her eyes towards Reza before back to cuddle Aleksey who was sharing the vodkila with Kroc and Dumisa.

Aleksey smiled, nuzzling Sabre back while he took big hearty gulps of vodka, pleased to be with his mate. "I love you, Sabre." Aleksey softly purred into her ear, sucking on the soft cartilage as he tried to hold back, knowing his body wouldn't be able to hold out if he tried to take her right then and there to show her how much he missed her.

Sabre blushed and then nuzzled Aleksey softly, delicately and methodically; hugging him and then rubbing her chin on his shoulder. "I love you too … I missed you." Sabre then poured a couple glasses of the catnip vodka and gave him. After a sip they kissed and then pulled back, grinning to each other and then crossing arms to finish their glasses of vodka in one sip. Then they began cuddling some more.

Kroc kept his eye on Sabre while pondering on this tiger, finding her original mate to be interesting. He was clearly going to need years of rehabilitation which would leave Sabre to do most of the hunting herself while taking care of the kittens as well. He didn't like how weak her mate was but seeing her so happy made him happy as well. Kroc was grateful Sabre was so happy with her mate. "They're a cute couple." Kroc admitted, taking another swig of tequila.

Dumisa glanced over to Sabre and Aleksey, observing their display of affection with mild interest. "Hmph. She could do better." Dumisa simply shrugged. "He's too weak to care for her properly. Shameful really." Dumisa miffed.

"Well, if she needs any help, I can help her." Kroc noted aloud, knowing that Sabre knew that herself.

"Obviously. It's what friends do, right?" Dumisa asked, hesitating before glancing over at Kroc for a confirming nod to know if that was the right course of action. The black mamba turned away, staring at the couple before narrowing his gaze over the tiger's wounds. "It's strange that Sabre, is taking a broken cat for a mate." He questioned with a frown, annoyed and uncaring that said cats were probably hearing this. "He won't be able to provide for her properly. He'll just be an oversized kitten for her to take care of. And she has many kittens now."

"If that's who she wants then it will be fine. He'll get stronger in a few years; probably." Kroc said, continuing to stare at the feline.

"But why is she taking him back at all? I thought you and her were going to become mates." Dumisa admitted with a huff. "At least you're more likely to provide well for her compared to the broken and useless tiger there." Dumisa pointed out.

"M-Me?" Kroc pointed at himself while blushing deeply.

"Yeah. You wanted her, didn't you?" Dumisa asked, staring at him, almost wanting to tempt the crocodile to challenge the broken cat.

"Hmm … I wasn't considering anything before I killed Ale." Kroc honestly admitted, now, pondering the idea. Maybe he had considered some, but he never had the chance to really think about mates before considering Ale was all he ever thought about, well, at least until he meet Sabre and the host, and when Sabre's heat came… well, maybe he did though about it a bit. In any case, with Ale dead, Kroc could now become a father and good mate himself. He supposed that now would be a good time to start thinking about it.

"No one else stood a chance." Eztli purred from Dumisa's coils, poking his head out sleepily and looking up at the reptiles with a cheerful smile. "It's real love, the kind that's better than in my favorite soap operas." The Jaguar purred loudly. "And he is alive, so it's a happy ending … or a happy beginning I think. Hey! Am I an uncle for the kittens? We are all uncles, right ?"

" … uncle?" Dumisa questioned, seeming confused by the concept. "What would I have anything to do with those kittens?" He asked, confused.

"Yes you are. We are all like family." Sabre turned to look at them, knowing that she could trust them as nannies if need be.

" … Eztli, you do realize that males like us eat youngsters to keep them from growing up, right?" Kroc pointed out, "if Sabre had any real sense at all she wouldn't even let us near her little pork chops."

Aleksey loudly snarled at the other males, feeling a little more anxious as he barred his fangs at them, ready to fight.

"What was that? You're threatening us?" Dumisa asked with a snarky smirk. "I'm afraid you're in less a position than Antain to threaten anyone." He maliciously grinned.

"I'll still try, and if I go down I take opponent down too." Aleksey tried to stand up, but he was easily pulled back by Sabre without much effort on her part before she gave a small bite to his ear, taking control of the situation.

"Really? You wouldn't even be able to take down Reza in the state you're in." Dumisa taunted, enjoying how the injured male was getting so riled up. The black mamba was almost happy to get a chance to prove to Sabre how weak her mate was; and maybe if he was dead, Sabre would find a stronger mate to be with.

"You wouldn't do that." Sabre addressed them and then beamed a smiled. "We are friends and now you are uncles too."

"You're too trusting, Sabs. Start being more careful with the little tykes." Kroc lightly admonished with a frown, glancing over at the little fluffy beans mewing and crawling over each other.

"I know who to trust, and I trust you." She smirked and then tipped her glass against Kroc's bottle.

Aleksey wasn't sure if such trust was well founded and dropped his ears in displeasure. Not even a second later Sabre was by his side, nuzzling and hugging him with hearts in her eyes, making him feel slightly better as he licked the top of her head possessively, knowing that ultimately he was the one Sabre loved and choose despite his sorry state, which made him promise to himself to get better and stronger as fast as he could.

"It'll be fine." Sabre said before nibbling on Aleksey's shoulder, hugging him once more. "They are good guys and this is not the wild."

Aleksey smiled, kissing her forehead before glancing at his brother sulking in the corner, drinking alone for the time being while keeping away from everyone. Aleksey sadly frowned, flicking his tail back and forth. He was extremely happy that his older brother was still alive but he was definitely acting strange. But then again, it was to be expected. He made mistakes along the way and, although Aleksey was still pissed about Jaska sleeping with Sabre and hurting her, he couldn't stay angry with him forever. If anything he pitied Jaska. He must have been through hell and back from those d***ed humans. Aleksey wanted almost desperately to go over to him and nuzzle with him but figured it would be inappropriate at the moment; Sabre was still very angry with him, after all.

Sabre noticed Aleksey longingly looking over at Jaska. She twisted her lip and flicked her tail. She wasn't sure she could even think of forgiving that cat, even though she somewhat wanted to at least set things in their proper place and get over this situation. But she also knew how much the brothers had missed each other initially and all they had suffered while looking for the other. And that was something she didn't want Aleksey to mourn about. After a small squish on Aleksey's shoulder, Sabre looked served herself another glass and looked at it. "Alright, 'leksey. Go with that stripped menace."

"Yeah?" Aleksey asked, glancing over Sabre with happiness in his eyes. "You no mind?" He asked, kissing her forehead delicately.

"I mind if you get sad, so go over there." She said while passing him a bottle. "But if he gets near me or my kittens I'll tear him apart."

After a new kiss Aleksey took the bottle and went toward his brother, sliding up next to him and nuzzling with him happily before they began happily conversing with each other, with Jaska looking relieved and happy.

A loud thumping from the hall caught Sabre's attention as her ears perked up, listening to Antain's excited breathing before he burst through the door, happily panting before yipping when he saw Sabre. He awkwardly ran over to her with his cast thumping against the ground loudly while whining for her, holding his arms up to be picked up by her while he purred loudly.

Sabre eyes widened and then watered somewhat as she picked up the cub and hugged him tightly, nuzzling him while keeping his hurt leg from moving too much. "I'm sorry, Antain." She mumbled and squished him in a hug.

Something wet tapped against Sabre's foot, startling her as she looked down to see Reza staring up at Antain's cast curiously. He pushed himself up as high as he could, sniffing the cast before trying to move Sabre's arm in the way while trying to get a better look at it.

Sabre took a step back and moved Antain away from Reza just in case. "Haven't you've seen a cast before?"

Reza shook his head and then tried grabbing the cast.

"Hey, sheela, what's the white stuff on the tyke's leg called again?" He asked, curiously watching from afar before tilting his head.

"They use that to keep your tail up and shove stuff down your … wait, no. Sabre is not bad and that thing is in his leg … why?" Eztli drunkenly said, eyeing the cast while kitty licking more liquor.

"It's a cast; a human contraption of plaster and other things which is put around a broken bone to make sure it heals right." Dumisa said, also taking an eyeful of the cast; it was the first time he's ever seen one before.

Sabre paused, surprised that none of them knew what a cast was. "You really don't know?." She asked before letting Reza take a closer look at the cast on Antain's leg. "It's a hard contraption to keep injured limbs from moving much and reopening wounds so that the limb can heal perfectly."

"Nah, sheela. In the wild you either let it heal itself or ripe the arm off." Kroc shrugged.

"Yeah; we lamias usually tie sturdy sticks to the broken limbs but it's not often that those who are injured survive. Survival of the fittest as hoomans like to say." Dumisa said, flicking his tongue out to taste the air. "Although in big cities they have have better healing systems. It's also different than those hooman casts."

Reza's eyes widened as he smiled, slowly approaching his hand and accepting the trust of the noble mother, but when his finger had just touched the cold white surface, the door opened and Nikita Sviet came in, causing Reza to dash into his pool and towards the farthest edge, which wasn't that far at all.

The large white tiger came in carrying a couple bottles of very expensive vodka. Upon his entrance, everyone fell silent. Reza jumped back into the water as Kroc quickly gulped his drink. Dumisa shifted his coils around himself, Eztli perked with a happy face at the extra cuddling while both tiger brothers lowered their ears in the presence of the alpha male. Sabre perked up, looking up at her new uncle rather happily.

Nikita's eyes scanned the room before spotting Sabre and, more importantly, the basket full of kittens beside her. Nikita brilliantly grinned as he trotted over to Sabre, speaking to her but had his eyes on the kittens the entire time. "So this party to welcome new nephews? Many Extraspecies trusted by mother." He said, sitting down in front of her and Aleksey while the white tiger studying the little babies.

"Yes, I trust them all very much." Sabre smiled, taking one of the bottles from Nikita and serving the old tiger a cup. "They are more than friends, Uncle Nikita." She smiled eyeing the basket and chuckling. "Kroc, Dumisa, Eztli … even Reza… more or less." She said, not bothering to look over at any of them.

"Da?" The old tiger took his drink and served her a drink in return. The old tiger leaned back, drinking down the strong alcohol with a grin on his face, quite relaxed with where he was.

"Da." Sabre purred, suddenly aware of the silence and how tense everyone looked. With a smile, she grabbed Nikita's big hand and inhaled, getting a bit drunk on the alpha's scent before she shifted in place. "Uncle Nikita, can I ask you a favor? Me and Alexei are a bit distracted in this party and the kittens need someone to watch them." She winked at Nikita. "I of course wouldn't trust just anyone to check on my cubs, but I know I can trust uncle Nikita." She gave a light squeeze to his hand and then let go to pick up the basket before she walked towards the pen before she took out her cubs and placed them over the polar bear fur.

Nikita's expression melted in happiness as he simply smiled, crawling over beside the cubs before sitting by them. With attentive care he watched the cubs, flicking his tail back and forth in pride and joy at such a strong looking group of young ones. Aleksey smiled and grabbed some vodka and snacks for the large tiger, setting the dishes beside him for him to enjoy while playing with the cubs.

Sabre got up, bumped noses with Nikita, and walked over to the others to try and get the party back up again. "Ok guys, let's keep on." She grinned but they were a little too wary of the alpha predator to simply 'keep on' like nothing was wrong, even though though the powerful and scary alpha was right at the other side of the room.

"So … mmhh … ," Aleksey began, getting by Sabre's side and dedicating her a nuzzle before addressing the other extra species. "You meet Sabre at contract, right? How was it?"

"Well, considering that she broke into the house it was only proper that we gave her a predator's welcome." Dumisa answered with a cheeky grin. "She snuck in and while Kroc was distracting her, I pinned her to the ground to let her know who was the alpha of the house." Dumisa grinned.

"We didn't know who she was; thought she was going to eat the little fox she abandoned at the house." Kroc said with a shrug, not very caring towards the aggressive first meeting. "All was well after sharing some meat the host made."

"And then it turned out of course that she was actually quite ill and almost died of a fever." Dumisa crossed his arms twisted his lips. "We had to take care of the pup because of that."

"But she entered heat then? Before I arrived?" Eztli cut in. "She smelled really nice."

"Really bothersome, you mean." Dumisa rolled his eyes. "Do you have any idea how close I came to banging her just to stop her stupid pheromones from choking me to death? I don't fancy drowning in horny pheromones, unlike some Extraspecies." Dumisa said with a bored huff. "As a friend I probably should of. Oh well, hindsight is always 20 20." He shrugged.

"Well, it did affect me too. And when we went to the aren..," Kroc started but Sabre tossed a piece of meat in his mouth and he automatically closed his jaws, effectively getting silenced as he stared at Sabre with a questioning intent but took the meaty gift.

"Well, that d*** het bothered me more than it did you anyways." Sabre puffed.

"I doubt that." Dumisa and Kroc said at the time time in annoyance.

"Well, I think that she's super soft and a really good cuddler. She always smelled really nice." Eztli said with a cheerful smile, finding himself purring at the warm memories. "She always let me cuddle with her. Oh, and sometimes, after she and Jaska mated, I was able to suckle from her while she was sleeping and too tired to wake up." He purred, making everyone pause and stare at him. "Sometimes Antain joined in too but I had to show him how to do it. And then we all just cuddled together. It was super nice." Eztli innocently smiled.

"You! What?!" Sabre screeched while Aleksey pulled her into a hug and growled at the jaguar.

Nikita ignored them, paying more attention to the little cubs than anyone else.

"Hm? What?" Eztli asked, staring at them with a confused smile, finding nothing wrong with what he did.

"You suckled from her in her sleep? Why?" Dumisa asked, sounding confused.

"Wait, mammals produce milk in their breasts, right?" Kroc pointed out to Dumisa, a fellow reptile.

"Ah. Yeah, mammals produce milk, reptiles don't." Dumisa answered, acting rather nonchalant about it. "Sometimes in mammal pregnancy they secrete milk after getting sexually excited." Dumisa explained with a heavy and bored sigh.

Sabre blushed deeply and pressed herself against Aleksey. "No, wait… I … I!"

"Oh don't even get _started_ with all the loud mating!" Reza heavily sighed, his voice sounding better than before thanks to the fruity alcohol Sabre gave him, or perhaps because he was getting too hammered to even notice it. Whichever was the case, his voice was raspy and struggling. "Every night it seemed like they were just banging away loudly in the host's room, sometimes with the door closed and sometimes not. The host was always a heavy sleeper but sound travels better under water so all I would hear is Sabre's moaning and Jaska's growling, and some roars and yowls along with that incessant slapping that just stopped before they growled or roared very loudy. What the hell was he slapping anyway? Why did it seemed to stop for periods?" Reza came up closer, emptying his bottle and grabbing another. "Well, it was weird anyways, so of course curious me decided to start watching their sessions and I cannot tell you how funny they looked! I'm going to tell you anyways what I remember, though." He laughed. "Mammal mating is the most hilarious thing with how the male gets up over the female and just thrust away without any sort of song or dance to go along with it. Those moans, growls and roars can't be taken for a song at all. And they get violent too, like ripping everything about with those claws, specially the sheets. And it probably hurts too because she always tried to murder him a bit after they finished a round it seemed, but he prevented that by biting her behind the neck and normally dropping himself over her … except when she was above and he on his back or in other weird positions, and even when they change positions it's weird, well, weirder. Especially how they change the positions while still going at it. Is that a mammal thing in general? I kept trying to look between their legs too. The male doesn't have a pouch so it grows and stays big for a while before getting lumpy like a sea slug. But it also got up quite easily and randomly just by the female being near. It's weird, and it lasts different times. But maybe that was because they get tired after the first few hours. Or can it be said instead that it just go es on with them taking small breaks?" He then took a small breath before continuing. "And do all mammals connect that way too? It seemed as if he couldn't or wouldn't get out? Does that means it's just as good? Or was he just too big? Or just that round part at the base is the big part. He looked way too big, and I thought she'd split in half but she didn't. So she expands inside maybe? Oh, but she did squirm a lot too, so maybe it was because it indeed was big?" Reza then drank more, slacking his dry throat. "They also had some very funny faces. Is that what 'extasis' looks like? Frankly it looked quite tedious with all those fluids and movement. A bit silly even … ," he waved his hand and then spit a bit of liquid. "Ooh! And since this other cat is the official mate, how do things change? Will it change? Well, he is kinda hurt, but I'm sure he can at least demonstrate the basics. Can we see it? Now? … can I finally see between Sabre's legs up close? Those times I saw her with the other stripped cat it was dark and a bit afar … Oh! I even tried to mate with her too, her heat was so strong even it affected me. Did I mention that before? I did? Oh well, it happened, and I was curious, but we were interrupted … can I try to now? And does it change things that Sabre is a noble too? A royal? Is mating is different then? I wouldn't know for mammals but for fish it's different. Oh, is it because she's a royal she was able to take Jaska's giant-,"

"Wait … royal?" Dumisa just barely managed to catch that part. "What do you mean?" He tasted the air while looking Sabre up and down in surprise. Her behavior did not dictate that she was a royal at all. She acted … well, not like an average jungle cat or even the average female. But royals didn't act like all normal Extraspecies, did they? He never would have guessed that she had royal blood.

"Sheela's a royale?" Kroc asked, tilting his head a bit and looking surprised.

"Oh, a plant Extraspecies confirmed it. I guess that's why she is weird. I wonder where that plant guy went." Reza shrugged. "Royales are some of the strongest Extraspecies there are; they don't call royales mythical Extraspecies for nothing but nobles are a close second." Reza explained, "for example, Sabre is a royal because of her pure bloodline and I am a noble because of my mostly pure bloodline. Makes sense? I think hoomans have the same concept, right?" He asked, pondering.

Sabre nervously shifted and took another sip of her drink while her tails began moving faster and her ears stood straight. "Is that even important? I mean, I'm just me, right?" She then shifted somewhat in place, anxious.

"Well, yes." Dumisa said, frowning at her lack of knowledge, "but royales are highly regarded as more pure blooded of their race which gives them perks and privileges, not all physical." Dumisa explained. "And that doesn't even includes the power they hold in courts or in battles." For a moment he crossed his arms. "I heard they are all on mythical levels."

"But what is a royal or nobles for Extraspecies?" Eztli asked, accommodating himself better in Dumisa's coils. "Is it like hooman royals? You said no when Reza came in, but how are they different then? Are they just tastier? There aren't Extraspecies countries either, so how is it?" The jaguar tilted his head, eyeing Sabre and waving at her.

"It refers to the purity in their blood; it's closer to the original and they are indeed on the highest level of power, even far more than nobles. " Reza explained with a grin. "The merfolk queen … she can't be compared in combat if she does battle anyone. Period." Reza puffed out somewhat, clearly proud. "They also originally created the council amongst themselves and made sure everyone was kept hidden from the hoomans. However, since they take care of all the big stuff so that normal folk doesn't worry and they also go head first in battles, science or anything really, they began being hunted down for various reasons, so eventually the chairs of the council were opened up to nobles, and then to common Extra species too who eventually opened the doors and made hoomans aware of our existence." Reza explained cheerfully. "By the end of the XIX century we simply couldn't keep ourselves hidden anymore. Even with all our powers. It took a lot of time to plan. "

"Hey, Reza, since Sabre had cubs with a mangy commoner, does that make her babies commoners or royals?" Dumisa curiously asked.

The fish stopped for a second to scratch his chin while looking towards the cubs. "All girls are probably royals. Bloodlines are carried on by females. The males...possibly? Maybe? It depends and varies but they should count as nobles..perhaps?

"What if she mated with a hooman? Would they still be royals?" Eztli asked from Dumisa's coils.

Reza twisted his head the other side. "When that happens … yes, they are royals because hooman blood is sort of neutral and the cubs come out like the mother. Also royals have the strongest genes."

"What if she mated with a crocodile?" Kroc asked, seeing Aleksey tense up.

"Mmhhh...Royal can procreate with anything basically, but the offspring is also the species of the royal. All other blood is too weak… or maybe we'd see small scaley cats … that would be funny." Reza continued while looking at the ceiling and giggling at whatever he was imagining.

"What about a Lamia?" Dumisa asked with a cheeky smirk, glancing over at Aleksey who growled at them from the corner where Jaska was.

"Hey where's Jackie?!" Sabre quickly shouted after regaining some sense from all that horribly embarrassing information and the incredibly compromising info on royals, a rumor that she wasn't even sure herself but that could be extremely dangerous.

"The host?" Dumisa crossed his arms. "She's being monopolized by that dinosaur." He huffed in annoyance, flicking his tail back and forth.

"Dinosaur? Jackie?" Sabre blinked, tilting her head and twirling her tail.

"The host made a bet with Longwei about being able to pet him into submission. They're outside doing it now." Kroc mentioned, also feeling anxious for the host's return. Dragons were no easy prey, that was for sure.

"Ahh, just that? Then she'll be back soon." Sabre shrugged her shoulders, not even worried about it.

"Bet between Mengyao Longwei and human?" Nikita spoke up, making everyone jump up slightly in tension while Sabre turned her attention to the old cat that so far had remained in his own little world of babysitting his adorable grand-nephews.

"It seems that way." Sabre looked up and shrugged again with a sly smile. "I wonder what she's winning in this bet."

Nikita incredulously stared at Sabre before he burst out into laughter, holding his gut and making the males in the room flinch. "You think human can pet dragon? This is joke." He laughed, appearing to still be in a good mood. "Human lucky Longwei not eat her."

"Maybe not a normal hooman, but Jackie can do it. Longwei will be belly up and enjoying those pets real fast." Sabre nodded, cautious yet sincere and just a tad bit proud. "I would bet myself on our host."

"Hmph. Longwei win, that for sure." Nikita laughed.

"Jackie Penske is a 'special hooman'. Not a bad hooman, at least far better than many others. Uncultured, ignorant and gullible but she can pet very well. And even if she or I don't know Longwei that well, I say she can win this bet." Sabre grinned at the old cat. "Would you like to make a bet too, uncle Nikita?"

"Let us make bet. I win, you come to Russia." Nikita smirked, clearly a little buzzed from the powerful and hard hitting drinks.

"Wait, you're not planning to go right away to Russia, are you?" Dumisa asked, sounding a little surprised.

"No, I'm not." Sabre shook her head and looked at her glass before eyeing all the guys before setting her gaze back on the council member. "As I told uncle Nikita, my kittens are too small and I'll wait at least for winter to end to travel with them. I don't want to endanger them or Aleksey in such a long travel. Plus I have to settle my business here first too." Sabre openly said, obviously not mentioning all the trouble and danger that could come if a supposedly bastet royal that came out of nowhere went to any of the Extraspecies capitals.

"Hmph, too bad." Nikita sighed before taking a large swig of the vodka beside him, pausing as he realized that his bottle was dry. He huffed in annoyance, rolling the bottle aside. "Still, if I win, niece and cubs come as soon as they older."

Sabre's eyes widened for a second. "You still want to bet?" She grinned before walking towards Nikita to extend her hand. "I accept the bet, uncle Nikita." She shook his paw. "But if Jackie achieves to pet the un-pettable dragon, you must let the other charges here finish their contract terms."

"Fine, then. But why leave other charges to host?" He asked, lowering his ears. "What else she do to them?"

Sabre winked at Nikita and smiled, briefly turning around to wink at the guys. "Because if the contracts are not completed then someone might argue that there is no proof on the contracts being as damaging given that there wasn't enough time to complete them. Plus, with this host's particular contract it's even more important, whether one of them goes on with the second part of it or not."

Nikita raised an eyebrow and then smiled in a wickedly pleased way. "I see niece be very smart. Plans can continue then. I take bet."

Everyone immediately became much more nervous, trying not to make direct eye contact with Nikita as the party continued on. It was much more dry, however, due to the unease everyone was inevitably feeling.

A familiar pattern of footsteps against the ground outside of the room made most of Jackie's charges perk up and stare at the door intently. Everyone became deathly silent, unable to hear a second pair of footsteps which would have been Longwei, alarming the charges. They held their breath, watching as Jackie opened the door with a victorious grin despite her clothes torn up and her skin covered in scratches which were lightly bleeding. Around her neck was a very tiny version of Longwei's dragon form, perfectly wrapped around her neck like a scarf and softly sleeping against her warm skin.

"Jackie! I knew you'd win." Sabre ran towards the host to give her a hug, purring and chuckling at the small dragon and even passing her finger over its head in a light petting. The dragon tightened its grip around Jackie's torso, making her flinch.

"You alright, sheela?" Kroc asked, looking over Jackie's artificial wounds.

"Hmph. What an uncouth serpent." Dumisa miffed in annoyance, staring at the greedy dragon clinging onto the host's neck with a soft thrumming in his throat.

"Is he friendly now?" Eztli asked, still a bit unsure about the dragon. "He doesn't looks as terrible as his big mean form."

Jaska, still crouching in his lonely corner, remained agape looking at the proud dragon. For such a dignified dragon to be pet into submission by a human of all creatures … it was nearly impossible for Jaska to believe what he was seeing.

Reza came on and grabbed Jackie's leg to be part of the conversations. Although his mouth kept on moving as if he was speaking, no sound came out and it took him quite a bit to notice such.

"Guys, guys relax! I'm just fine, really." Jackie lightly laughed as they fawned over her almost excessively. It was cute.

Nikita remained silent in the corner of the room, staring over the human as her charges flocked over to her as though responding to her invisible beckoning call. There was something wrong here; all of them were predators. They took orders from no one but themselves and yet all of them held this lowly human in high regard. And not only that but she took down Longwei with whatever technique she has. Nikita clicked his teeth together, finding himself becoming angry over the predator's reaction to their host.

"Yes, I know I'm pretty great," Jackie lightly chuckled with a sarcastic roll to her eyes, reaching up and gently gripping his body. "Now, can someone help me take him off? I think he'll cut an artery if I try." She nervously laughed, petting Longwei's back gently as he shifted around, trying to wrap around her neck a little tighter with his claws, sharp although tiny, were digging into her skin to keep him still and in place.

Nikita stood up and his mere terrifying presence commanded silence as he walked over to Jackie. He let out a loud roar that immediately scattered the charges in all different directions to escape the alpha in the room. Reza, being naturally slower on land, shoved Jackie over towards Nikita as a sacrifice while he flopped over to the water. Jackie barely managed to catch herself, looking up to see a terrifying white tiger in front of her.

"What you did to longwei, human?" He coldly demanded, his eyes burning angry holes through her head.

A frightened shiver riveted up Jackie's spine as she hesitantly backed away from him, feeling very intimidated by the large tiger. She did not, however, take a step back or attempt to retreat; the tiger would have caught her anyways pretty easily. "I pet him." Jackie answered, looking up at Nikita with a frown. "That is all I did to him. You can ask him yourself i-if you want once he wakes up."

"You think I believe a dragon would fall like this to some human's touch?" The tiger narrowed his eyes and sniffed the air, critically analyzing the shine on Longwei's scales. "I smell substance over his scales. What it is?"

"It's Dumisa's scale polish. When I pet Dumisa I usually use it." Jackie answered nervously.

"What?! You used my scale polish on that sorry excuse for a reptile?!" Dumisa demanded, flabbergasted before Kroc reached up, yanking the snake's head down and making him quiet his complaints.

"How this happen?!" Nikita demanded with an angry growl.

"I just explained it to you, all I did was pet him! And while I pet him he just kept getting smaller until he was, well, like this." She said, patting Longei's side.

"The host is just really that good at petting." Dumisa nervously laughed, coming to Jackie's side to stay beside her.

"The sheela can pet anything. No matter if furry or scaley." Kroc added with with a small blush on his face and also coming forward.

"It's not that I'm supporting what they are saying but when a hooman can pet so many predators, even a poisonous fish … maybe that hooman has a bit of skill." Reza typed in his phone from the back of the room where he had retreated to, right behind Jaska.

"Maybe she can pet you too." Eztli exclaimed with a happy smile at the older cat.

The entire room was stunned into silence, including Nikita who stared incredulously at the happy feline who hugged his host, cuddling against her. The other charges tensed up, terrified at the mere suggestion.

"Jackie is suuuper good at petting, you'll love it!" Eztli happily exclaimed, grabbing Jackie's wrists and holding up her little pudgy hands for Nikita to see.

Nikita remained silent, continuing to stare incredulously in dumbed silence. Eztli cheerfully stared at him while Jackie looked on in dread, honestly horrified at the idea of petting the fearsome white tiger. Chances were that he would most likely just bite her hands off.

A loud roar silenced everyone and echoed along the building, causing any random listener to cower in fear. Nikita's immense fury burned behind his bright blue eyes which borrowed holes through the host's head, making her lean away in fright.

All of Jackie's charges immediately retreated with a terrified scream, pressing up against the wall in horror. The only one who did not flee was Kroc and he was frozen in place, unable to move. He out of them all was stunned at such a powerful presence the tiger had; it was astounding the power an alpha had compared to others.

Eztli let out a small scared mew when he dashed all the way to hide behind Dumisa, who wa also cowering in the corner. However, the jaguar looked up to the great alpha with bright shining eyes of amazement. He wanted to someday be a strong alpha someday.

A low growl came from the back of the white tiger's throat, further scaring all nearby living things. Everyone in the room remained deathly silent, afraid to catch the tiger's attention and bring his fury upon themselves. Even the host found herself short of breath, too startled to dare breathe in the presence of such a pissed off Extraspecies. He was definitely terrifying.

"You would dare attempt to degrade me to such a degree that I would allow a filthy human to touch me?" Nikita asked with a fierce snark, his lip slightly raised in a sneer and exposing his long fang.

"Host, do that thing that you do and pet him!" Eztli called from his spot behind Dumisa.

"He would bite my hands off." Jackie admitted, seeing the burning anger in Nikita's eyes towards her. He literally looked like he could kill her right now.

Nikita let out a new roar, this one more angry, and at the same time, he unsheathed his long claws and raised them slowly towards the human.

Longwei twitched slightly, making Jackie perk up a bit before Longwei crawled off of Jackie's shoulders and floated over towards Nikita, rounding around behind him to more fully observe the situation.

Sabre gulped down and look around fast before she roared back at the white tiger and jumped right in front of Nikita. "Uncle Nikita! You are scaring the kittens!" Sabre puffed out and roared again, looking at the crying babies. "Look! You made them cry!" She huffed and began trying to calm her cubs down despite their trembling and quiet mews of distress. Nikita was indeed a scary alpha, but her cubs were her cubs and were scared and maybe even in danger, which meant she needed to appease the council member too fast or things could get real scary real soon.

Nikita hissed, quieting his growls before turning his glare to the host and then to Longwei, who was slowly beginning to make himself shift - painfully slowly. "You good, Longwei?"

"Just fine." Longwei stated calmly his deep normal voice despite his tiny form.

"Jackie, here!" Sabre quickly placed the tiger cubs in the host's arms before grabbing the other cubs herself. "Help me calm them down, host." Sabre said, gingerly taking Jackie away from Nikita and to the corner of the room where the kitten's pen was.

"O-Oh, yeah, sure." Jackie said, coming out of her frightened daze before she began petting the little babies to try and calm them down.

Longwei shook himself and looked around, pretending that he wasn't just hugging the hooman and savoring her body's heat after a thoroughly relaxing petting that left him admittedly helpless - not that he'd ever admit to it, of course.

NIkita, in all his calm and controlled anger, grabbed Longwei and then put him down. "Change back fast and explain what happened, Longwei. What human really do?"

Longwei started changing back, letting out a heavy sigh. "Nothing much, really. I had made a bet with the hooman - and lost." Longwei simply explained, clearly not desiring to go much further into details.

"A bet … da. I lost bet too." Nikita grunted, looking at Sabre cuddling the kittens but looking at him. The old tiger nodded, accepting his defeat with surprise. "How you lost, Longwei?"

"I miscalculated." Longwei admitted with a stiff and annoyed frown while forcing his change to be faster, which was faster than if he were to take on his bigge form. "But now I have a much better idea as to how she is controlling her charges."

Very slowly, the kittens began to stop crying and instead nuzzled into Jackie and Sabre respectively, softly breathing and seeming to be sleeping peacefully now that the immediate danger had passed.

Longwei grunted, speeding up his transformation during the time the kittens were calmed down before he was in his human form once again, calm as can be.

Suddenly, Antain came forward to the dragon and pulled on his tail, walked around him and then meowed loudly while raising his little arms to get noticed. With a small shiver he shook himself and held his breath, inflating his cheeks while his foxy features began disappearing, leaving him looking like a little human kid.

Everyone sucked in a collective gasp, eyes wide as they stared at the human looking Antain as he looked up at Longwei and Nikita with his little fox eyes sparkling in excitement, clearly looking for praise from the older men. Nikita and Longwei stared down at Antain, speechless as the fox laughed and giggled, reaching up to Nikita to be picked up.

"Antain!" Sabre screamed, terrified as Antian showed his secret to the most hooman hating Extraspecies possible but unable to reach him immediately while holding her other cubs in her arms, which she began placing over Jackie.

"Ah~ seems the secret is out." Dumisa heavily sighed with a bored shrug. "Before you freak out, Antain is an Extraspecies cub and hoomans conducted experiments on him to make him be able to shift into a hooman. Very sad, really. Bad hoomans killed his parents so Sabre found him and took care of him." Dumisa briefly explained with a shrug, hiding how nervous he was.

Nikita looked down at the cub who was reaching up to him, no expression on his face.

"Tipped Kita!" Antain excitedly giggled, jumping up more and more excitedly while reaching up to Nikita with his eyes shining excitedly.

"A**hole humans dared to harm cub." Nikita growled while lifting up Antian and cuddling him as the cub began returning to his real foxy form, making Antain purr and nuzzle against his adopted grandpa as everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"This matter should be researched thoroughly." Longwei said with a cold frown, leaning over and gently tugging on Antain's ears. "I was not aware hoomans have become this advanced. This is not good." Longwei growled angrily before his phone rang. He checked the message, heavily sighing. "The meetings are set for tomorrow, Nikita. All of the representatives have been contacted." Longwei informed Nikita.

"Da." Nikita said to Longwei and began walking towards Sabre, placing Antian in her arms. "I know hurt. He be fine. We'll research." After a final pet to Antian's head, he turned away and left the room with Longwei in tow.

The dragons stopped at the entrance and spoke to the charges. "As per protocol states, we have contacted your proper representatives. You'll speak to them tomorrow." And with that, he was off.

" … did he say representatives?" Kroc asked aloud, sounding perplexed.

"F***," Dumisa angrily hissed, glaring at the door angrily with his teeth tightly clenched together.

.

.

.

 **Chaos-dark-lord: Hello everyone. Yes, I know we took a bit long to get the chapter done (poor Reza, he really spoke for a long time XD) but life happens and the game too. We are still working on it and its not a fan hearted attempt. It's a full indie game (yay for my MBA in information sciences and systems XD ). Also, since we were contacted about how it's coming I'm letting you all know about it.**

 **So far:**

 _ **-The game is progressing fine on the technical side and the test demo is already functional for windows 32/64 bits, mac and linux along a distribution for android and IOS on their way.**_

 _ **-The barebone structure is set up in general and we are adding more. Its standard resolution is set for 1080*720.**_

 _ **-Some audio effects have been added**_

 _ **-The character selection is functional**_

 _ **-The matrixes for animations have been programmed**_

 _ **-The whole of chapter 1 is basically ready and we are editing the needed text for the rest of the game (along with working on the story fic itself).**_

 _ **-The game is coming out in english and we plan on making a version in spanish and maybe french too later on.**_

 **HOWEVER... on the graphic design part we aren't that advanced (There are no pretty drawings yet). Since we are still accepting designs and suggestions for the characters from anyone who'd like to contribute we haven't defined any of these yet. And if anyone is a professional artist we would like to ask if you are taking commissions. … Now we are on it, we request help for music too.**

 **I also have a couple questions for our fans that will help in the development and optimization.**

 _ **1- Which system you use more or would like the game for? PC, MAC, Android, Iphone or other.**_

 _ **2- What is your language/country?**_

 _ **3-Is there anything you'd like to know?**_

 **Peeko** : … I don't get a lot of this computer talk _**(Chaos: programming is covered)**_ , but we need help with designing and coloring backgrounds and characters. I have some ideas and outlines of scenes and characters ready but not enough skills to create finished colored backgrounds (sadly ;-;). And with school coming in full throttle I won't have a lot of time to work on them. So who else would like to work on the game with us, designer wise? Please PM me and Chaos so we can further discuss things, thanks!


	36. Chapter 36

In a private room on the human side of the snow lodge away from the Extraspecies side, Jackie sat in a small lounge room holding a cup of undrunken tea in one hand while Ms. Smith, all tense and stern, sat opposite of her.

It had already been 20 minutes since the cup of the coordinator had been dry but the woman didn't seem to notice it. Instead, she just kept filling Jackie's teacup mindlessly again and again while half talking about how good of a host Jackie had been so far but all the while she had also been chewing on her lip and clearly remained lost in her own thoughts.

" … Ms. smith, are you doing alright?" Jackie asked, feeling nervous about Ms. Smith's prolonged silenced and random praises. Usually she was very vocal but her silence was deafening at the moment.

"Wha-at? Oh, yes, yes." Smith nodded, looking down, then stopped and inhaled deeply. "No, actually no." She took off her dark glasses and looked straight at Jackie, finally deciding to address the core issue. "I did not expect there would be council members in this place, much less those particular council members."

"Y-Yeah?" Jackie asked, nervous. "But who are they, really? I know Nikita is a council member from what I've gathered and Longwei is like his helper and a sort of member or operative too. But are they that … unnerving?" Jackie asked, trying to find the right word. Nikita was definitely unnerving; scary for sure. But why would Smith be scared of a cat like him? She didn't seem to be scared of anything but right now she seemed to be very nervous.

Smith took a moment to breath before answering. "I was expecting we'd be away from the council here so we could lay low for some days; not that Longwei would let his team handle New York and then come in vacation to such a remote place that also hosts humans. This place was the last place I would have expected them to be and that's why we rushed to get here." The coordinator pinched the bridge of her nose and took another deep breath, finally noticing her empty cup and serving herself some more tea that she didn't drink. "Nikita Sviet … the infamous white fang of winter ... he is far more scary and powerful that you may think. He is a council member, the ultimate representative for the bastet race and a very powerful and known character on his own. He has fought in every major war of the last century and even before that. He also just happens to be Jaska's family and he, let's just say, dislikes humans very much." Her tea wasn't hot anymore, but it was still warm and she finally took a sip before continuing. "Mengyao Longwei is Nikita's aide and a sort of advisor and high operative for the council. In fact he is the only dragon that decided to involve himself with the common affairs, more or less. He is considered a noble, all dragons are, and he is as disapproving of humans as most of the council." After leaving her cup in the table , the coordinator looked at Jackie straight in the eyes. "And they found us in not the best of moments or circumstances."

"S-So what does that mean for us?" Jackie asked, sounding very nervous and almost scared of the answer. "Is the program going to be alright after everything that's happened?"

"I really doubt it." Smith frowned. "In fact … this may be very bad for all the programs. Nikita has been trying to stop the programs and he has the support of around half of the council itself if not more. And we just gave him ammunition." She left her cup on the table. "And worse of all, this is personal. Not even I know all the details, but I can tell you they have valid and personal reasons to dislike humans. Nikita's family was hurt by humans and he isn't one to let something like that slip, much less now that a female and cubs that he now considers part of his family are involved."

"B-But why would he want to end the programs? Aren't the programs a good thing?" Jackie asked, alarmed as her heart started beating faster in fright. "The programs prevent incidentes between humans and extra species!"

"Yes, the programs are the most successful form of integration so far." Smith allowed herself a small smirk of pride but her lips quickly turned down. "But if you think about it, why are there so few? Although Extraspecies aren't as numerous as humans, or so we think, they aren't that few either. Well, some of their species and breeds are, but even so, why are programs so few in general? Just a few thousand in any given country, barely a few hundreds at best in others."

"S-So what about it? The programs are pretty new so that's normal, right?" Jackie asked, frowning.

"The programs are new in this country. But they have been around for some years in the rest of the world." Smith looked towards the window. "I think they are cautious. Maybe they have been testing us all along. And they are also prideful." She and uncrossed her legs. "Why should they integrate with humans and not the other way around? And if you think about it, why are there no reverse programs with humans entering Extraspecies cities as charges?" Smith looked serious. "And they have all the right to be so cautious given how humans have treated the world or even other humans through history. I'm sure that if some of them could avoid humans altogether they would, but the programs are also a chance to learn about each side and to learn to coexist and accept each other."

Not knowing exactly what to ask or respond made Jackie just skip to whatever involved her. " … s-so what's going to happen to my charges? Is the program here going to go under?" Jackie asked, mortified. Was she going to lose her charges over this?

"After seeing the success of the programs in the rest of America, the US government wants to have successful programs so their strained relationships with the Extraspecies and even other countries improve. They obviously don't want to admit it but the isolation idea has been a big mistake, especially when it came down to the economy. Extraspecies have their own technologies and secrets, they also took over many resources, so establishing good relations is a must, or it should be." The coordinator crossed her arms. "However, from the Extraspecies side, why would they establish any real commercial relationship with us if we can't even hold some of their people safe for a small period of time?" Smith tapped her fingers over her arm. "More so when the attempt to establish contracts in this country have been filled with incidents. You are the prime example of it, sadly. And as things are right now, it's very probable that your contract, if not all contracts, are going to be cancelled. It could be a matter of days, weeks or months, but I don't think your contracts stipulated time is going to be completed."

Jackie felt her heart dropped into her gut. She could lose her charges over this? Feeling so helpless about all this political crap, Jackie's eyes began to water before she began crying. "I don't want to lose any of them! Th-They're like my family, Smith! H-How, how can they just cut my contract short like that?"

Smith couldn't even look apologetic. "Jackie … about your contract. There is something I forgot to tell you, and it might serve for something, so-."

However, the coordinator couldn't continue. The door banged open and certain leopardess came in, looking alert around the room before locking eyes with Jackie. Her fur fluffed up, alarmed at the host's tears.

"HOST!" Sabre huffed, running straight to Jackie and hugging her while huffing at Smith.

Jackie turned to Sabre and tightly hugged her back, crying into the clouded leopard's fur.

"What did you did to Jackie, Smith? Are you trying to use her for some plan again?" Sabre puffed her fur and narrowed her eyes at the coordinator while her tail lashed. Instinctively she gave a lick to Jackie's hair before she grabbed the host by the shoulders and made her stand. "Well, I'm taking the host with me now." And without waiting for a reply, Sabre pulled Jackie away fast.

"W-w-where are we going?" Jackie hiccuped out, lifelessly following her.

"I'm taking you to a place where you'll feel better." Sabre ran straight to the buffet on the human side. When she saw the small line of people waiting to enter she narrowed her eyes and groaned. As soon as she heard a new wail from Jackie, she roared menacingly, catching the people's attention, some of which jumped aside, a chance she took to move forward in the line until she was at the front, where she quickly gave Smith's room number for the bill before Sabre pushed Jackie to one of the private boots that had a big window to see a beautiful snowy landscape.

"S-Sabre, you can't just force yourself into line like that." Jackie barely blubbered out, crying too hard to be understood clearly.

Sabre then rushed to fill a couple big plates straight out from the dessert section that she brought back, then she went back again for a few more dishes before she stole a couple jars of whatever beverage was in those, which happened to be coffee and hot chocolate.

Jackie just stared at the quickly growing pile of desserts mainly chocolate related, unable to take her eyes off of the large pile while tears spilled over her eyes.

Sabre seated herself in front of Jackie and then stood up to go and get some meat from the buffet for herself, but it was a small plate of whatever she found first . Quickly she took a bite and then made a scowling face. "Your seasoned meat is far better than this, host. Now drink some chocolate and then you tell me what happened."

Jackie huffed and puffed and tried to wipe away her tears but kept crying, completely ignoring the sweet presents the kitty had brought her. "Nikita is going to take you away from me! All of you, all of the charges!" She wildly sobbed. "It's not fair, why would he take you away? We're like a family!" She cried.

"Wait, what!?" Sabre blinked in surprise. "Jackie!" She grabbed the host by the head and pulled her forward, looking her in the eyes "Drink some of that hot chocolate and then explain. Now." She ordered with a growl.

Jackie drank some of the hot chocolate, trying not to cry before putting it down and trying to wipe off her eyes. "Smith said that Nikita wanted to take the programs down an-and because of me, he's going to take the programs in USA and America away." She cried, covering her eyes and sobbing. "It's all my fault! If only I was a better host!"

"Eh?" Sabre flickered her ears and though it. "America is a big continent with more than 30 countries and most of the countries all have a nice set up with the programs. It might fail in USA though." She noted before she shoved a macaron in Jackie's mouth. "Eat, Jackie. You need the sugar. And 1, Nikita is not going to force your contract cancelled. 2, it's not your fault, and 3, I told you, you are not a bad host."

"B-But Smith said that you all could be taken away from me in weeks, if not days from now because of all this!" Jackie cried, trying to munch on the macaron and chew it properly despite huffing and puffing, spilling crumbs everywhere.

"Nha." Sabre dismissed her and then put a mug of hot chocolate in Jackie's hand. "Nikita promised he'd let the contract finish its terms, so don't worry." She winked. "We are not going anywhere."

"Y-Y-You promise?" Jackie asked, her eyes glistening in tears as she shoved a triple chocolate muffin into her mouth.

"Of course I do!" Sabre then stood up to give Jackie a hug. "Now start eating sweets and get better. We are going to stuff ourselves here and then I'm taking you for a walk, then we are going to the saunas and then the Spa. I left enough milk bottles with Aleksey for a few hrs."

Jackie stared at Sabre before she started crying again before suddenly hugging Sabre tightly, sniffing back her tears.

"Why you crying now, host? Jackie?" Sabre proceeded to accept the hug and return it, nuzzling Jackie's forehead and barely resisting the urge to drag the host to the den so she could comfort her better. Instead, she went to get more desserts and placed them in front of Jackie as a soothing gift.

"B-B-Because I love you!" Jackie cried out loudly, gaining quite a few stares from passing customers.

"Eh?" Sabre blinked and flickered her ears, her tail suddenly stopping any movement in her confusion. After a couple seconds, she sat down and tilted her head, just quietly looking at the strange hooman.

"I-I can't stand the thought of any of you leaving me. I almost completely forgot that you were just charges and I was a host, you're all the family I never had." Jackie admitted, barely gasping in air as she sobbed wildly. She could hardly believe just how deeply the charges had wormed into her heart; they did so subtly and carefully without her noticing before it was too late to try and pretend she didn't care for them so deeply. She felt like her world was falling apart and her charges might leave because of Nikita. She wasn't ready to let go of them yet.

"Oh … uhmmmmm." Sabre felt her cheeks reddening and a deep purr rumble in her throat, her own eyes starting to water. The host thought of them all like family? She had never admitted that before. But considering Jackie's own family life, it made sense that she would want to replace those awful memories with new 'family members'. Sabre slowly approached and hugged Jackie once more, ready to quickly run to the den now. The poor depressed rock of a host clearly needed cuddling, however, before she could take her away, a low deep growl made her stop.

"Family? No make me laugh." Nikita's gruff voice cut through the emotional air like a knife. Sabre turned, seeing Nikita standing by the table with a displeased growl.

"Uncle Nikita!?" Sabre looked surprised at the older tiger being here of all places.

As if sensing her question, the council member answered. "I, as bastet representative, come look for Sabre Neofelis for important interview. The conference will be ready soon."

"An interview? But you already interviewed me." Sabre lowered her ears sideways in displeasure. Now she was going to have to be very careful when remember all she told him, much, even if not lies, weren't exactly the full truth either.

"Da, but this long distance conference very important. Now come niece." He said and stood up, waiting for Sabre.

"Right now?" Jackie asked with a needy frown, still holding onto Sabre and not planning to let go any time soon.

Nikita just so slightly narrowed his eyes at the human. "Extraspecies matters not business for humans. And you, all the charges under your contract will be on hold until our investigation of you and your place deems it safe for them to return."

"What?!" Jackie shouted, mortified. "O-Of course my house is safe for them! You can't legally hold them … c-can you?" Jackie asked in horror. Could Nikita really hold them from her like that?

Sabre stood up and hesitated, then she gave Jackie a big hug and stepped in front of her and placed her hands over her hips while puffing out to face the living legend of a council member. "Uncle Nikita, I'm glad for your concern, but this host and her place is safe enough. I'm sure you are going to send Longwei to check it out, and to ensure all, I'm also going to send someone you know and trust before I head back there with my cubs. Is that alright?" She grinned with confidence.

Nikita stared at her with a frown. "Oh? And who that?" He asked, curious.

The leopardess crossed her arms and tilted her head lightly. "A specialist that is well versed in securing an area and detecting or locating dangers, also someone that has a personal stake in this and that will ensure the charges safety." She then hugged herself, blushing and wiggling in place. "The most wonderful, handsome, courageous, valiant, strong, smart, caring, determined and wonderful mate I … ," she caught herself and then fakely coughed. "Aleksey."

"Hmph. Physically weak." Nikita huffed in displeasure, flattening his ears sideways. "He too hurt to carry out mission."

"But he won't be alone. Longwei will be there too." Sabre grinned, making her point. "Besides, I wouldn't trust just anyone else for checking the place where my cubs will visit, and I would be safe if Aleksey says it's safe." She then scratched the back of her head. "It's not that I don't trust Longwei but an extra pair of eyes is always better and Longwei is not used to being surrounded by so many hoomans nearby, whereas Aleksey was specially trained for it."

Nikita frowned, pondering it for a few moments. "Why not other operative? Why Aleksey? He need constant medical attention." Nikita argued.

"Because he is my mate and he said he'll come with me there. My own contract term hasn't ended yet either and I have business there, plus my cubs will be safe will all the charges around, so Aleksey should get used to the place too and all needed arrangements and remodels for his treatment there should be made." Sabre looked serious and worried. "Neither he nor my cubs can travel far yet, and we can't risk cutting the contracts or it would be bad for all your plans uncle, so that's the best solution." She then looked aside with very bright and almost watering eyes while taking her hand to her chest. "And we don't want to get separated again either."

"Hm … fine, Longwei and Aleksey go, if he agree." Nikita said with a light nod.

Without warning, Sabre jumped over Nikita to give him a hug, before the incredibly masculine scent made her let go and take a couple steps back with a bit of a daze.

"Now come, we leave." Nikita blinked while his lip twitched upwards just so slightly, taking Sabre's shoulder and directing her away from the host.

"R-Right now? Why not later? Sabre and I w-w-were going to go to the spa." Jackie said, catching Sabre's paw as her eyes glistened, clearly looking unusually needy and desperate.

"We'll go after the interview and all." Sabre smiled and pushed a plate of sweets in front of Jackie before quickly giving her a lick on the cheek. "Meanwhile enjoy all the desserts." She closed her eyes towards Jackie and went away.

Sabre offered a glance back at the host, seeing her eyes watering and heartbroken expression but Nikita kept her from turning around to return to the host.

"Important Extraspecies much excited to see you, Sabre." Nikita spoke, keeping up a brisk pace back down the hall once they were in a lone corridor towards a private and secure meeting room in the facility.

"Important Extraspecies?" Sabre blinked, getting worried.

"Da, royals." Nikita explained, sure that no one was near enough to hear them before they arrived to the programmed interview. "As bastet representative I sent notice of lost royal found and they wanted to the meet as soon as possible."

"Wa-wait, what!?" Sabre stopped in her strides, her eyes wide and her fur puffed. "But Uncle Nikita, I don't even know if I am a real royal or not."

"You are. Blood analyzed and results … very surprising." He looked over at her and then opened the door to the room.

The conference was set, there was a place for sabre and in front of it, in a 'U' distribution were a series of black disks on the floor that looked as if they were plates with some sort of black-blueish goo in their middles, in the middle of it all, a bigger plate held some silver substance that looked more liquid than solid. At the back, the curtains were drawn and there no telecommunications equipment that Sabre could see.

Nikita closed the door behind himself and locked it. "This very private conference. We can't risk interception, so we'll use special hologram projection. You know not Extraspecies language that well but common words are safe and posture can be seen even if scents not, ultrasound also can be sent."

Sabre gulped down and nodded feeling herself almost trapped. The Extraspecies language could give her away, after all, it was a mix of readable postures, infrasounds, scents and common words, although languages were used normally at the same time to convey greater detail. However, this was some technology she had never seen or heard about, not to mention she was going to met some of the most secretive bastet and influential Extraspecies.

"I start conference. Worry not, they know basis of you, you need not speak different." Nikita said and let her to stand behind the central disk. He then advanced to give a growl at the disk while placing his hand over it. The machine emitted a couple flickers of light over his face and then beeped, after which, the other disks vibrated in place for a second before litting up and created a beam of dusty light above them. A moment later, the central disk began vibrating and shoved more dusty grey light all around the room, moving it from floor to ceiling and then back; but by the second time it did so the figures of various bastet began appearing over the other disks.

Sabre did her best to remain unmoving. There were some very old cats and some younger ones appearing to be older than her, on the younger part, situated at the back were the young males, a snow leopard, a king cheetah, a black leopard and a lion along with a very young cougar and middle aged but mauled female leopard. Closer to her were the older ones, a one eyed lioness, a small lynx that barely held himself leaning on a cane, an older leopardess, two female jaguars, a mature amur leopard ,and closest to her right, a really , REALLY old tigress.

Sabre stared at them all, admittedly very nervous about saying the right thing to them. These were the legitimate royals of the bastets, meanwhile she was manmade. She let out a shaky sigh, standing up straight, waiting for them to speak first.

"So this is the new-old blood thought lost?" The amur leopard asked leaning slightly forward.

"Seems … to … be … so." The lynx spoke oh so slowly between labored breaths. "More … than … than …, than … we … could … hope."

"Mmhh …, " the lioness narrowed her eyes and tapped her claws on her crossed arms, contemplating.

"She's quite young." The young cougar remarked with a cheeky smile.

"You are younger than her, cub." The middle aged leopardess remarked, also looking at the clouded leopard before turning to the old tigress. "Is her blood really that pure?"

The old tigress eyed Sabre and then nodded slowly without uttering a single word. " She … is. I … can … … tell ... just ... by ... looking … at ... the ... young ... kitten." The elderly tigress wheezed out as the others patiently waited for her to finish.

Meanwhile, Sabre really had no idea what to say, if to say anything or what was this meeting supposed to be about, and the fact that the mighty Nikita wasn't even speaking was slightly unsettling. In fact, she quickly stole a glance toward the council member and noticed that he was standing firm and unmoving in the background as the royals chatted to one another. So she decided to remain quiet and just observe them argue.

Their chattering went on among many growls and noises, even farts from the old lynx or tigress that feel asleep and everyone waited for her to wake up again, although the lioness started growling at everyone and the guys around Sabre's age kept eyeing her weirdly. Still, they went on talking.

"So we are going to recognize her officially? It's been a long time since we did … do we need to go all formal with rituals?" The young cougar asked.

"Probably, except that we are supposed to be a secret. Practically no one knows we still exist." The lioness answered.

"Then we'll need to ask some other race to recognize her officially too, and then she can also be used as communication with other courts, but who?"

"The merfolk have already accepted her. It seems someone of noble blood within the royal guard noticed her royal blood and informed his queen. Everyone already knows by now." The cougar sighed and facepalmed. "You know how they are with gossip, by now half of the extra species around the world will know."

"Then…. they will…. wait…. for us …..to contact... them... and... Start... start... negotiations … I think... 'that' ... council... member... can... take... care... of...of... those." The lynx noted, slowly and between haggard breaths while pointing his cane to Nikita, who just barely nodded, still not speaking.

"We...accept...her. I..want...to...see...our...kin...survive." The old tigress said, immediately shutting everyone up before almost falling asleep for a second and waking up with the sound of her own snore.

"Thats fine, we'll discuss all details and plans later." The snow leopard exhaled and then waved his hand, then his hologram disappeared. One by one, all the bastet began saying their goodbyes and disconnecting till Sabre and Nikita were alone again.

Sabre stared at the empty room, blinking in confusion. " … was that it?" She asked in confusion, turning to Nikita. "They … they didn't even talk to me." She said, surprised. "What was this about?"

"Da, they like that. They take decisions, you'll learn too..or at least you'll get used to it." Nikita said, placing his big hand on her shoulder and giving a small squish. "Now we leave room so other charges can have self interviews with their representatives."

"Oh … okay." Sabre said, still weirded out.

"Think not of it. They accepted you and bloodline with you, all fine. Mermaid gossip hard to manage now but I deal with it, you can rest." Nikita smiled; or just attempted to. She couldn't tell.

Sabre nodded, slightly more unsure about all this, but at least she was sure of something. After she checked on her cubs, she was going to go find the host again and would cuddle the hell out of Jackie no matter how much chocolate she needed to stuff inside the host's mouth to make her feel better.

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Nikita stayed in the room, starting the transmission to the merfolk representative who had been contacted previously. In this case, with the charge being a noble, protocol stated that it was the head of the charge's family, and that meant Reza's mother and sister.

As Sabre stepped out of the room she nearly stepped on Reza's fin. Her instincts made her muscles jolt and leapt away in an exaggerated fashion before she whipped around, eyeing him with startelement before seeing the host lying on his back and barely avoiding the poisonous spikes, strung out in a chocolate coma.

"Oh, hello my royal kitty? Are you fine? Good thing you remembered to be careful of my fin, are you done with your interview? What was it about?" He asked with a cheerful smile as Jackie sadly whined. Reza twisted his arm back, petting the mopey host on the head to help calm her.

"Reza? What are you doing with the host?" Sabre asked, startled to see Jackie in the state she was in; tear streaked with chocolate smudges on her face.

"Oh, I went to check on the host since she hasn't pet me in a while. Have I told you how good it actually feels to me when you licked my ears or when the host sucked on them? I'd like you to suck on my ear too, it should feel weird but good with that tongue of your. Anyways, I saw the host slurping so much chocolate straight out of the chocolate fountain, not of the best quality - which reminds me I should prepare some desserts every so often - and she looked so pathetic and sad and terrible that I wanted to show her to my mother. She's my line's representative, so I guess it will be her, and my little sister as the next one in line is probably going to be there too. But, anyway, I wanted to show them my host while she looked so adorably pathetic." Reza explained with a cheerful grin.

Sabre stared at the host, realizing how politically bad it would be for someone in power to see the host in her current depressed state. With quick reflexes she snatched Jackie up and tossed her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I'm taking the host away to … um … rest, because she needs it. Go ahead to your interview while I cuddle the host." She said, starting to trot away quickly.

"Wait, hey! You're going to cuddle with the host? Let me come too!" Reza excitedly shouted, trying to catch up to them but Sabre picked up the pace, quickly running away with the host.

"Your interview ready." Nikita suddenly stepped in front of Reza and the merman gasped before rushing inside away from the alpha. Once inside, Reza pouted, letting Sabre escape with the host for the time being, but quickly regaining his smile when he saw a hologram of his mother and sister in the middle of the room. Reza noticed that his sister was wearing one of the clothing samples he had sent her from Sabre's line, something he very much would like to have himself at the moment because his scales were getting dry in his normal clothes.

As soon as he stood over the disk, he knew his hologram was projected at the other side of the line, and so, he took a deep breath at the same time than his mother, and then both of them began talking at the same time.

"Hello mother, it's been awhile since I ran away … sort of, with your permission. You wouldn't believe how cramped the trip was to the host's house! Well, my current host, the other hosts … like 5 of them I think, were stuffy too, they were entertaining but not that fun, well not all of them but in any case they weren't as fun as my current household, land predators are funny creatures. Also, I felt like Baba inside his little tiny carrier was quite stuffy too- Baba is the name of the forever living fish I have, the one my lil guppy of a sister gave, that thing with red scales; by the way, it was named by a little fluffy kit named Antain, who was adopted by a … not sure what the name of her race is, there are way too many but just know that she is a feline and she's the royal bastet I told you about, and that kit is not of her race, but he acts like it, and he vibrates and purrs when you carry him, also he likes knives and I'm teaching him how to use them, well, not the cooking knives, but the throwing ones. Anyway, the car ride was pretty cramped but I was looking forward to being a charge for a fairly nice host, who's name is Jackie and she bought me this _really_ nice set of knives so I could make lots of yummy sushi and sashimi, and oh that bastet, not the other ones, the royal one, she likes sushi and knows the different types and all, but anyway, I arrived at the house which was a pretty tiny looking house so I was doubtful they would have been able to fit all of the necessary tanks inside and I was suspecting that maybe they sold some of the extra tubing maybe before Smith dragged me up the stairs to her home, but it wasn't that small, it was actually the whole building, well, 2 connected buildings and one is the host's, although not all the building was for me, still it was bigger than all the other one's I've been while in the program - it smelled weird inside but a nice kind of weird, the kind of weird I hadn't ever smelt before then since it was all land Extraspecies. Funny, I guess being other aquatic Extraspecies didn't work that well, they didn't know how to be around a noble that wasn't acting like a noble in general. Anyways, about the land predators they were all super nice and looked like they wanted to fight me as a nice welcoming so I of course obliged and made the host wheel me to my room and the first to lunge at me was a fun but anger filled saltwater crocodile named Kroc who murdered his father and then blamed the dragon for it not that long ago, Now that I think about it, he wasn't the one to exactly blame the council's dragon, but it ended like that anyways, and then Smith made us go to the Snow lodge where we officially met Nikita, who is a super scary white tiger from Russia, you know, the famous one? I didn't meet him in any meeting when I was still a guard, but he way scarier than all gossips and legends say, really, funny thing because he is a commoner, well, even more impressive, he is extra scary, far more than most nobles I know off. Anyway, so I poisoned him, the crocodile, and then squirted water at the little fox in a playful manner but the mama got super mad at me and tried attacking me - the kitty mama - and then, since I was curious about their bodies, I made lots of yummy sushi and overfed all of them so I could poke at their paws and look in between their legs. Mammals look very funny in between their legs you know especially when they're connecting together like when I saw the tiger, one of the other cats at the house, and I know he is a tiger because of the stripes, going at it with the … clouded leopard, I think? YES, the royal kitty, she is the clouded leopard-cat-bastet-thingy one, but for being a leopard she has few spots in her fur, more like bands, a mix of everything, and her fur color changed once she became bigger in fluff for winter. Anyway, it's not the white tiger it's a different one, you know, the long lost nephew of the white one that Smith kept secret from the big and scary white one - oh, both of them actually, the super hurt one and the mental one, I think it was the mental one at the house, yeah, definitely the mental one. He wasn't very good at being a trained operative since he got caught and brainwashed or whatever and his brother blew something up, himself probably. It seems that mammal special forces are super below even my skill level up here on land, although I think it is because they were trained by hooman special forces and not extra species one, that would explain it, speaking of which I tried to murder the mental tiger and make him into tiger sushi to make everyone feel better since he went feral at some point, he even attacked the female cat he was mating with, that is like super bad I heard, some sort of taboo and very punishable. That was before Kroc murdered his own dad but the host threw a sparkly weird fun ball into the room and I forgot about murdering him, the striped menace cat I mean, and speaking about the host, she's pretty cool, I like her a lot since she bought me the best sushi plate set ever and that makes her a good host considering my last few hosts which wouldn't even buy me a decent knife so I ended up using them as target practice. Is that one host out of his coma yet or is he a 'vegetable' now? I think hoomans refer to people who become brain dead vegetables but I really don't understand it, you can't boil them like vegetables; oh! And speaking of vegetables I've been trying lots of new yummy recipes thanks to the host and all the fresh ingredients I have in my pool which are all so fresh that they twitch when I pour soy sauce over them but since it freaked out my past hosts whenever I did that I decided not to show the host that but then again, maybe it would cheer her up considering how sad she's been looking lately and when she's sad she overeats. Oh, I wonder if I could go look between her legs now while she's in a food coma." Reza spoke, glancing back at the door in thought in his first pause through this entire conversation before starting up again, "but then again at one point I was able to scale the hair off of her legs which felt pretty good against my fingertips, not to mention it feels _amazing_ when she or Sabre sucks on my ears, it feels so good that it feels like I am peaking at an exceptionally higher rate when they do that me. Oh, speaking of which, cats have super weird spikes on their tongue that feel super good on my ear too. I wonder if her babies have that same textured tongue and if I'd be able to trick them somehow into nibbling on my ear for my own entertainment but I've noticed that Sabre doesn't even like me being near her cubs which is super mean, so I'll be a good uncle, and she said we are uncles to those cubs even though we aren't even related, and I'll teach them to use knives and all stuff, I'm starting with the adopting one because he is bigger and can hold a knife, he is still bad at aiming but he is improving, so Sabre will soon let me play with the others. Maybe she is nervous. Where you ever nervous about us when we were younger, mother? I think not, but I like your approach. Oh, right back on topic, so anyway while I was touching between their legs back at the house the host came to talk to me for a bit and that's when she offered to buy me new knives, so we left and went to the store but while at the store the snake caused problems and made the jaguar super scared since he thought that underneath malls were secret sex dungeons that he would be dragged off to if he was out of sight of his host and was super scared after that. And once we got home the snake bit the host and injected her with poison but while she was healing I wasn't allowed to cuddle with her even though everyone else was cuddling with her and it looked super nice and warm, so I think I'm going to start monopolizing the host more as revenge for not letting me cuddle enough with them before and cuddling also feels super nice and warm! In the car ride over to the snow lodge I was able to cuddle with Kroc and Jaska super comfy but then they rudely locked me in the tank so after the truck crashed I smashed through the glass and jumped onto them to hug them some more but then the driver was dead so Kroc carried us all up the hill and onto the road before taking us down the super cold road and the crocodile was moving so slow that even I would be able to outpace him on land before a large dragon, the council's one, the one called Longmai came and picked us up before taking us to the snow lodge, and we were flying, well, he was flying and carrying us all in his mega big claw, but there was no safety nets or protection or anything, and when we got there, well, here we found out that Sabre ran away and had kittens in a cave during a snowstorm while we were being checked out in the medical room but the big fat snake who could have stopped her decided to nap instead of help with anything so all we could do was wait for her to return so we can take a look at her fluffy babies. Have you ever felt something fluffy before? Not slimy and plush like a sea slug, but fluffy? It's a pretty incredible material that is super hard to get the right feel of since we are naturally wet and slimy but after drying off my hands I can really tell the difference in delicious texture which feels amazing against my skin, you should try it! It's super nice but you'll have to come out of the water for that if you want to. OH! Speaking of water, the water in New York is absolutely disgusting! It's the most horrible water. When we went to go rescue the host from a kidnapping bat, which is a fluffy thing that flies but has no feathers, the other charges dumped me into the gross water below and while they were looking for the host I thought that I might as well look for ingredients but I found a weird plant man instead, and I attacked him thinking he might make for interesting vegetarian sushi but he was able to pin me. I was going to cut off his head but then he began listing titles for Sabre and I was so bored that I just gave up the fight and he told me he was looking for the kitty but he was addressing her like she was royalty and that's how I found out about her secret status and her servant so I kindly gave him the address to the host's house so he could meet us there once we get back so that will be interesting to see him there once we return. And she has sooo many titles that you could sleep while someone lists them, more so, that plant has skill, skill enough to be a royal's servant, I could stab him, repeatedly, and he probably wouldn't fall or so it seemed ... Speaking of returning, I can't wait to sleep in my nice cool tank, the waters here are nice and warm but they don't have that touch of home with all the coral inserts and other fish other than the Extraspecies fish but since we aren't back in our territory I couldn't just use them for ingredients so I just left them be. I really wish you could have met my host but Sabre came by and took her away from me while the host was looking adorably pathetic in her chocolate coma. Is it chocolate or cocoa? I don't know the difference myself other than one is solid and the other is a liquid, I think? And some are yummy while others are super gross but that's alright, all of it was consumed by the mighty host while she was sad which was super fun to watch and wonder when she'd pass out and the answer is after about 67 pieces of fruit dipped into a chocolate fountain while her tears offered a nice salty touch to the sweetness. Oh, and speaking of sweet I've begun thinking about trying to make some desserts to go along with my sushi but I want to wrap the desserts in sushi rolls so it looks cohesive along with the fish inside the regular sushi which I think would look really beautiful and speaking of beauty, the host said I was more beautiful than the diva snake! It was hilarious, the needy snake was trying to take her away from me and had the audacity to suggest that his scales were more beautiful and while most of the time I would let this slide I really wanted to keep the host's warmth so I asked the host all sexy like if I was more beautiful than the snake and she said that yes, I was! The look on the black mamba's face was amazing! I am going to have to make the host extra sushi for that and maybe I can get her to try out some of my experiment dessert sushi. I think she'll devour anything as long as it's covered in chocolate. Oh so anyway, after the host left to go fix up the crocodile, the black jaguar named Eztli, I think? Jumped into the water and started chasing after me but refused to dive down deep so I slipped into a tube of water and he followed after me! He had to keep taking a new breath every couple of feet but he looked super funny chasing after me while Sabre and her little kitty kit were watching from the ground like smart kitties. I didn't feel like attacking him so I just let him follow me all the way back to my pool before the host started yelling at him. I've noticed that mammals are super loud, especially when they are connecting their sex organs together. Jaska and Sabre kept using the host's designated mating area in her room to mate and sometimes they left the door a little open so I was able to get a good look at them and they looked so funny humping away and doing a weird thrusting motion that I could only laugh at how ridiculous they looked but enough about that, so anyway it's really weird to crawl over floorboards in the house although it is smoother than most floorboards I've trained on before. Once when the host was being attacked by a rival female for control over the territory and charges- which I now know is not how you become a host - I had to slide over the floorboards. Hoomans fight in a really funny way by the way and it's clear the host has had no fighting training at any point so I should train her at some point but I could only really train her in the water and even then she might just manage a few panicked splashes, also she has a horrible aim, so knive throwing isn't an option either for her, but then my host grabbed a metal frying pan and began smacking the rival with it which was okay but not done very well. Oh! Speaking of rivals I think it will be super tense between the two rival tigers, the mental and crippled one, as to who gets Sabre and the babies and considering that she is a super rare royal kitty I imagine that they will fight to the death over her. Ah~ how tragic! Two brothers fighting for the one they mated with and not knowing who the kittens belong to, and the brothers were long lost brothers for a long time as well … it's a super fun tragedy, it really is and can you believe it, but I don't really know how long cats carry their babies inside because they don't lay eggs, so we can't know wat striped cat fathered them because of all the pushing the kittens out before time in that storm, but she likes the crippled cat more, and because the mental one went mental and attacked her and everyone she kinda wants to kill him now, but it would still be funny because the mental one still wants her as mate and all. Oh, and you won't believe it, well, you will, but I hid the fact I love tragedy for almost 2 months just so I could enjoy the drama unfold before me without my interference. Mammals are such funny and dramatic creatures, they really are and I enjoy it a lot. It's been quite fun being around them.

While Reza continued to speak on seemingly a single breath or two of air, a small little fox stumbled into the room, hugging an overweight red fish against his chest, looking around desperately for something before spotting Reza in his tank. Antain gasped, running over to the tank before he jumped up onto the side, barely balancing himself before he tossed Baba into the tank and watched the fish slowly begin to swim around dangerously close to Reza's spikes.

"Oh." Reza paused, glancing back and seeing Baba barely swimming around the water while Antain giggled and laughed, batting the top of Baba's head with a little paw. Reza grinned, reaching back and picking up Antain before presenting the little furry fox kit to his mother. "This is Antain, the one I was telling you about. The fluff adopted by the kitty." Reza said before reaching back, picking up Baba and showing it to them. "See? Even the slow fish is still alive. It's pretty funny how it won't die." Reza lightly laughed before he coughed, setting Baba back into the water before he took a few sips to cool his parched throat.

"Reza … what is wrong with your voice? You've barely spoken for 45 minutes." The mermaid said looking serious. "Why is my sweet baby boy's voice so hoarse?"

"Ah~ yeah, I spoke nonstop for almost an entire day before this … I'm not saying that my throat hurts, but … it hurts." He heavily sighed while Antain nuzzled against the crook of Reza's neck, purring against him. "See?! He makes this cat noises. Oh! Yes, I am also teaching this little kit how to throw knives as I told you. I think he'll be good at it one day." Reza grinned, nuzzling against the kit's soft tail as Antain giggled and hugged the top of Reza's head, nibbling on his hair.

The younger mermaid, Sabre's little sister, pressed herself closer. "What is that little thing? It's cute. He is a baby mammal? Are they all that cute? ... hey! He is wearing a design of WYLD! And it's not in the catalogues! Ohh its so cute! I want more models. The samples you sent me are great, they are not so old fashioned and no one else has ever had anything of that material."

The older mermaid leaned forward too. "Oh yes, well until I tell your aunt that there are models for little cubs! She'll want the catalogue right away. New models would make the rest of the court so miserable and envious, ho, ho, ho. All our family is quite interested in WYLD models and custom creations." From out of nowhere she took out a fan made out of coral to hide her laugh behind. "And Reza, are you miserable yet, away from home and from your noble status? Being mostly treated like a commoner, in a house without aquatic companions of any kind, away from home after running away … oh, how horrible, is it not?"

" … you know, I'm not miserable at all like how I thought I would be. I'm actually very happy." Reza admitted with a soft smile, licking the top of Antain's head before spitting out a few stray hairs. Licking furry things is definitely not fun.

"You're not?" Reza's mother blinked before a small smile escaped her lips. "Mmmhh … your contract is quite strange too, maybe you need more of it to end up with a big tragedy. Are you going to mate the host? Or perhaps you want to compete for the royal kitty? I'd think that a noble falling for a hooman commoner is even more tragic than pursuing a royal Extraspecies, she is of a high status after all and the tragedy of a common mate is already going behind her, so the hooman seems even more tragic and pathetic. So what do you plan to do? I still want you to tell me about your great tragedy."

"And I cannot wait for it to unfold. I might have to become a little more active if I want this to be more fun." Reza softly sighed before hoarsely coughing, taking a moment to sip on some more water. He softly sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to talk much after this, especially once his mother started speaking too. She and his sister spoke as much as he did but they usually waited until he petered out before speaking - mostly, he suspected, so he'd be too weak to flee their ramblings. Perhaps he'd go find the host and look between her legs if she was still in a chocolate coma.

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Meanwhile, Sabre had gotten back to her room where Dumisa was watching her cubs. Upon entering, she gladly saw Dumisa's coils forming a pen for the cubs that happily napped over the polar bear rug.

"There you are, Sabre. Your cubs are loud sleepers." Dumisa huffed in annoyance before noticing the state of the host. "Now that's a sorry sight. What happened?" Dumisa asked, tasting the air with his tongue and tasting Reza's scent on the host.

Sabre placed Jackie over the rug and then carefully placed her cubs around her while the host only groaned before Sabre began licking Jackie as much as her cubs. "She had a nasty conversation with Smith and I took her to the buffet to get some dessert and assure her all is fine, then I had an interview and she ate too much chocolate after I left." Sabre accommodated the host and rubbed her cheek against Jackie's. "She's super worried about us all."

" … is it working so far?" Dumisa asked in a quieter voice, worriedly looking over the host as she laid on her side, seeming dead to the world at the moment. "Your plan to save the host, that is." Dumisa asked, looking up at Sabre, "seeing how the host is currently acting like dead weight, it seems it's up to us to take care of her this time."

"So far it's going well, we just need to stick to the story." Sabre twisted then her lips. "Although seems the biggest problem is me due to my … blood. I didn't anticipated that I am-"

A knock on the door interrupted her.

"Sabre, it me, Aleksey, I come in." Aleksey announced with a small chuffing sound.

Before the door opened, Dumisa, seeming oddly serious, called her attention. " … Sabre, we need to talk."

The door opened and Aleksey came in with a big smile that just widened when he say Sabre and not diminishing despite the snake being there.

Aleksey came in, grinning when he saw Sabre she she walked over to him and smooched him with a big hug and various kisses.

"Let's go Dumisa, ´leksey can take care of the cubs and the host." Sabre told Dumisa and then turned to her mate to give him a lick in the check. "I'm going to go speak with Dumisa. I'll be back later."

"Why go with snake? I want mate." Aleksey said, emitting a few needy chuffing sounds.

"Do not be so clingy. It's an embarrassment." Dumisa huffed, slapping Aleksy on the back with his tail before turning and leaving for Sabre to follow.

"Dumisa is a partner in business, so we need to discuss stuff I guess. I'll be back soon enough." Sabre hugged him before looking up with bright, big worried eyes while tracing circles over his arm. "Are you alright, Aleksey? Do you need anything?"

"Just you." He purred, nuzzling her before chuckling. "Go ahead, Mishka." He said with a gentle smile.

Sabre gave him another hug and a gentle kiss. "I'll be back soon and I'll bring some meat cubes, meanwhile please stay with our cubs and the strung out on chocolate host." After a final kiss she walked away, stopping for a moment before going out the door. "I love you. I'll be back soon." She slowly close her eyes towards her mate before rushing back to give him another hug and then rushing away.

Aleksey smiled, watching her leave before frowning, turning and staring at the host with a frown. He disliked how close she was to the kittens but he couldn't move them without them waking up. He let out a huff, trotting over and sitting at the base of the cushions to stare at her in annoyance and watch the babies like a good mate.

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Sabre followed after Dumisa, watching as he tasted the air to make sure no one was around before slithering into a nearby room. Sabre followed him, stepping inside to find the host's room in front of them. She sniffed at the host's scent, enjoying her pleasant smell reminding her of pets and yummy cooked ducks while Dumisa shut the door to the neutral area.

"What is it that you want to speak about, Dumisa?" Sabre asked, turning towards the serpent.

Without warning the snake whipped forward, making Sabre jump before Dumisa tightly hugged her, coiling his entire body around her and tightly squeezing her in a hug. She struggled to breath as Dumisa took in a deep breath, visibly calming himself before he loosened his grasp but kept her within his coils. "I'm sorry, Sabre." He apologized, seeming awkward in his apology.

"Wait … what?" Sabre tried getting out of the coil but he was hugging her quite firmly.

"I am sorry for acting so rashly and dry biting you before, putting you and your little ones at risk. I … panicked. I was deeply disturbed by the fact you were leaving that I was reminded of my past. I did not mean to hurt you and I sincerely apologize." He sadly frowned, genuinely upset.

"Dumisa … I … to be honest I don't know if I'm angry or not because I understand it but yeah, I was in danger too." She huffed before she exhaled. "You are a really needy snake you, know? Mmhh ... as an apology … well, you'll have to help into getting the collection for spring. We can't allow Cyan to add all those frills, or worse, Indra add all those bright colors."

"I'm needy because I deserve it. I'm pretty amazing." He said with a straight and serious face. "Agreed. Cyan's designs are, although interesting, not sellable to the general audience we want and Indra is one of the most irritating feathery bird brains I have ever met." He hissed in irritation. "Without me, the entire line would be ruined." He huffed in annoyance.

Sabre chuckled and then freed her arms to give him a hug. "And you need to learn not to be so desperate needy. You know I am your friend, no matter what, even if you dry bite me … but if you ever bit me with poison I will come back from the dead to haunt you forever."

"Hmph, probably to compliment the new designs I would implement." He smirked back at her. "I'm not just a pretty face. I have excellent sense of style out of all 3 of you so called top designers." He miffed, referring to Sabre, Cyan and Indra.

Sabre flickered her fingers over his forehead. "Hey, don't get too cocky, snakey. You still don't know that much about materials"

"This is true, but you had better watch out. After I learn the right materials, I'll surpass all of you." He devilishly smirked.

"I don't even want to know what I'd do if you weren't on my side." She sighed. "But now … please tell me all that happened while I was feral."

"Ok, but you tell me all what's happened, you've been rushing here." Dumisa crawled towards the bed and her there so they both could get comfortable. After all, he wanted to hear all and from his part it would take little given that he had been unconscious or tranqued most of the time.

Sabre started with all she could remember and ended with her interview of the royal, while Dumisa told her what he could about himself and the others. After they shared stories, Dumisa used his the tip of his tail to pull on her fluffy tail and call her attention.

"I have to ask, Sabre. Why are you taking such a lowly male to be your mate?" Dumisa asked with a harder expression now.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The bastet tilted her head sideways, blinking in confusion.

"I am talking about Aleksey. He's not strong enough to help protect you from what's to come, not to mention he is a broken commoner cat without an ounce of royal blood in him. How do you plan to defend your decision to taking a commoner as a mate to those royal bastests? I imagine they'll want to use you as a breeding post to make more royal kittens." Dumisa asked with an annoyed sneer, not aimed at her but rather aimed at those who will inevitably cause her trouble.

Sabre hissed in response. "Dumisa, I love Aleksey. He is my mate, we've been together though a lot of things and I can't even think about not being with him. He may be hurt but he will heal, eventually. I don't care if he is a commoner. Heck, I didn't even know I was a royal a month ago." She hugged dumisa, resting her chin on the crook of his neck.

"A passionate response, but will it be enough?" Dumisa wondered out loud, going ahead and hugging her in return. "What's weird is that you're not even considering to abandon a broken mate." Dumisa heavily sighed. "I hope you don't plan on using us other males to replace him when he can't fulfill your needs."

Sabre hissed and gave his ear a light punishing bite. "After all we've gone through do you still think I could ever do that?" Angry, she gave him a small smack. "My mate is back. He is not broken, he is just hurt and already healing. I love him deeply."

"Well, I wouldn't know. I've never known a female to be dedicated to her mate before." Dumisa smirked, enjoying her annoyance. "But, if you say so." He shrugged.

"You seriously need to start interacting with females from other species, Dumisa." Sabre deadpanned.

"I suppose so." He smirked in return.

With a loud and logh sigh, Sabre continued, this time more serious. "And I am conscious that there will be people trying to use me. But I have a plan."

"You usually do." Dumisa smirked. "Well, I wish you luck on your plan then. Does it involve me in anyway?" He asked.

"Actually yes, it involves all of you and if it goes right we will save the host too. Maybe it will let us be rid of problems with the council."

"Who knows. You'd have to talk to Reza more about their tactics." Dumisa shrugged.

"It's Reza, maybe not talking would be best" Sabr shrugged too.

"If you can listen close to what he says, I imagine he has important things to say … masked around a bunch of nonsense." He sighed. "Maybe."

"Yeah … later. You kept to the story, that will help us, but for now … hey, didn't you do your interview shortly after me?" Sabre stood up. "You were supposed to go to the meeting room, I think."

" … ugh. As if I want to talk to that wretched b**** of an alpha." Dumisa heavily sighed. "But, yeah, I have to. I'll be seeing you, then." Dumisa said, turning tail and leaving into the hallway to go do his interview.

"I'll accompamny you to the conference room." She stood by his side. "Remember that whatever happens, you are still going to finish your contract time and you have us all, Dumisa."

"Yeah. All I have to do is never return." Dumisa smirked confidently. "I'm outside of her territory so she has no power over me. And if I happen to find a human mate, I won't have to return at all." Dumisa grinned before leaving for the interview room.

"Territory, huh?" Sabre looked pensive as they arrived.

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while the kittens nuzzled against her sleepily, using the hooman as a perfect pillow for them to rest on. He really didn't like it, after all, hoomans had caused Extraspecies and his own family much too many troubles and horrors, but then again, Sabre … she had made him change his mind for the most part and he couldn't imagine things without her now. In any case, he was going to test out the host for himself. He wanted to know what made Sabre trust her. He rounded Jackie a few times, staring at her curiously before taking a seat, not taking his eyes off of her for a moment. He reached out, poking her head a few times before she stirred in her sleep, waking up from her small food coma.

"Ugh … I feel like crap." Jackie whined, holding her aching stomach. She was so stressed that she ate just way too much food. She was about to roll over before pausing, noticing the furry babies resting on top of her. They looked so at peace that she didn't dare move to wake up.

Aleksey blinked, never taking his eyes off of the host while looming over her rather menacingly.

Jackie perked up, turning around and seeing Aleksey there in the room. She awkwardly stard at him, unsure of what to say. "Um … how are your wounds feeling, Alekesy?" She asked, trying to make small talk.

Aleksey growls some more and sits down, still staring at Jackie.

Jackie awkwardly looked away, showing submission. " … Aleksey, if I did something to upset you then uh, I'm sorry. I really don't know what I did to upset or insult you, but I didn't mean it, alright?" Jackie said, thinking it would be best to just apologize for anything she might have done to upset him.

Aleksey huffs, puffing up his chest but then sighs. "Uncle told me all problems you caused but Sabre trusts you. As promised, I will listen to side of story." He cracked his neck before leaning down to rest a bit. "Only thing you did was fall over and tell about Sabre. I glad you told about Sabre, so I thank for that, but I don't trust hoomans in general. Why I should trust you?"

"W-Well, what do you want to hear?" Jackie asked, not sure what to say exactly. "And yeah, I can see that you hate humans." She frowned, seeming uncomfortable. "I don't know what you want to know but I can tell you this much; I only want the best for my charges. They're like family to me." She said, looking Aleksey evenly in the eyes.

"You know what crimes you made?" Aleksey narrowed his eyes.

"T-To be honest, not really. I know that Ms. Smith broke a few rules but I didn't realize how serious they were. When I found Sabre lost, confused and ill, I couldn't just leave her there. I had no idea that you didn't know that Jaska was alive, o-or that you were even alive. Sabre told me that you passed away blowing some place up.

"Lost? Ill?" He seemed agitated. "Tell me, how you met Sabre, what you know about her?"

"Well, I was coming home from the market and found Antain in a box; she was feeling ill so she tried abandoning the pup for his own good but ended up coming back. Dumisa and Kroc caught her, and after talking for a bit she just kind of moved in so I started taking care of her. She got sick so I helped her relax with some water and medicine and before I knew it, she became an official charge after signing some paperwork. She and Jaska were usually fighting or getting along; eventually they got into a really bad fight and I got pretty hurt from it," she admitted, showing Aleksey the claw marks on her torso from when Jaska and Sabre scratched her. "They tried to take care of me but they were still fighting. I eventually locked myself in the bathroom to try and sleep in the tub." Jackie admitted with a small laugh, remembering how pissed off she was at the both of them. "Before long, Sabre really began fitting in with the rest of the charges and everything. Aleksey, I'm so glad that you're alright. You should have seen Sabre's face when she was telling me that you were alive." Jackie said with a warm grin. "You're really lucky to be so loved."

"Im loved, and I love Sabre too much." He smiled and purred, slowly closing his eyes for a second before suddenly opening them and giving the host a playful smile. "Hey, tell embarrassing stories of Sabre and Jaska, there must be some, da?"

Jackie snickered and laughed to herself. "Oh, there's a lot." She grinned, happy that Aleksey seemed to be loosening up a bit. "When I first got Jaska I had no idea he used to be Spetznaz and while I was cleaning up his room, I found some of his blacked out papers. I tried calling Smith and asking about them but Jaska took the phone from me and began questioning me about what I knew. He was pretty scary then, but it was also funny with how he was acting." She chuckled.

"Ha. Older bother sloppy." Aleksey laughed along, twitching his tail back and forth. "I bet he rounding. He turns off light but leaves one to make it scary." he chuckled. "What else, tell and I will tell embarrassing stories of them too."

"Once while Jaska and Sabre were fighting I had to grab a bomb of catnip but before I could throw it at them, Dumisa dumped it all on me before kicking me into the fray. Their cuddling was pretty terrifying. They cut up my carpet with their claws and after the catnip began to wear off, they almost started fighting so I had to pet them both at the same time to prevent that; they ended up cuddling with each other all happy. I wish I took some pictures to show you." She grinned.

"I too jealous, so no show pics, but I tell Jaska once got his head stuck inside a hole in tree when we young after he sniffed some wild catnip." He chuckled. "Old bratja had too much catnip and then rolled around on snow while tumbling around."

"You're kidding!" Jackie laughed, covering her mouth and trying not to laugh too loudly.

"I also have recordings of Jaska trying to sing motherland's national anthem. He bad singer." Aleksey crossed his arms. "What else, you tell one story and I tell one. Tell about Sabre too."

"Alright. Hmmm," Jackie hummed, trying to think of another story with Sabre in it. "Oh, well this one involves everyone really. When Reza first arrived, everyone was excited to eat him; with a house full of predators, it was hard to beat them back so they wouldn't eat him. They attacked but Kroc, the saltwater crocodile, got stung badly so everyone was weary of them. Apparently the next early morning they planned on surprise attacking him, but Reza made a ton of sushi for everyone. Every single one of my charges was so bloated from eating so much sushi that that couldn't even move. Sabre's belly so was taunt, it was hilarious!" She laughed.

"That crocodile, he strong but he seems nice guy. He wants to fight once I'm fine." He chuckled "I can imagine Sabre's belly full. One time we were in mountain for train. She was feral and tried to chase a bunny but couldn't catch it, so I got a deer and she ate it almost all. She ended up with belly very full, so much I could tease her and pull on her tail a lot"

"Yeah, he is. He trains like crazy with weights and often wrestles with Jaska to get better." Jackie noted before laughing. "Yeah, Reza went around poking everyone and kept touching their legs. I think that was his first time seeing land Extraspecies." Jackie noted, remembering how Reza kept touching the padding on Sabre's hands and feet. -

"Well, most scary memory is when I and Jaska tried to sneak out on uncle to go hunt bears. We just cubs then, but uncle caught and chased us for entire hour through the woods. Wanna hear how uncle trained us? Jaska too whiny then, but then you tell all about how you meet charges and more funny stories too"

"Yeah. I have so many that I'll have to start writing a list of them." Jackie laughed, surprised to find herself enjoying the conversation. She thought Aleksey was strict and unfriendly but he seemed a lot more sociable than Jaska was.

"Do start. How about fox cub?" Aleksey curiously asked. "And … can you pet me? I wanna try." He smiled.

Jackie hesitated, surprised that he wanted her to pet him. "A-Are you sure that's alright?" Jackie asked, hesitant. "I won't pet you unless you want me to." She said.

"I asking." He stretched and then curled up slightly. "You good enough to pet I heard. I no mind, you do?"

"Well, yeah, sure. Help me put the babies on the couch." Jackie said, gently picking up the young felines as Aleksey took them with ease, laying them on the couch in a large bundle while looking at them with pride before Jackie leaned over to Aleksey and began petting his shoulders, gently holding his neck while petting him. "If I hit a tender spot or want to be pet anywhere in particular, just tell me." She said, working him over like she would with Jaska.

"Da, but do tell me about charges and especially my family." He tried to relax his muscles, but he kept his focus on the cubs. "What about little fox? I know Sabre rescued him, just ."

"Well, from what I know, Antain's parents were killed and Sabre adopted him too." Jackie explained while she reached up, petting his ears while letting his head rest on her arms. "Antain is like one of her cubs at this point. She was pretty protective of him early on and still is; it's adorable." Jackie lightly laughed. "They're inseparable." She noted, hesitating as she passed over a sore spot that made him wince in pain. "Sorry about that. Do you want me to keep petting you?" Jackie asked, holding her hands away from him and letting him decide.

"Da, keep petting I need massage. Muscles too sore. Too little activity for long time." He sighed. "And tell me more too."

"Yeah, sure." Jackie said, moving around to his back before she began rubbing his muscles to help him relax. "Well, I know that Sabre really loves duck. So for treats I often got her some goose or duck to have with some special seasonings. She usually makes me lightly cook them before giving them to her, while the others usually like their meat raw. Which I think is gross." Jackie lightly chuckled.

"She does?" Aleksey chuckled. "I keep that in mind, as soon as I can hunt I get entire flock. Yet I know not how to cook, I burn stuff, once with a flamethrower."

"You're kidding, really?" Jackie laughed, "I bet that went poorly."

"Da, I burned all meat, and log table … and floor … and curtain. After that, I no longer allowed to try and cook" He smiled "Maybe I try learn again, for new family."

"Hey … Aleksey, are you alright with Antain?" Jackie curiously asked. She knew that Extraspecies didn't normally like caring for the young of other Extraspecies and she was sure Aleksey was the same way. Jackie had to admit she was a little worried for Antain.

"What you mean?" He asked looking at her through the corner of his eyes.

"Well, are you alright with raising Antain along with your other cubs?" Jackie nervously asked. "He's not actually your cub but you'll still treat him like he is, right?" She asked, curious.

"Ahh … ," Aleksey closed his eyes. "Own parents dead, da? Father was killed in hooman war and mother let self die of sorrow and sadness, she barely managed to tell Jaska to take us to her brother. Uncle took us in, he like father for me and older bratja, so least I can do is return life favor" He smiled. "Besides, Antain be Sabre's cubs and thus my cub too. We mates, it's our cubs, and for what I see he small kitten."

"Yikes … I'm sorry to hear about your parents." Jackie apologized with a frown. Well, that definitely explained why Aleksey was so aggressive earlier and partly why Nikita hated humans so much. Nevertheless, she was happy to hear that he would take care of Antain.

The tiger shrugged. "Now … tell more embarrassing stories about Sabre and Antain."

"Hmmm … well, if you ever want to have a fun time with Antain or Sabre, you could just use a laser pointer. It's hilarious watching them run all over the place trying to catch it!" Jackie laughed. "Especially when Sabre is feral. She'll chase that thing for house."

Aleksey let out a good hearted laugh and then went on to tell a new story of his own about Jaska's embarrassing moments.

After far too many stories on both ends, the both of them were cracking up laughing, unable to quiet their laughter before Aleksey's ear flickered up. The moment the door snapped open both of them fell quiet, sealing their lips together as Longwei entered the room looking annoyed.

"Enjoying yourself with the hooman?" Longwei asked with a raised eyebrow of annoyance towards Aleksey.

"Da." Aleksey smiled defiantly with a bit of a naughty smile. "She tell good stories, I gather lot of information."

Jackie paused. Wait, that was all gathering information? The host froze before thumping her head into the pillow, feeling embarrassed at being tricked so easily. Aleksey was also a hardcore spy … how could she not realize that was what he was doing?

"She not seem bad hooman, I can see why Sabre trusts and I willing to give chance. She too trustful and gullible but she not seem bad."

" … I-I didn't even notice that you were gathering intel, I thought we were bonding." Jackie admitted into the pillow, flushing in embarrassment at how easily she just gave out information like that. Alas, she really was too easy to fool.

"And we did, da? I did enjoy stories and I want to hear more, I'll tell more too." Aleksey winked and then gave her a couple pats on the head. "You too trusting. I know you did because I Sabre's mate, but trusting so easily too stupid."

"Hmph. Well, glad you two seem to be getting along since you will be spending quite a bit of time together. The three of us will be heading back to the Penske residence in order to set up a room to properly house you and your needs, Aleksey. Sabre will be remaining at the residence along with the other charges to finish out their stay until further notice."

"Da." He nodded.

" … wait, you two are my charges now too?"

Longwei's teeth clicked together as his pupils narrowed, glaring so hatefully towards JAckie she could have sworn he was debating on whether or not he should lunge at hre and rip her throat out. "No, you simple minded moron. I am going to inspect the residence and ensure you do not take advantage of your charges for a small while." He answered, speaking through his teeth angrily.

"You too, Longwei?" Aleksey tilted his head to the side and blinked in confusion like a cute kitty, he then turned to Jackie. "I no leave Sabre, so I go with her for little while to ensure place is good for cubs; she mentioned something about business too, so I support." He then quickly bumped noses with Jackie. "Don't mind Longwei, he too stiff but not bad reptile."

"O-Okay." Jackie said, surprised by the nose bump. Aleksey kept surprising her with just how friendly he really was, a complete polar opposite of what she thought he would be like.

"Now … tell me more of Sabre munching on her tail." He leaned down again, picking up the cubs to groom them with fatherly glee. "I will need embarrassing stories to tell cubs about Sabre when they grow up."

"Aleksey … ," Longwei groaned,pinching the brick of his nose.

"Daaaaaaaa … ?" The said tiger rolled onto his side to see the not so amused dragon while he grabbed the little leopard girl and lifted her in the air for the dragon to better see. "My cubs are cute, right, wei-wei?

"I've told you many times to not call me that." Longwei stared at the little girl, flicking his tail back and forth before glancing over at the human and glaring at her.

Aleksey grinned, twisting his tail for the other cubs to play. "Hey hooman, when I and bratja were young we couldn't pronunciate dragon's name, so we called him wei-wei. It stuck."

Jackie's lips trembled into a smile as she struggled not to laugh, feeling that if she laughed, her life would be in imminent danger but the nickname was just so adorable she could barely contain herself. With a deep calming breath she managed to hold her laugh in. "That's adorable." She said with her voice trembling.

"And if you ever say that name, hooman, I will personally ensure you will never speak again." Longwei hissed angrily towards Jackie, vapor coming out of his nosetrils as he made her quiet down.

"But I imagine how much you no mind nickname while petting." Aleksey grinned silly while purring around his cubs. "I heard she pet you so well you changed to tiny wei-wei form." He then turned to Jackie again and winked. "Wei-wei used to turn small to play with bratja and I."

"Do not be ridiculous. I was merely testing her petting capabilities." Longwei answered with a frown. "It was research."

"Really? How long have you known Longwei for?" Jackie asked, now curious.

"Since me and bratja were small cubs. Even before parents died, and when uncle Nikita took us Wei-wei helped take care of us" Aleksey smiled and purred, pressing his nose against his daughter's."That was … after second great human war of world, I think. Jaska be the one who knows of human history dates."

"Whoa. I had no idea you were that old, Aleksey. I thought you were more around your 30s." Jackie admitted.

Aleksey bursted out laughing before he calmed down, apparently in some pain.

"Watch your wounds." Longwei warned in an annoyed tone, looking slightly worried as he carefully eyed Aleksey.

"We Extraspecies live longer than hoomans. In hooman years I guess I be in equivalent to second half of second decade, maybe… I think." Aleksey pondered it with a tilt of his head and quickly he added "Sabre would be in early 20's." Which of course, he knew she really was. "You know? It very rare for Extraspecies to mate permanently. Long life spans long or too short, so mating in mating season far simple. Few ever encounter perfect mate to mate for life." He beamed. "I very lucky."

"Huh. Weird." Jackie noted curiously. She never really asked how old her other charges were, now that she thought about it. She just assumed they were all in their 20s or early 30s. "I didn't realize that Extraspecies and humans life spans were so different. In that case, you are super old." Jackie pointed out before tapping her chin in curiosity. "How old is Nikita, then?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Did it never occur to you that we superior Extraspecies live much longer lives than you infestation of a human race?" Longwei huffed in annoyance, keeping a sharp glare over the human. "And why do you want to know Nikita's age, hooman?"

"I'm curious, but if it bothers you then you don't need to tell me. Maybe he's like 100?" She wandered out loud.

"Uncle is almost double of that." Aleksey grinned and stretched. "He old indeed, but in hooman years he be around mid 40's."

"You're kidding!" Jackie shouted, stunned. "How?! That's so old!" She exclaimed. "How can Extraspecies tigers live for almost 200 years but tigers in the wild only live 20 years? Extraspecies in general live an extremely long time, much longer than their animal counterparts. Yikes, how long could Extraspecies tortoises' live for?" Jackie said, now contemplating on how that was possible.

Aleksey stood up to approach the host and tousled her hair around a bit. "We bastet can live around 250 years more or less, females up to 300. We live longer than other Extraspecies but not long as let's say some reptiles." He then eyed Longwei. "Longwei young dragon, but he might live to easily meet the grand cubs of my great-grand cubs. But some prey extra species live only half of what hoomans live, other double. It varies and aging process too."

"Jeez. I only really learned about how to take care of my charges through lots of videos and instruction manuals but didn't really come across their life spans in general." She admitted thoughtfully. "I just assumed they lived more or less around the same years as humans considering how many similarities we share."

"Because programs only contemplate a year for interaction." Longwei huffed, emitting vapor from his nostrils, then he dedicated the tiger an annoyed look. "You don't need to know more. The less hoomans know about Extraspecies, the better."

"But how can I learn how to take proper care of my charges if I can't learn as much as I can about them?" She asked with a frown. "You too, Longwei. I'll have to read up more on dragons if you're going to come stay with me for a bit." She noted more so under her breath in thought.

"Your charges are only going to be there until the contract ends." He narrowed his gaze and let out some more steamy vapor from his nose and mouth as he spoke. "You'll be told all you need to know and nothing more. You are still under suspicions of selling your charges. We found a very compromising photo of you and Amako Sabre Neofelis

"Photos?" She asked, puzzled. "What photos? What's an Amako?" Jackie's mind immediately began racing, trying to remember when and where photos of any kind of weird nature could have possibly been taken. "What kind of photos are we talking about here?" She asked, eager to try and remember where and how photos were taken.

Reaching inside his clothes, Longwei took out a couple photos. "These incriminating photos were taken at some point while you were 'taking care' of your charges." He said while showing her some photos of Sabre in her bikini leaning over her in a very compromising position indeed. Worst of all, the other photos were edited to remove their clothes. "Amako refers to her position"

Jackie's eyes bulged from seeing the photos. "W-Wait a minute! Th-These were taken on the beach trip by some greasy slimeballs who follow Werner around to take pictures of Extraspecies women. I couldn't legally stop them, an-and these were photoshopped too! We were _not_ topless for that trip!" Jackie shouted, freaking out that they thought she was actually posing for these photos.

"Let me see!" Aleksey quickly grabbed the photos to look at them, and while blushing he put the clothes into his inner pocket to hide them from ever being seen again. "I keeping these for … reasons."

"Longwei, those photos were altered through photoshop! Th-those boobs aren't even mine!" Jackie cried, really freaking out now.

"You want me to believe a shop that sells photos altered them?" Longwei rose an eyebrow, clearly not believing her.

"Yes! Go ahead and ask any of my charges, or ask Werner and his charges. We were _not_ at a topless beach like that, and seriously, I have a mole o-on my breasts that's clearly not shown on those photos." Jackie growled in annoyance. "That was done through photoshop, a program where you can alter images online."

Longwei didn't even blink.

"Hooman … you need to show proof. Wei-wei and hooman technology don't get along, da?" Aleksey moved to stand besides Longwei. "I want proof too. I give you benefit of doubt, but I won't forgive if you endangered Sabre."

"W-What kind of proof? Well, here I can show you what photoshop is." She said, pulling out her phone and showing Longwei a small video tutorial of someone changing a woman's hair through photoshop. "This is the same kind of program that guy used t-to erase Sabre's and my suits to make it look explicit!"

Aleksey took out the photo again and he and Longwei squinted at it to look at it for details.

"You said you have a mole, so let me see that or I'll take it as proof of guilt." Longwei groaned, almost wishing she refused so he could toss this woman to the best torturers he could get.

Jackie's eyes widened in startlement, clamping her lips tightly together. " … s-seriously? You know what, fine! Go ahead, because those photos were altered!" Jackie growled, hesitating before she reached up and pulled up her shirt just enough to show a little mole on the bottom part of her breast.

Longwei quickly grabbed her shirt and pulled it up and over her face while the two of them look at the photos and to her breasts for direct comparison. Aleksey moved back apparently satisfied, but Longwei grabbed her breast and poked the mole to test that it wasn't anything recent or fake. Jackie screamed, flailing her arms and trying to push the shirt back down but Longwei held the fabric up at an awkward angle.

"I'm coming in!" Sabre called as she entered the room, finding the scene so startling that for a second she just stood there silent and stiff.

Jackie let out a muffled shout into her shirt, trying to pull her shirt back down before Longwei pushed her against the bed, looking between her breasts and the photo as he pushed her into a position that was shown in the photo to make a better direct comparison.

"Let go of me! Stop poking them!" Jackie shouted, desperately struggling to get free of Longwei's tight grasp.

"Sabre." Aleksey beamed and quickly went to greet her, first stopping in front of her before rubbing noses, and then hugging her while purring and kissing her neck.

" … what are you doing to Jackie?" Sabre asked, looking pass Aleksey over to the distressed and flailing host being pinned down to the couch, wiggling a bit between her mate's arms.

"Hmph. It would seem your claims are not entirely baseless." Longwei huffed towards the host before turning to Aleksey. "Aleksey, take a photograph for later analysis." Longwei turned back to Jackie, "get back in this position so we can take a picture as proof of your words." Longwei said, trying to push Jackie back into a similar position.

"You want photos of Jackie's boobs? Why? What?" Sabre blinked, looking between Longwei, Jackie and Aleksey, then finally getting her own hands to her own breasts "'Leksey … mine aren't too small, are they?" Of course, she didn't know what big boobs were for a bastet, but for a moment she vaguely remembered that before she used to be bigger in that department but of course, her body was designed for stealth, dexterity and agility, so the less in the way the better.

"You perfect mate." Aleksey purred before tossing Longwei his phone. Aleksey leaned in to kiss Sabre before they both heard a crunching sound, turning to see Longwei holding a broken phone in his claws.

"Hmph. Human technology is so inferior and frail." Longwei complained while letting Jackie go. She quickly righted herself with a bright flush on her face, glaring up at Longwei and trembling in anger. Without thinking about it, Jackie's hand lashed out, slapping Longwei's cheek before she realized what she was doing. The moment the loud slap was heard in the room, Aleksey's and Sabre's eyes widened in shock at the host striking Longwei.

"W-W-What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't hold down a human and try to take pictures of her boobs like that, that is _horribly_ rude and indecent!" Jackie shouted up at Longwei while protectively covering her chest.

Longwei was stunned for a moment before he turned and glared at her with narrowed pupils. He was about to grab the human by the neck and strangle her but Sabre dashed to push Jackie aside and stood between her and the dragon. "Mr. Longwei, as bad as it may be, she is right." Thinking fast, she added. "But beyond that, harming a hooman host right now would have bad consequences given that her contracts are ongoing and we are in a neutral place that is mostly under hooman rule."

"She struck me, a high ranking official, without provocation. That is plenty reason enough to strangle her and string her up like a flailing fish." Longwei hissed with thick plumes of mist being breathed out of his nose as Jackie wisely hid behind Sabre.

"I know." Sabre raised her hands and pawed at the air. "Mmmh … grabbing a female in that way does counts as provoking. It was just a big mistake, after all, it was just a reaction out of trauma and fear. She is a prudish hooman."

"Sabre, he has naked photoshopped pictures of us!" Jackie shouted in embarrassment with her face brightly light in embarrassment.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Sabre quickly turned to look at Jackie.

"Remember those guys from the beach? They must have photoshopped the pictures to make us look topless a-and crap and the council found them!" Jackie shouted in terror, horribly embarrassed. "Th-They were looking for a comparison!" Jackie admitted, covering her eyes in complete embarrassment.

"Those photos … ," Sabre's eyes widened, realizing that she never did go back and get those photos from them - a horrible mistake on her part.

"I got them from some of the company's team that Nikita terminated around the time you went feral and birthed your cubs." Longwei explained, and as soon as he mentioned the company, both Aleksey and Sabre puffed and hissed, unsheathing their claws.

Jackie's eyes widened before she hugged Sabre, gently trying to pet her into calming down. "I-It's alright, Sabre. Just keep calm." Jackie said, petting her lots to help her remain sane.

Sabre calmed down a bit, but still remained still ruffled. "They tracked me through those photos? ... I'm an idiot." She hissed at herself, after all, she had all the fault of those photos.

"It's alright. Mistakes happen, but do leave this to us. We will ensure the safety of you and your cubs no matter where you decide to go to raise your cubs." Longwei assured her.

Aleksey quickly reached her side and began licking her head and joining the host into giving Sabre more pets and cares, he then took a few steps back and smiled. "Sabre, why don't you go with hooman to spa? You need some rest, so I stay with Wei-wei and care for the cubs."

"Yah, let's go to the spa for a bit. Come on, Sabre." Jackie said, taking Sabre's arm but the bastet remained in place.

"We'll go later, host. I need to do a bunch of calls, so please watch over my cubs for a while." Sabre then looked at Longwei. "Mr. Longwei, I think Uncle Nikita mentioned you needed to prepare something to supervise the next interviews."

Longwei nodded and stood up, leaving the room.

"I'll be back later." Sabre waved and then quickly scurried away somewhat hurried, suspiciously not even bumping noses or anything with either Jackie or Aleksey as she hurried out the door

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Hope you enjoy! _**10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter 3

Chaos-Dark-Lord: Not many updates now, but as a special surprise we are releasing 2 chaps together. I bet you didn't think those photos were going to come up ,no? XD


	37. Chapter 37

In the same room Nikita had spoken with Sabre, the large white siberian tiger representative sat across the table from a scrawny looking black Jaguar who appeared rather meek looking - more meek than any other jaguar Nikita had met before.

"Mr. Balam. I here to interview as closest bastet representative. I assure you safe now." The tiger started, looking at the jaguar with calmness. He seemed well fed, his fur glossy but was not as muscular as a jaguar his young age should be. There were some very odd things about him. He had human piercings all over his ears, tail and tongue - quite odd for a bastet to do to himself.

"A-And the dragon? He's not here, right?" Eztli asked, looking around nervously for Longwei.

"Longwei?" Nikita didn't even rose an eyebrow. "Niet. Longwei not here and won't be. As per council regulation, Extraspecies be assessed by representative of race after such traumatic experience as charge in the programs. I Nikita Sviet, representative for all bastet. Normally other bastet do interview but only I here."

Eztli quietly stared up at Nikita with a hesitant smile, nervously flicking his tail back and forth. "O-Okay." He hesitantly said with a light flush, his purrs beginning to rev up in his chest. Eztli felt so safe and secure that he couldn't help the involuntary response.

"Let's start then." Nikita nodded. "You charge under human host Jacqueline Penske and companion of other predator charges at same time. That is correct, da?"

"Si. Jackie is super nice. She's the best host I've had." Eztli said with a cheerful purr, flicking his tail back and forth in satisfaction.

"... da?" Nikita looked the younger cat fidgeted in place. "You had other hosts?"

Eztli's demeanor changed almost in an instant. He hesitated before he began trembling in fright. "I-I-I want Jackie for this. I-I-I-I," Eztli nervously stammered in fright, wanting to have the comfort of Jackie's or even Sabre's pets while he went over his past. Just the thought of needing to remember in order to explain to the big bastet was frightening to him.

"What?" Nikita stood up, surprised at the sudden panic and fear the jaguar showed. "CALM. You fine. We alone here, nothing harms here." The council member stated as an order rather than soothing.

"B-Bu-But I-I don't like it … I-I don't like remembering. D-Do you have any mariguana with you? Some caapi roots?" Eztli asked almost desperately, his paws shaking in fright as his eyes began getting watery.

"Niet." Now Nikita sounded serious and narrowed his eyes. This wasn't the first time he had seen such a timid looking bastet before. He accommodated back in his chair, flicking his tail. "What happen? Tell. I promise I make sure all fine. You hurt. Humans hurt, da?"

"Y-Yes … e-e-even before I-I knew what it was." Eztli's voice trembled as he tried to speak but he couldn't find the words. Eztli looked up at Nikita, seeing all of his fluffy fur and being reminded of Jaska's fluff. "C-Can you hug me? Please?" Eztli asked, beginning to hyperventilate a bit and, without waiting for a response, he lunged over and hugged the big alpha, trying to bury himself into the thick fluff.

Nikita blinked, more surprised by the swift and fast action than by receiving a hug, something he wasn't used to either. He didn't return the hug but he let the scared kitten hug him. "You need tell all that happen about you. All past. It may be hard, but once you do I make sure to get revenge. You will be under council care, so no more hurt and no more humans."

"I … when I was a cub … I remember being auctioned … I-I was sent to a weird smelling man. He was … um, first, my first … host, I think?" Eztli said, his purring having stopped and he buried his face into the tiger's chest before crawling onto his lap and sitting comfortably on the tiger. "He … that's where I got some piercings, on my ears. It felt weird … everything that happened there. I can't remember a lot b-but as long as I was good, I was fed. If I was bad, like, if I bit him, h-he threatened to rip out my teeth … that's how I lost my baby teeth." He shakily admitted. "After a while, o-once I was older, a scary lady with wavy blonde hair came and picked me up … a-a-and that's when she gave me a lot o-of piercings, and that really hurt. On my tongue, my tail a-and my … ," Eztli trailed off, his jaw trembling too hard before he turned to Nikita and tightly hugged him, shaking and crying before telling him the rest.

Nikita listened to the horrible tale of abuse. The jaguar's story was one of the worst cases he had ever heard. It started with how the jaguar was kidnapped at a young age and abused right from the start. He had suffered abuse of every single possible kind. Some quite straight counting as torture and all of them heavily penalized by the council. This case certainly made perfect example on why humans needed to be held as far away as possible. "All fine here. You safe. Let it out." Nikita encouraged, letting the feline hug him.

"S-So after all that, I-I learned to be good … I was a good Eztli, her little kitty Eztli … I-I couldn't fight back, I was so weak … and th-then one day, she brought a friend over and I was s-so scared that I was a bad kitty." He cried. "I killed the zombie she had and snapped her neck before sitting in the darkness for days before S-Smith came." Eztli soft cries began to wear out, shakily breathing. "I was so scared. B-But Smith, she … she pet me. Super nice. I've never been touched kindly before that. She was so nice … and th-then I was sent to Jackie, who is also really nice. She made my fur glossy and gave me lots to eat, and even when I was bad she still fed me. She is so nice, she really is." Eztli cried. "I used to think I couldn't be anything. I couldn't be strong and I wasn't allowed to be sad, I didn't deserve to be sad because I wasn't a creature worthy of being strong … b-but now I want to be strong, I want to be strong enough to protect myself because I _am_ worth it! I-I-!" Eztli cried, becoming hysterical before crying against the tiger's fur.

If anything, Nikita was even more angry after all he had heard from the black jaguar, but only his lashing tail showed any hint of his fury.

"U-Um, Mr. Nikita?" Eztli hesitantly said, looking up at the large tiger nervously.

"Da?" The tiger wondered with mild expectation if the younger feline would reveal anything more. He hoped not. Eztli Balam's experiences were already horrible enough.

"C-Can you train me to be a big strong kitty like you?" Eztli asked before his ear flickered, hearing the door slide open.

"That would require lot of hardships, Mr. Balam. Nikita Sviet is far more than a merely strong bastet." Longwei spoke from the door as he came inside the room with some papers in hand. With a high air of efficiency, the dragon turned to Nikita. "The host, Jacqueline Penske has been informed of her prompt departure; tomorrow morning she will leave without her charges."

Eztli whipped around, startled by the dragon's sudden appearance as his fur bristled in alarm. He gasped, frightened before he leapt back against the wall, trembling with his tail between his legs. His heart started to race, very clearly frightened of the scary dragon. "W-What, wait, you are sending my host away?!" Eztli shouted, frightened.

Longwei blinked in confusion but seeing the jaguar pace towards the door, the dragon stepped aside to let the feline run away, which Eztli did immediately without a look back.

"JACKIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Eztli screamed, running out the door with the intention to find and protect her like a good strong kitty would do from the big scary dragon.

Once Longwei was alone with Nikita, he proceeded to tell all news and prepare the next interview.

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Jackie was laughing with Aleksey about the story of how Jaska became Antain's walking stash of ribbons when the door burst open. Immediately Aleksey jumped in front of the kittens, roaring and snarling with his claws out with his patchy fur bristling as Eztli came in and dashed to the other corner of the room to tackle Jackie.

"JACKIE!" Eztli screamed as she tumbled onto the ground, smacking her head against the wooden floors as he tightly hugged her, his eyes all misty and looking like he was going to cry from how scared he was. "Please don't leave us, Jackie! You're a really good host, a super good host!" Eztli cried, hugging her so tightly that her back started cracking.

"Ouch, ouch ouch! Eztli, Eztli be more gentle!" Jackie cried out in pain, struggling to move away from him but his grip was too strong. Jackie looked up at his face to try and push him away but froze, seeing that Eztli was actually crying. "E-Eztli, what's wrong?" Jackie asked, trying to pet his sides the best she could despite the death grip he had on her.

"The scary dragon said you are going away!" Eztli cried while hugging his host a bit too tightly.

"Niet, black jaguar." Aleksey corrected, staying firmly in front of his little babies. "Yes, Longwei and I go to host's house with host first, but you come too in few days after we evaluate premises for me." Aleksey explained, confused as to why the jaguar was so emotional over this.

"S-S-S-So you're not taking her away from us?" Eztli asked between his sniffling, desperately searching the tiger's eyes for truth.

Still maintaining his position Aleksey answered, his tail mildly flicking. "Niet. Did Sabre not tell yet? All charges assigned under host will finish term of contract. But I and Longwei go first to ensure place safe." He then huffed. "I'll have to get away from mate and cubs." He dedicated his cubs a small glance. "I not like. But I assure you it true. You join host a little after."

"S-So, so Jackie isn't being taken from us?" Eztli asked, sniffling back his tears as his grip on the host began to slowly loosen.

"No, Eztli, I'm not being taken, it's alright." Jackie smiled, nuzzling against him before she began softly petting his sides. "Just relax, everything will be just fine. I'll have to leave tomorrow morning but you will fly back after a few days, okay?" Jackie grinned.

"Okay!" Eztli shouted happily before he nuzzled up to Jackie all happy before turning to Aleksey. "I can help watch the babies while you're gone, like a big strong alpha!" Eztli excitedly purred while staring over the little fluffy babies.

Aleksey stared at the jaguar with a firm frown. He definitely disliked the idea of any other male watching over his precious cubs, let alone another bastet. This jaguar especially seemed much too flighty; but then again, uncle Nikita would likely stay with Sabre to help watch the cubs, and that was something he could accept. Aleksey gently laid down, protectively shielding the little babies but grunted from the painful effort of laying down comfortably.

Eztli loudly yowled in excitement before he pushed Jackie over, purring and rubbing over her happily. His claws lightly extended as he grabbed her waist and hips, pushing his paws against her sides like a massage while Jackie took his face in her hands and gently began rubbing his cheeks. Eztli needily moaned, flicking his tail back and forth as Aleksey looked back at them, estranged by the sexual noises coming from the jaguar. He stared as Jackie scratched the base of his tail, making him loudly shout in excitement before he nuzzled into her neck, shakily panting in happiness.

Aleksey slightly narrowed his eyes as his ears flickered. He tilted his head at one side and then at the other, weirded out not exactly by the noises Eztli was making, but at the totally out of context situation for the younger cat to emit them. After looking at the situation for a little bit and clearly noticing the hooman wasn't doing anything other than petting, he asked. "Hooman … why black jaguar doing those noises?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. That's just what he sounds like when he's being pet." Jackie admitted before petting his ears, making Eztli let out an excited cry before he clung to her tightly with his cheeks flushing in happiness.

Blinking, the tiger flipped his tail. "He make noises while being pet?" Admittedly he had only let himself be pet by Sabre and recently by this host but he had seen videos of some Extraspecies being pet and they often did do weird things. After some moments of thinking about it, he smirked mischievously. "So … any other charges do funny stuff while being pet? Sabre? Bratja? Tell me."

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With a solemn frown Dumisa slithered into the conference room looking annoyed and slightly wary. He detested the alpha b**** so much and now he would be stuck in the room talking with her. He heavily sighed, knowing that she was just going to be howling about how he should hurry up and return to continue procreating a powerful tribe, and she probably have political power to manage something, maybe even cut off his precious 20 year contract for what was left for the original 1 year. And all lamia's would support it. The more members the better. Dumisa's frown deepened, hissing in annoyance.

"Mr. Dumisa. The conference will start shortly." Longwei motioned to the disks on the floor in the middle of the room and stepped aside, positioning himself at the entrance of the room but aside Dumisa's way to let him take his place. "As you know and as stated by lamia protocol in concordance to the council's ruling, you will speak to your territory's leader. However, since you were away it seems your territory was taken over by new lamia leaders, which will be the ones to speak with you."

"Hmph. At last that top b**** was taken down." Dumisa miffed in annoyance before he watched the hologram pop up, revealing females. One a bit older than Dumisa himself and the one younger than him. Dumisa frowned in annoyance, not sure who the two woman were but they seemed vaguely familia. However, given the amount of Lamias he had f***ed in the past, he could have f***ed these ones too and just couldn't remember them.

The older lamia spoke first. She had long black hair in a straight cut and smiled quite candidly. "Hello Dumisa. It's been a long time since last time we saw each other. I'm happy to see you are well."

The younger one, who appeared more muscular and with shorter hair but still resembled the older one quite a lot, widely grinned in excitement as her tail flicked back and forth. "It's about time you took our calls! I was about ready to come over there and drag you back myself if you didn't pick up one of these days." She loudly laughed.

"And you are?" Dumisa asked with a raised brow of annoyance.

The older lamia blinked at him and then laughed melodiously while the younger one looked surprised and almost hurt. It was the older one whom spoke up. "Of course you wouldn't remember us, after all, last time you saw us Ashanti here was little more than a baby and you were a kid yourself." She then smiled at him once more. "That was before the territory was taken over and you were taken away."

"We are your sisters!" The younger one spoke, beaming. "My name is Ashanti, and she is Ebele. It's weird finally getting to see you, big bro. That b**** of an alpha never let me near you. Probably because she knew I'd kill her little political figures coming to take advantage of you so often." She grinned.

"Hm, interesting." Dumisa said, not sounding or looking very interested at all. "So, am I in trouble?" Dumisa asked with a bit of a cheeky smile.

"Why should you be?" Ebele, the older one asked. "This our first reunion in so many years and you first asks if you are in trouble?" Her smile then turned playfully smug. "Should you be?"

"Well, I bit my host, nearly killed her … and usually when I am contacted by the tribe, I'm in trouble for one reason or another, or someone is howling about how I must return and do my duty." He sighed.

"Nah, that's fine. If she dies you can just come back. Besides, Ebele here was a charge under contracts for a while and she bite someone too." Ashanti grinned. "Oh, hey! Want to hear how we took over the tribe?" She asked excitedly.

"Not really." Dumisa admitted with an aloof frown that went unnoticed by the energetic younger lamia that clearly held the position of a warrior type in the clan.

"It was amazing! We gathered up the whole family to come together and bring that venomous b**** down, and we even took over the surrounding tribes too! It took time, effort, and _lots_ of bodies, but we finally did it! Now you belong to us, big brother. Isn't that great?" The Ashanti excitedly squealed.

"Fascinating." Dumisa said with a dead stare at the holograms. "And how did you two manage to take over the tribe?" He asked, knowing that the alpha, although old, was very strong and had many allies. Taking her down must have taken a lot of resources.

Without warning Ashanti was tackled over, surprising Dumisa before he saw a little lamia appear on the screen with a big and eager smile, her eyes glowing in excitement.

"Hey dad!" She excitedly shouted with a big blush on her face before she was pushed out of the way, replaced by a slightly older lamia, all while the older sister looked baffled before laughing.

"Hey, hey dad! Check this out, isn't it cool?" She asked, showing him a casket of lion bones. "I killed it myself!" She shouted before two girls knocked her asked, looking up at Dumisa excitedly.

"We're twins! Let's be friends, dad!" They shouted in unison before Anashti shoved them off.

"Get the hell out of here, you'll get your turn later!" She angrily shouted at them.

" … who else is there with you?" Dumisa asked with an uneasy frown. By family, did these two sisters mean that they went around and collected his offspring? His face paled in near horror, mortified to see the repercussions of the constant mating the previous alpha forced him to partake in.

Ebele pulled her long hair aside. "It's all the family … well, not everyone, we kinda stopped counting at around 836 girls and 1 boy. Some of them are in the room or outside." She then turned slightly more serious but never losing her warm smile. "That old snake clearly overused you, not only the tribe and the absorbed territories, but all her allies and the other favors … we know. Also she never let you see them even when you asked at first and neither did she let anyone related to you come even near." She then, fo the first time, allowed her smile to be replaced by a hateful gaze for a mere second. "We quite enjoyed it when we ripped her apart."

Ashanti then pushed the girls away and took the stage, placing her hands over her hips and sticking out her relatively flat chest in pride. "Yeah, the old snake screamed a lot if you wanted to know. Anyways, we gathered all the family and took over. Ebele here is quite good at thinking and you wouldn't believe it, but I'm quite a good warrior, so feel free to admire me."

" … it is not as though I intended for so many offspring. They were all political arrangements I had to entertain in exchange for their favors to one another. I never imagined there would be so many successful fertilizations." Dumisa admitted with a sadder frown than he intended, actually quite depressed. He never intended on being a father for those he mated with that were out of political favor. The fact that there were so many were very depressing to him. "And the young boy? What do you intend to do with him?" Dumisa asked with a sharper glare than intended, visibly shaking. Just the thought of them using him for the same things that he was used for … it was something that terrified him the most out of anything. Dumisa glared at the two holograms, waiting for an answer from them.

"Desta? He is fine. He was reunited with his sisters and is quite happy. He's about 15 in hooman years now." Ebele explained with a soft smile that twisted her lips somewhat. "I plan to hide him so other tribes don't come to bother him. I'll make sure no one dares to hurt any of my nieces or nephew, rest assured." She softly smiled in assurance. "I even think it might be good for him to go into the programs and learn more of the world." She dedicated a half smile to Dumisa accompanied by a knowing and secret wink to him. "I've been in a program too and I know that there are thing to learn."

"Are you kidding, Ebele? Why would we do that? It's obvious that we need to use him to make the family bigger. He even asked to start early, and boy is he insistent." Anashti said with an eager and excited grin. "We should take over more of the nearby tribes so he can get started right away, or at least start getting used to it. And, Dumisa, it will be so great! Once you get back from your contract you can teach him how to procreate right to make sure every girl gets fertilized. With the two of you together, our family will become so powerful that no one can stop us!" She eagerly laughed with a wide grin. "And the best part is that we won't even need to capture any male humans like those other stupid tribes. Ours will be sooo purebred compared to those others!" She excitedly chatted along while Ebele's eyes widened, casting a glance over at the younger sister in alarm.

Dumisa's expression twisted in immediate horror, feeling his blood run cold and his stomach churn. So that was what they wanted to talk about? To convince him to return and continue procreating, just like that other wretched alpha wanted to? The sheer horrific irony of being saved by his sisters only for them to want him to come back and continue procreating was so horrible of a prospect for him that he snickered. He shakily laughed before holding his gut, loudly barking up laughter of despair at his absolutely horrid situation. To be saved only to go right back to what he was doing before … he was so angry he could kill them if they were there in the room with him.

"Dumisa-," Ebele started before Dumisa angrily hissed, whipping his tail around before smashing the hologram devices with his tail, shaking while heavily breathing. He could never go back; if he did, he'd just be forced to resort to the same survival tactics as he had before.

Before Longwei, whom had been in the back of the room listening in his post as high operative, could do anything, Dumisa shot out of the room as fast as he could, slithering away towards where he could taste everyone's, especially the host's, scent more recent and strong.

The door to the room banged open once more, making Aleksey jump, roaring again to protect his cubs while the snake dashed inside and grabbed both the host and Eztli up into his arms, tightly squeezing them as he coiled himself up nice and tight in the corner of the room.

"Dumisa! Hola!" Eztli purred, enjoying the tight hug and trying to hug back but unable to do so thanks to the lamia's axphizating embrace.

"GAH!" Jackie shouted from the sudden tight hug of the serpent. She let out an achy groan, looking up at Dumisa as he tightly hugged them, slowing down his shaky breathing. Jeez, this was two charges on the verge of tears coming to get her. What in the world was going?

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Meanwhile, Kroc stepped into the conference room to see the devices smashed to pieces and a huffy dragon making some calls before seeing him.

"Excuse me Mr. Kroc, but your interview has been postponed due to technical difficulties." Longwei mentioned with a frown while stepping over the unusable pieces of tech. "However, I spoke with your nearest representative and it seems that one of the high australian representatives will contact you later tonight, so if you haven't been contacted by the traditional means of the rainbow serpent then do not be alarmed, it is quite normal."

"I'll be honest, mate. I don't really have a representative. Never heard of a rainbow serpent either." Kroc admitted. He was curious when they told him he would be speaking to a representative but he didn't actually have one - at least he didn't think so.

"You don't know?" The dragon studied Kroc for a moment, gauging his sincerity before exhaling some mist through his nostrils.

"Nah, mate. I spent most of my time in South Africa rather than Australia." He admitted with a shrug, not bothering to mention Ale was to blame for that.

"This is quite unusual." The dragon stepped aside, looking at Kroc. "Normally Extraspecies are held under the jurisdiction of their affiliated territory or a race representative. In some cases directly under a court too, however, Oceania has island divisions, the bigger one clearly being Australia, which it is divided by a mixture of races and territories in itself, all under the rainbow snake. She is one of the oldest surviving royal after all and a member of the original council even if not currently directly involved. She sometimes takes care of minor matters regarding the australian territory due to her abilities too; as for your own case, I am not sure who was the representative that was going to contact you given that the territory leader … well, with your father's death the territory is without a leader."

"True, mate." Kroc nodded, perplexed about that too. But, it didn't really matter. Kroc turned to leave, slipping out into the hallway. He cracked open his jaws, tasting the host's scent nearby. He might as well go and check on the sheela; a lot has happened to her so he was wondering how she was holding up. He walked over towards the room, opening the door and peeking inside.

At the sound of the door opening, Aleksey rose up once more, only to see the crocodile entering this time, thankfully not barging in and scaring the cubs. With a deep exhale he leaned down, twirling his tail and looking at the door as if expecting someone else, hopefully his mate, to come in next.

Kroc scanned the room, pausing as he spotted Dumisa tightly coiled around the host and Eztli. He cracked his jaws open, tasting the air and tasting something rather usual. He stared at the scene, seeing how tense the snake was around the host. He'd never be able to safely pry her out of that snake's clutches without hurting her. He let out a soft sigh before he left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a large heat lamp.

He walked over and sit it up over the distressed snake, turning it on before Kroc began to patiently wait for Dumisa's grasp to loosen up. After sensing that the snake wasn't loosening up, he merely crawled besides the heat of the host and charges and prepared to take nap with them for a bit.

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Jaska slowly walked through the halls of the snow lodge, admittedly feeling … empty. He felt emotionless after so many recent emotions, and that emotionless state weighed heavier on him than anything else. His uncle was right; he was pretty messed up in the head. He had done his best to keep it contained with the help of Ms. Smith but he broke under the pressure of his uncle; and now he had to face the consequences. Jaska let out an even heavier sigh, just imagining all the treatments and evaluations he'd have to go through to get through this. He was not looking forward to it but he knew it was necessary. He put it off for as long as possible so now he'd have to go through all that mental crap after his contract with the host.

Like the sad cat he was, he paced alone and quietly to the snowy terrace of the extra species's side of the compound, almost dragging his feet while getting out to lay in the cool snow. Not too long after, the sound of someone else coming out caught his attention.

"So you are here?" Longwei's voice softly spoke, barely getting the nervous tiger's attention.

"Da." Jaska spoke, glancing over at Longwei with his ears turned down, staring at the ground with a fairly empty gaze. After a few moments of silence the tiger turned towards Longwei, leaning in towards him before resting his head on Longwei's shoulder with a soft chuffing greeting. Jaska didn't really want to be alone at the moment.

"Jaska?" Longwei sounded surprised, but knowing Jaska for as long as he have, he knew exactly what to do and how bad the tiger was feeling. "Do you want a tea?"

"Da." Jaska said, looking rather dead to the world before Longwei turned tail and headed back to his room. Jaska silently followed, walking into the Chinese style V.I.P. room with hanging paper lamps that emitted soft light and walls decorated with some seasonal scrolls that he knew contained old lore and advices. He sat down, watching as Longwei pulled out some mixture of dried up leaves, flowers and bark, and slipped them into a small silk bag. The dragon then set it into a small pot, holding it with his red arm and bringing it to a boil quickly.

"Tell me, Jaska. What is troubling you?" Longwei asked, curious as his tail flicked back and forth. He knew of course many of what Jaska went through but he knew the tiger needed to say it outloud for himself.

"You hear from uncle what happen?" Jaska asked, glancing over at the dragon with a sad frown. Of course, that wasn't what was bothering him at the moment but it certainly was a big problem that needed to be addressed.

"Shi. " The dragon nodded. "You've been through much recently."

Jaska heavily sighed, looking at nothing in particular as he tried to get comfortable. " … you think less of me." Jaska stated with a firm frown, sealing his lips together tightly. He was tempted to go get a strong, stiff drink but knew that Longwei would not allow it given that there was probably only hooman alcohol around.

Longwei looked stern and then took a seat in front of Jaska before preparing his tea cup with a sprinkle of delicate spices. "I commend you for enduring so much. I do not like that you did not contact me or your uncle. I understand the situation, much more regarding the horrible hooman tactics to try and twist your mind; but it was unwise to remain hidden, regardless of reasons" Longwei exhaled some vapor. "Such fear can only cause pain, and pain you caused to your family. Not to mention some mistakes cant be erased and have consequences. "

" … da." Jaska softly muttered, his expression not changing in the least. "I … know. I know, it wrong. But I not bring self to even call. I … scared, embarrassed what they did. Mixing tiger gene with wolf gene is … very bad." Jaska admitted with a light shiver.

"Jaska … ," Mengyao Longwei put his cup down carefully and extended his red arm, placing his palm up. "A dragon of the northern ice shouldn't have a sunset fire dragon's arm either." He then pulled up his long sleeve to show the very clear cut where his red arm was attached to his bluish skin. "Do you know why I have this arm?"

Jaska fell silent, staring at the bright red arm in comparison to the rest of his Longwei's pale blue body. He always did wonder about that, thinking it was natural but now … now that he's bothered to bring it up, it made the tiger think that it was not natural at all.

"Uncle never tell, but I think I know." Jaska admitted, having gotten a rough idea of what happened due to his behavior. "Did hooman do that to you?" He asked, curious and hesitant. "No, rather, hooman make you lose original arm?" He asked. He and Aleksey had come up with lots of theories in the past but never had the balls to ask him directly since it was clear Longwei did not like to talk about it.

"It was worse." Longwei remained serious, his expression aloof as he refilled their cups of tea. "You probably heard about the cases where hoomans think some animal parts has some magic properties. Tiger bones? Some fish glands? Rabbit's feet?" The dragon made a pause to drink and swallowed hard. "Some hoomans managed to trick my family and captured us. We were not many but we gathered, and gathered we were captured. Small cages and many restraints to prevent change size of movement in general. The olders went first, organs, meat … everything. All harvested for the best buyer. Until only a cousin of mine, a sunset fire dragon, and I remained." He gazed into his cup before serving himself some more tea. "But they thought flesh should be fresh to be more effective and buyer wanted to see it was, so they arrange it. I lost my arm and Nikita came storming in, having followed the trail after so long and upholding the ancient pact bastet have with the dragons of the emerald sun. My cousin was barely alive when we got to him, but he, with his dying breath gave me his arm as replace. Nikita had the healers perform the attachment." He let out a cold huff that froze his tea in the cup, which he easily made it slide out of the container so he could chew the icy tea and take a moment to himself, always eyeing his arm. "My arm and I are all that remains of my line. This is one of the reasons why endangered Extraspecies never gather in large numbers."

Jaska stared at Longwei, finding himself speechless. " … I sorry." He apologized, glancing away. Jaska was being selfish acting this depressed when there were other Extraspecies out there in much worse conditions than he was. He had no idea that was where Longwei's hatred of hoomans stemmed from. He knew it had something to do with his arm but to think it was something as horrible as organ harvesting, or removing their body parts … he shuddered at the mere thought of it.

"You can be assured that though horrible the past may be, we are now here alive and relatively complete. And we have a debt to life to prevent this horrors from occurring again, but alas, you need to heal completely first, and the mind is harder to heal than the body in some cases." Longwei served the last of the tea in the cups. "Jaska, I think you should come back to Russia and receive treatment. I can arrange it to be immediate. I am sure I can cut off your contract so that you don't have to return with that hooman and wait for the contract to end."

"I … I not know." Jaska heavily sighed, running a paw over the top of his head. "I … like being charge." He admitted, lying on the table a bit as he tried to think things over. "After contract, da, I go back to Russia. But going back sooner?" Jaska muttered to himself in thought, considering it.

"I assume the company of other extra species has helped your psyche." Longwei exhaled some mist. "After all, wolves are pack creatures. But this hooman host is quite irregular, unapproved by the council, inexperienced and has caused more incidents than it would normally be allowed. To say this is highly irregular would be little. I trust you already know I will go asset this host's place?"

"So what you really plan to do … when, you go to host's house?" Jaska asked, curious and feeling uneasy.

"First and foremost I and Aleksey will ensure the environment is safe. I will also examine the hooman's behavior and ... put to the test her abilities as a host." Longwei allowed himself to smile, perhaps a bit too maliciously.

"And should host fail?" Jaska asked, sounding a little unnerved. He had better warn the host about this. She was a nice hooman; she really was. Too stupid to be malicious.

"She has already failed, I only need any small infringement. The punishments for this hooman, although heavy, will be meaningless in comparison to what we'll finally achieve regarding the bothersome contracts." Longwei said with a cheerful grin. "More tea?"

"No, I fine. Thank you. I going to go to sleep; it been long day." Jaska admitted with a soft sigh.

Longwei nodded and stood up to open up the door for him. "You are not alone Jaska, you are back with your family. And the council is here to protect you too. If you need it, I always have some tea."

Jaska nodded before leaving the room, heading down the hall as he began sniffing around trying to find the host's scent. He paused by a certain door, cracking it open and peeking inside before spotting the host resting on top of Dumisa and Eztli with Kroc laying against the side of the snake, all fast asleep. Jaska crept inside, careful not to wake the others before pausing as a certain scent hit his nose. He glanced over to the other side of the room, finding Aleksey sleeping with the little cubs in their basket. Jaska hesitated, knowing he should not go near the cubs, but he still walked as far away of the cubs as he could before he crawled up onto the snake's coils. He leaned over, gently shaking the host. "Host, wake up." He whispered.

She grumbled in her sleep, turning away from him as Eztli wrapped his arms around her, purring content as Jackie hid her face in the soft black fur. Jaska huffed, annoyed. So it didn't seem like the host was going to wake up soon. He flicked his tail around, trying to decide if he should wake her or not before letting out a sigh. He'd tell her tomorrow morning. She was too cute sleeping to disturb at the moment. Jaska arranged himself on the tight coils, resting his head against her side before he shut his eyes, slowly going to sleep comfortably amongst the other charges.

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After she had led Dumisa to his interview, Sabre had gone to make some calls and a plan started to form in her head. She knew she was in a very dangerous position and everyone would try to use her and her cubs one way or another, so she needed to act fast, and that included her settling things with the hooman coordinator.

With all her natural and trained abilities, Sabre stepped slid inside Smith's room. The coordinator wasn't there but this gave Sabre the chance to revise the security of the room and as she expected, the room was as safe as a safe room. Anything of what they spoke would remain secret.

Not long after, the door opened, and certain coordinator stepped inside. She paused in her steps, seeing Sabre in her room.

"Oh, hello Sabre. Did you come for a nice petting session?" Ms. Smith asked with a cheerful smile.

"If I wanted pet's I'd go to Jackie." Sabre immediately answered, puffing herself and knowing that Smith was even more dangerous than Jackie when it came to petting. "I'm here to talk business as you can probably guess. Nothing we say will get out of here, and I was never here."

"But of course. What would you like to talk about?" Smith asked as she calmly shut the door before taking a seat on her bed and patting the seat next to her, trying to entice the soft kitty closer.

"I'll start by informing you that I gained time." Sabre sat on the small sofa away from the bed and crossed her legs. "Nikita is going to allow all the charges to remain in Jackie's contract until the official time of it ends."

Smith's eyes widened a bit, surprised. She remained silent, blinking in confusion. "I can't say I'm not happy with that, but I understand you dislike somehow. Why would you do that?" Smith asked, genuinely confused before smiling. "Was it for Jackie's sake?"

Sabre of course would never admit how much she valued the host, it would be ammunition against her and the host. "For my own sake. And everyone's sake too. " The leopardess swayed her tail. "Are you aware that I … that my blood is royal?"

Smith's smile fell, becoming more serious. "And I suppose that would be thanks to the experiments done on you." Ms. Smith sighed. "You don't need to worry, Sabre. I will not speak a word of that to anyone." She promised with a gentle smile. "I'm really not as bad as you like to portray me as." She grinned.

Sabre let out a small growl as the tip of her tail curled. "And that's partly what I want to negotiate." She crossed her arms. "I had no idea how 'pure' the company managed to make my blood, but Nikita took a sample at some point while I was feral and he had it analyzed. The results are very surprising. A pure bastet, a royal one like it hadn't been in a while up to 90% pure I think." She groaned. "And apparently I have already been officially recognized by at least one court. The mermaids. You can start to imagine all the stir a sudden royal will cause, more so because bastet royales were supposedly extinct."

"So quickly?" Ms. Smith frowned. "Hm. And they don't find any of it suspicious?" Smith asked, sounding worried. "Who else knows that you are an experiment?"

"Only you, Aleksey and that stripped menace." She growled the last part. "And no, the mermaids are not suspicious because they have known all along that some bastet royals are still alive and hidden. It seems they have been in contact."

"Well, I suppose that works in your favor." She noted about the mermaids. "And Jackie? Is she aware?" She asked.

"I just told you only you, Aleksey and the stripped menace know." Sabre growled again, puffing and changing her position on the sofa. "And yes, that works in my favor if I wanted to be recognized, but that will draw attention to myself that I don't want. I'm sure by now many are planning on how to use this new little royal that wasn't raised by Extraspecies and surely will need to be guided and advised on everything. At the very least they will want me in their clutches, don't you think? I'm now a usable important political piece in many boards." She hissed.

"Well, I am glad you aren't letting this all go to your head." Ms. Smith smiled cheerfully.

"But yes, it is true. They would likely try to take advantage of you at every turn. My concern is what they will do to Aleksey." She frowned. "Being mated to a 'commoner' bastet won't go over well with them, even if he is family of the one Nikita Sviet." She warned. "So you need to make sure they understand that you are permanently mated to Aleksey."

"I know. But Aleksey is MY everything, and I'll do all I can and more to protect him and my cubs. " Sabre looked at Smith with determination. "But to achieve that I will have to get out of their reach."

"So? What do you propose?" Ms. Smith asked with a smile. "I do not want to take advantage of you like the other royals, Sabre. If there is something I can do to help you, then I will lend you my help. It _would_ look amazing on the program to have you vocally support us, though." She teasingly grinned.

"I can't do that, at least not yet. If I say it outloud I'll look naive to the council, and if I don't support them, then I'll only hurt my own interest, so I first must ... establish my own power in any way I can to make a footing and prevent anyone's meddling."

"This is smart." Smith said with a gentle smile, anticipating what was coming next. "And I suppose you coming to me means that you need my help?"

"I don't have much Smith." She lowered her ears, but then perked up again. "However they can't predict how I'm going to act. And I also have WYLD, I made it myself and it has grown somewhat. Perhaps it's time we enhance the deal and supply all the programs that you have control over … or contact with. If this works your head might not be presented to Nikita in a plate."

" … I will see what I can do before I'm kicked off the top." Smith heavily sighed. "The higher ups aren't going to be happy that the council is so angry but I could feed some of my trusted employees the ideas for WYLD so they can get that in motion before I'm gone." Smith said with a sad smile.

"WYLD is more than money. It is also recognition of the general public, but that isn't enough." Sabre bit her lip. "I have an extra plan, I need you to pass the clause that allows Extraspecies to … settle and work here. I know that in your files there's the proposal of a clause that allows special economic zones. It's already presented and approved, it just needs to be implemented, and I have the perfect place in mind, and of course, I'll make sure the property is private."

"I suppose I could push that through as soon as I get back. And what place do you have in mind?" She asked with a curious smile.

For the first time in this secret meeting, Sabre smiled, smugly but happily. "You'll love the idea in general."

Smith blinked and then smiled.

 _Note to self: I love kitties._

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Once the negotiations with Smith were finished, Sabre headed back to her den with her little kittens inside. She lightly blushed, excited to return to her lovely mate before she opened the door and paused, looking over to see all of the charges piled up with Jackie sleeping in the middle. All of them. Sabre's eyes narrowed as she spotted Jaska, the stripped menage, resting peacefully besides the host, perfectly content and purring happily.

Quieting a growl, she began approaching slowly and silently. The stripped menace was a loose end she needed to take care of. He knew her secret and was a danger in every way to her. And why was he here, in the same room that her precious cubs as if nothing had happened before?!

She silently crawled up the side of Dumisa, peeking over the top at Jaska as her fangs barred. She really, really hated the stripped menace. It would be so easily to just kill him now and use the excuse that she went feral and couldn't control herself since he was in the same room as her precious fluffy jelly beans, and that would forever silence what he knew about her past too. Very quietly she reached over towards his neck, flexing her claws before pausing. Being a new mother herself, he would definitely believe that she just happened to go feral. But then again, Aleksey would be very sad to see Jaska dead. He already lost his brother once before and that almost destroyed him. Nikita also cared for the stripped danger and she needed the old tiger on her side too. But that wasn't everything, was it? Sabre held back a growl, reaching forward again to cut Jaska's jugular artery.

"Sabre?" Aleksey sleepily called out as she turned around, spotting Aleksey looking right at her. His eyes were sexily half lidded and he sleepily blinked, clearly not seeing the attempt at murder she was about to commit. "Sabre, come here. Don't join the others to sleep; I want to cuddle with mate." Aleksey asked with a soft purr in his chest, smiling with an innocent happiness.

Quite casually, instead of dealing a fatal blow to Jaska, Sabre grabbed the host as if it was her intention all along and pulled her out of the pile to carry her to her corner where Aleksey awaited. She dropped the host carefully at the side and accommodated besides Aleksey, bumping noses and rubbing her chin over him before giving him a few licks, cuddling against him.

Jackie sleepily mumbled, rubbing her eyes and sleepily glanced around at the new furry bed curled around her so instead of staying up for long, the host went right back into a blissful sleep, not even noticing the fluffy tail hitting her face.

"I love you, Sabre." Aleksey softly whispered before kissing her on the lips, surprising her at the gesture. Aleksey paused, pulling back. "What wrong? I thought you like human kisses." He teased, gently licking her cheek instead.

Sabre blinked, her blush deepening as she quietly assaulted Aleksey with a french kiss.

Aleksey smiled, kissing her more deeply before kissing her forehead. Sabre kissed his neck, noticing his lack in kissing before glancing up at him, seeing him looking over at Jaska sleeping soundly on top of the snake.

" 'leksey? Is something the matter?" Sabre placed her hand over his and leaned her body to share more warmth, her tail curling over his while the host slept peacefully underneath of Sabre.

" … I very worried, Sabre." Aleksey admitted, nuzzling back against her with a frown. "I very worried about Jaska." He admitted with a sad frown, twitching his tail back and forth. "I so worry, I wonder if I get stomach ulcer." He softly chuckled but it was a strained and forced laugh.

"Why are you worried?" Sabre carefully asked, not wanting to show her real animosity or share the opinion that the stripped danger could go die out for all she cared.

"I very worried for mental state. I so worried he turn permanent feral. Lost brother once, I no want to lose brother again." Aleksey admitted with a firm frown, his paws slightly trembling. "I so scared to lose brother again." He whispered, nuzzled against her as he slowed down his breathing to remain calm.

Sabre nuzzled back but remained quiet for a bit, admittedly uncomfortable. "Nikita is going to take care of him."

"Uncle can be … harsh. But even he know how dangerous wolf DNA with cat DNA is. He has fight both wolves and bastet and know how different are instincts for them. Jaska can turn permanent feral if not careful, uncle know that. I not help but be scared for Jaska. Messing with mental state much more dangerous than physical. He much worse off than me." Aleksey noted sadly, kissing her ear as he held her closer and nuzzled her gently.

Sabre nuzzled back again and gave a light kiss to his chipped ear, eyeing his wounds and carefully hugging him. "Aleksey … I know how much you care for that cat, hell, it was the reason why you went to the company and why we met each other, but … ," she took a deep breath. " … But he never showed such same dedication. Even when he learned that you were … well, dead as I thought it, he didn't show any signs of caring. He was merely happy into working for Smith and getting away from Nikita. Just that. Maybe … maybe he was mental since then."

Aleksey softly chuckled. "Jaska very quiet with emotions. He no like to say aloud how he feel. That why you get him drunk if you want to hear emotions." Aleksey teased with a grin. "Should have seen when younger, we steal uncle's good vodka, have little party. He cry like newborn kitten." He lightly laughed.

"Drunk, huh?" Sabre flickered her ears, clearly remembering how Jaska had practically vomited a bunch of 'emotions' after getting drunk with that skull bottle of vodka. "He just seemed unstable from the start."

"Da, that your good instincts. Even if you no realize exactly what, you notice something off. That is a very good, mate." He purred, licking her forehead. "While I gone, Sabre, try make nice. Please?" Aleksey asked with big kitten-like eyes.

"Nuuuh." She whined. "I want nothing to do with that stripped menace, Aleksey. You don't know how much … I just don't want him near. He is a danger."

"I understand, Sabre. But I love you both; you no have to love, but maybe tolerate? … but, da, keep away from babies. I no want him by them." He smiled with a small innocent kitty smile.

Sabre's eyes widened and her mouth was left agape at Aleksey's words. He didn't want the menace near her cubs? She of course didn't want so either, but he neither?

"Da, I love brother … but he unstable and I can't risk our cubs or you. Even if I ask to get along if needed." He then relaxed his expression and pulled the host closer along with Sabre. "I spoke long with host. I promise I give hooman chance and I did. She not seem as bad. So… please not be so murderous to bratja?" He winked while smiled, and before she could say anything, he kissed her deeply, hooman style.

Sabre deeply blushed, drunk off of the love of her mate. " … fine." She muttered, kissing him back in return before nuzzling against his chest, purring contently.

"Good. When I go to New York tomorrow, I make sure all is safe for kittens and make sure host is good host. But for now, I want you, mate. I without you for too long." Aleksey purred, pulling Sabre in for a deep kiss before rolling away from the host, situating Sabre on top of his stomach and chest while he kissed up her neck, determined to hold through the pain. He wanted her badly.

"´Leksey … ," Sabre moaned, munching on the fluff of his neck and letting her leg slide at the sides of his hips as she began rubbing herself on him.

Sabre pressed a gently paw against his chest, feeling his peck unknowing against a sensitive wound. Aleksey let out a pained groan, tipping his head back slightly and gritting his teeth at the painful touch and her weight over him.

Sabre gave him a slightly too hard bite and upon hearing his small pained groan, she rolled off him and almost over Jackie. "Aleksey? Are you alright?"

" … da?" He barely croaked out, annoyed at himself for not even having enough energy to properly satisfy his mate. "Let us continue." Aleksey said, trying to lean over her as he nuzzled her cheek, clearly struggling.

Sabre placed her hand on his face. "No. You need to heal first." She admonished with a worried look. "We'll do all and more once you are fine." Sabre smiled, giving him a quick kiss over the nose.

Aleksey heavily sighed, disappointed before he nuzzled her lovingly, falling asleep in the embrace of his beloved mate, not even caring about the hooman at their side.

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Surprise, we put it out early bc of Chaos's nagging. **10 REVIEWS** PER CHAPTER for the next chapter, enjoy! :D Happy Halloween everyone!

Chaos-Dark-Lord: Yeah, I nagged about releasing this too :P

And know you know why Longwei has a red arm and hates hoomans or what happened to Jaska's parents. What do you think about Aleksey now that he got some time to interact with Jackie?

Anyways, I started my PHD/Doctorate, yay, less time for me XD but we are still making progress in everything. I thank for the idea about the twitter, although I don't know how we can implement it given that neither Peeko or I use twitter. But we'll see later, for now we'll keep advancing on the game and the story :3

I would wish you happy halloween but I celebrate day of the dead, so may your ancestors be proud of you!


	38. Chapter 38

Late at night Kroc laid soundly asleep with the other charges, dreaming of a strange combination of colored dots moving and forming images that looked like aboriginal depictions in his mind. He let out a low hiss, finding himself not in control of his body or dreams, but he was clearly aware of what was happening. He couldn't try to force himself awake either to avoid whatever nightmare this was and he had a hard time discerning what was reality and what was not. What convinced him that he must be dreaming was the moving lights and colors dancing across within his mind in a way his eyes would not naturally be able to comprehend.

He remained still, feeling himself begin to get aggravated as he felt something fluid moving between the lights and colors, bringing up memories as though the presence was scanning them. He thought for the briefest moment that perhaps a mind reader was going through his mind and he struggled to resist the mental intruder as it pulled up memories of when Kroc ripped out Ale's throat. The lights paused in motion, centering its attention around this detail before he felt a vague sense of approval from whatever was scanning his memories.

The multicolored dots move like snake coils and he felt that he was being approved for getting a new crocodile tribal mark on his body to prove his strength to himself and the people around him. He stopped fighting his instincts, instead going with the flow of the strange presence that oddly enough felt reassuring in some way. In his mind he watched as the lights glowed brightly, showing the image of a white, battle scarred tiger and the passing of time before finding himself imagining a much stronger version of himself. Perhaps it was a leap in logic but he felt the urge to go and speak with Nikita about this and perhaps to ask the tiger for training, puzzling him further.

He watched as the lights formed the outline of Oceania before focusing on Australia, watching as known alphas began appearing in his mind, not just the alphas of alphas, but also some regional or alphas - to the North a tasmanian devil, to the East a spider of some kind, to the West a kangaroo, to the South, a koala, some Equidna near the red desert, a thorny devil at the other side of the desert and so on, all the while getting the sense that if he trained himself with Nikita, he would be able to be officially named an alpha of Australia, or at least to some territory in it; which was one of the greatest honors that could be bestowed to an Extraspecies and something only the strongest or wisest achieved. Even with his lack of knowledge about Australian Extraspecies culture he could sense that. And now with Ale, one of his greatest obstacles out of the way, he was free to start pursuing a new dream; becoming an alpha himself and ensuring that nothing would beat him again sounded like a good plan.

Kroc did not question his instincts; Longwei had told him the old and wise 'rainbow serpent' would be contacting him, and this must be her. He could feel it - his dreams were never so livid before and he now had another goal to strive towards.

The lights slowly died down, leaving an ushering sense of approval in his mind before his eyes popped open, tiny slitted and regaining movement of his body. He looked around the room, seeing all of the charges he was previously sleeping with on the other side of the room and cautiously staring at him. Kroc blinked, remaining still and silent. They were alarmed by something but he wasn't sure by what. He listened and tasted his environment, sensing no immediate danger, letting out a low barring hiss to warn anything potentially dangerous near them that he would rip them to shreds.

"I-Is Kroc feral again?" Eztli squeaked out, backing away behind Dumisa in alarm as Aleksey hissed in Kroc's direction as a fierce warning with Sabre by his side protecting the kittens.

"Not feral, mate." Kroc said before he sat up again, feeling a dull thumping ache in his mind as he reached up and rubbed his head, groaning in a spot of discomfort. "What happened? You all are pretty tense." Kroc noted, turning towards the other charges curiously.

"You were moving a lot and kicking around." Sabre said with some apprehension. "Your hissing and croaking woke everyone up."

"Was I?" Kroc asked, surprised. Normally he slept like a log and would wake up in the same belly down position he always had when sleeping, but it wasn't until now that he realized he was on his back - uncomfortably so. "Hm. Weird." He noted, wanting to ask Nikita to train with him but he was at a loss for what he could offer the large cat.

"You kept swinging your tail around, gecko." Dumisa hissed in annoyance with his arms folded. "You jolted me awake with a hard slap against my side; I'll definitely have bruising tomorrow." He frowned in annoyance.

Eztli peeked out from behind Dumisa, looking Kroc over with his ears pulled down. "You were making weird sounds so we tried waking you up but nothing worked."

"You are really heavy sleeper. We tossed water over you, poked you with the curtain rod from a distance, we tried tickles, tossing pillows or furniture on you, even gently nudging you too, but noooooo, you wouldn't wake up." Reza pointed out, somewhat admiring what a heavy sleeper he was.

Aleksey's growling softened but he remained over the basket of little sleepy kittens, flashing his teeth as a warning towards the crocodile. He disliked having the kitten being by so many other apex predators. With a soft, sore heaving growling sound he began calling for Sabre to come back to the safety of the other side of the room.

"Korc, are you sure you are all right?" Sabre asked with some worry, unsure how to react and shifting on her feet as if undecided to go back with her mate or if to approach Kroc.

"Hm." Kroc hummed without answering before letting out a bit of a strained chuckle, "I'm not too sure myself if I'm being honest." He admitted, thinking about the snowy environment Nikita would likely train him in. Kroc would have to be trained in an inside environment unless he had a special heating suit to keep him warm.

"Do you want petting?" Eztli asked, glancing over at the sleeping host whose instincts were too dull to pick up on the crocodile who was thrashing in his sleep earlier.

Kroc glanced over at Jackie, pulled out of his earlier thoughts about training with Nikita. "Nah, that's alright. Sheila is still asleep." He said with a sigh. Although being pet did sound rather nice. Having the sensation of being paralyzed certainly wasn't an enjoyable experience.

They all stared at Kroc silently before Dumisa's tail swung around, slapping Jackie's side and flipping her over before she let out a groaning sigh, flipping onto her back before sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Hey host, the crocodile is needy and wants some petting; needs it, actually. Do what you do." Reza waved his hand in a sort of petting motion, pointing at Kroc.

"Stop, stop," Jackie mumbled, rubbing her face and trying to wake up. "What's going on?" She asked, looking over at everyone sleepily.

"Kroc had a nightmare. Go give him pets." Eztli said, coming up behind Jackie and trying to stand her up as her knees sleepily buckled.

"Waht? What nightmare?" Jackie asked, trying to wake up from her deep sleep.

Sabre suddenly grabbed Jackie bridal style and walked towards Kroc, then she placed the sleepy host over the crocodile's lap. "Host, pet him."

"Hmmm … okay … you had a nightmare?" Jackie asked, looking up at Kroc as she sleepily leaned against him before Eztli poked her side, waking her back up again.

"Pet Kroc, host. He looked feral when he looked up it was so bad." Eztli said with a concerned pout, glancing up at Kroc and studying his wider pupils now.

"Really? Kroc did?" Jackie asked, sounding as surprised as she was sleepy. "Well, it's fine. When we get back to the house I'll make some special seasoned meat for you." She said before she reached up, gently rubbing Kroc's neck.

"Did I look that bad?" Kroc asked, turning to the others who all nodded in agreement. "Hm. Sorry for the scare, mates." He apologized, looking down at Jackie as she sleepily began to nod off again. He stared at her warm little body, studying her sleepy form before he gently hugged her and enjoyed the warmth of her body heat for a little bit.

"Aleksey, I'm here to take you and the hooman. We are parting in 15 minutes so come now." Longwei spoke as he appeared in the doorway.

Everyone turned to look at the dragon but no one said anything. Eztli jumped behind Kroc and hugged him while hiding from Longwei, peeking out from behind the large crocodile at the scary dragon.

"Come now you too, hooman." Longwei said to Jackie in a harsh commanding tone.

Jackie nodded and went out of the door, too sleepy to process anything while telling everyone to behave and promising them seasoned meat chunks when they returned. However, Aleksey remained in the room, standing up but looking between Sabre and the cubs, his shoulders down as he emitted some soft sad prustens towards his mate.

"´Leksey … ," Sabre stood in front of him, looking longingly into his eye as he lightly bumped noses with her. Sabre tossed her arms around his frame to hug him tightly, purring and nuzzling him as aggressively as she could without hurting him.

"I'll miss you." Aleksey softly purred, gently licking her cheek.

Sabre returned the lick and kissed his neck while caressing his sides. "You'll be fine, right? I don't want you taking risks. There aren't any in the house but ... "

"Da, I be careful." He kissed her on the lips, tightening his hug. "You be careful too, take easy."

They began getting more and more dramatic until Longwei came and grabbed Aleksey and lifted him up like a kitten, gently carrying him away while the big tiger kept on saying goodbyes to Sabre all the way across the hall while Sabre kept on answering how much she loved Aleksey back until they disappeared at the far corner of the hallway.

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Jackie let out a very heavy sigh as she opened the door to the tiny car, stepping out and stretching out her cramped legs from the long ride home. The trip had started incredibly well; she could hardly believe that the council had sent a private jet to pick them up in to get back to New York. Well, they had first crossed a park portal like the ones the operatives used to storm the warehouse a few nights ago and it took them to some private hangar in the Canadian border, where they got onto the private jet to get back to New York. The difference in funding between the program and the council was astounding. However, once they reached New York they were transported in a tiny van provided by the program, and during the ride, Aleksey had kept on shifting as much as he could trying to look around through the windows while Longwei kept complaining about the awful conditions the program subjected Extraspecies to.

Finally, as they reached their destination Longwei allowed himself to hiss in displeasure, crawling outside of the car and then started to give the driver an earful about regulations and proper protocol regarding a bunch of numbered irregularities the program were supposedly breaking.

Jackie walked around to the other side, opening the door for Aleksey. "Do you need some help?" Jackie offered, holding out a hand for him to take.

"Niet." Aleksey said, getting out by himself with difficulty while looking around the garage, sniffing the air. "So … this place home, huh?" He said, sounding a little disappointed, stretching out as he could and then groaning at some sudden pain.

"Careful Aleksey." Longwei came to stand besides the tiger and eye him with some worry while the vehicle left. Both Extraspecies eyed everything carefully, Longwei with clear disdain and Aleksey with some curiosity. While Longwei complained how crappy and hooman it looked, Aleksey sniffed around, moving left and right and looking up and down as he examined everything he could about the house.

"Okay, I'm going to go open up the house for you to bring your stuff in." Jackie said as she turned into her shop, walking through the garage before going up the twisting metal stairs. She flipped out her key and opened the lock, pushing the door to open it but met unexpected resistance. She paused, confused before pushing harder against it, feeling it give ever so slightly before she braced herself and shouldered the door open, stumbling inside and letting out a small startled shout as she fell onto the bumpy ground.

She blinked, confused and speechless as she saw her entire home covered in twisting vines and plants. With wide eyes she looked up, seeing greenery everywhere it shouldn't be. Her jaw dropped as she flicked on the light, better seeing the vegetation. The air was thick and humid with moss growing on the stairs, literal small trees in her living room, plants in all of the kitchen pots, bowls and cups, herbs growing in the corner of the rooms and a huge arrangement of hanging grapes in the rafters which to be honest looked great with exception to the fact it was inside of her home.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?!" Jackie shrieked in horror, almost having a heart attack as she imagined just how much time and effort she'd have to put into cleaning the leafy horror inside of her home.

Longwei shot up the stairs before bursting down the door, his claws looking ready for a fight before he paused, looking stunned at the state of the house. "Were the remodeling so ... thorough?" He said, puzzled as he looked around the house and felt the extreme temperature difference from the cold snow outside to the humid warmth inside. "They clearly did it without consideration for the different necessities of the charges." He huffed, disapproving.

"A proper jungle, but not good for cold weather extra species. I'd prefer a Taiga, colder forest." Aleksey looked up to the vines on the rafters. "But I impressed hot weather here while so cold outside."

"Th-This isn't how my house normally looks! I-I-I have no idea where all these plants came from." Jackie said, freaked out as she stared at the walls covered in vines.

Aleksey and Longwei glance at one another and share a small nod. They needed to seek out whoever was here and the stupid host already alerted them to their presence, annoyingly enough.

Longwei leapt up into the rafters silently, using the aerial advantage to slowly creep along and look for dangers there while Aleksey pulled out a large handgun from his bag before silently setting the bag down. Jackie stared at the gun in shock, opening her mouth to say something but Aleksey reaching over, pressing a finger against her lips to silence her as she stared at him in confusion before he winked at her and pointed to the ground, basically telling her to stay there. Jackie nervously frowned and nodded, wondering if she should call Smith and tell her about all the vegetation suddenly in her home.

As Jackie silently waited she heard Longwei and Aleksey exchanging a small series of grunts, chirps, growls and other such strange noises and vibrations that Jackie could feel over her skin. She had no idea what they were doing but they were clearly communicating with each other somehow in a way her charges never had before.

Jackie let out a soft sigh, glancing over at Aleksey before her eyes widened, watching some kind of plant man with bright fiery red hair and green skin stand clearly in Aleksey's view, leaning in and sniffing the tiger curiously. Jackie waited for Aleksey's gun to go off but it never did; Aleksey's eyes just passed right over the plant as he literally moved around him, oblivious to the fact the plant was alive at all.

"H-hey, guys, is that a … plant … man?" She asked, pointing out the plant man as he leaned over closer to Aleksey, sniffing his fur more fervently.

"You have the subtle scent of the great Heika over your person … deeply embedded." The plant man approached, sliding over the floor and rounding Aleksey. "You are a chosen one of her great hunter, thus I should not end you for entering her territory." He spoke as Aleksey jolted, alarmed and looked around for the source of the noise before he looked down, staring the strange plant man in the eyes before jolting in startlement at the enemy having been so close to him. Longwei leapt from the rafters and grabbed Aleksey, pulling him away and stepping between the plant man and Aleksey quickly.

"You, Jubokko. What are you doing here in this household?" Longwei asked, making sure the jubokko wouldn't come closer to Aleksey while his chilly breath reached the jubokko as a warning to keep his distance.

The jubokko moved back surprisingly fast at the cold and then took a firm stand. "I am Naoki of whichever name my Heika upholds, I follow the all great and mighty Heika Sabre, the swift bringer of demise and death, and liberator of the captured. The storm of violent murder of the enemies of Extraspecies, the savior of the condemned, the fangs of the night and the claws of the sunset; she whose fangs are daggers, she whose her claws are knives, she whose tail is the silent fluffiness which whispers death in the night," he continued on, interesting the others as to who he was.

"What? Who you?" Aleksey flickered his ears in confusion but next he sneered, showing his fangs and becoming aggressive, quickly standing partially behind Longwei and aiming his weapon at the plant man, prepared to fight. "How you know Sabre?"

"Naoki is part of the plant type Extraspecies, more specifically the Japanese Jubokko which was a species awoken by the blood of soldiers in a war long ago. They feed on the blood of creatures, most specifically hoomans and do not care for much other than caring for plants of their liking. It seems he was one of the escaped Extraspecies from the port raid not long ago." Longwei explained, now understanding what must have happened while keeping Reza's long winded story in his mind. That blabbering noble must have told him the host's address, hence why he was there now. "Their kind tend to remain attached to a single territory and attract prey animals. They often make deals with predators to remain in their territory in exchange for attracting prey for the predators."

"But … but why are you here? Why did you turn my house into a horrible jungle? Do you have any idea how long it's going to take me to clean all this up?" Jackie asked, still stunned at what had become of her house in a few short days. The plants were even becoming entwined with the architecture, weakening the structure of her house. If left unattended it could tear her house apart!

"I'm merely taking care of the great Heika's den and garden as it is my duty to keep it lush and attract prey. I, as her gardener, must ensure all plants in the territory enhance the territory, also I get rid of any intruder, danger or random passerby as an assassin in case of needing fertilizer or if someone bothers, upsets or interferes with the Heika, however the quality of fertilizer around the zone is quite low." He crossed his arms. "However I managed to make the vines grow in this non appropriate weather and the flowers will bloom in a few short weeks. I might have to add some orchids, but I will first make sure perennial trees and bushes start growing outside to start attracting prey. Some frutal ones would serve.

"No, no absolutely not!" Jackie angrily cut in, "these plants are a distraction to my work and are in the way! It's a safety hazard that not only will trip up my charges but the new kittens too! I only have 3 days at best to clean all this crap up and have it ready for all of my charges by the time they get back!" Jackie shouted, her mind swirling around how much work she was going to have to do. "Now, get these stupid plants out of here so I can start cleaning!" Jackie growled, absolutely pissed that her entire house was torn apart and filled with dirt in just a few short weeks of being gone.

Naoki's eyes slightly widened, showing his shock. "I did not realize my Heika's mighty bloodline has expanded. I must reorganize the house to attract smaller preys for the cubs." He said, reassessing Aleksey and figuring he must be Sabre's pollinator.

"Da, I Sabre mate." He proudly proclaimed. "I provide with much cubs for darling fluffy mate." He purred with a fanboyish grin, thinking of his beloved mate.

"Yes, and I need to make this house presentable to them so get the plants out." Jackie growled, sounding more calm but looking rather pissed off.

"I … I did not consider cubs." Naoki bit on his finger, he then fixed his unblinking stare on Aleksey. "Oh … I see, that's why my Heika's scent in entwined with yours. You are one her concubines it seems … the cubs are going to need different plants around, maybe to attract smaller prey, or bigger ones for my Heika to hunt?"

"Look, this is _my_ house. I decide how this house is run and having all these plants out here is going to impede my work taking care of Sabre and the cubs." Jackie pointed out.

"You dare question my Heika's liking of the proper acclimatization of her den?" Naoki turned to Jackie and raised his arm in a threatening way coldly staring at her with an unchanging expression.

"This is my home, Naoki, and I am Sabre's host. I'm supposed to take care of her. Do you have any idea how much I'm going to have to clean before they get back here?" Jackie angrily demanded. "And do you even know how thick Sabre's fur is right now? This weather will make her overheat constantly and no amount of cold baths will make her feel better over long exposure periods to heat." Jackie pointed out. "And how do you know if these plants are her favorite or not? Did she ever tell you what she liked and doesn't like? Because I know." Jackie snapped back at him, not feeling very threatened.

"You, plant, this hooman … ," Aleksey pointed towards Jackie. "She in charge of attending charges, Sabre, and to keep things clean and nice. She pet and brush fur, she keep den clean, and she care for other needs." He explained so the plant man could better understand her purpose.

"So this hooman is the appointed landowner of the Heika's territory and her personal maid and servant." The plant nodded. "I understand." He once more rose his hand, and all the plants around began moving on their own, slowly but with a clear shuffle of their leafs. "Where should be the general storage greenhouse then?"

Jackie's face drained of color as she stared at the moving plants, honestly freaked out by their seemingly independent movements. "U-Um … in the garage, for now." Jackie said, disliking the fact she was sacrificing her old workspace for these monstrous plants. "First start with the living room," she started, turning and seeing Longwei popping grapes off of the vines and munching on them, seeming to be ignoring them all, much to Jackie's confusion. " ... Longwei, what are you doing?" She asked, near speechless.

"I am eating this grapes. Is it not obvious?" Longwei didn't bother to look at the host as he continued to eat the little round fruits.

"Go ahead and consume those plant eggs." Naoki said, "spreading the seeds will be fine and moving the vines will be easier."

Jackie frowned in annoyance. " … fine, leave the grapes for now." Jackie sighed, seeing Longwei enjoying plucking them off the plant and eating them.

"Hey plant-man, do you have cherries, berries or strawberries? Wei-wei likes them a lot." Aleksey chuckled, quite amused. "He once got tiny wei-wei head stuck inside jar because he wanted lick the juices clean."

Longwei paid them no mind, busying himself with eating the delicious grapes considering how hungry he was from the trip.

Jackie stared at Longwei, tucking that piece of information into the back of her head. "Hey, what are we going to do with Naoki now?" Jackie asked Aleksey, seeing Longwei was ignoring them.

Aleksey laughed a bit. "Once wei-wei finishes grapes he call council coordinator. Meanwhile I go check rest of building." He said with a smile before, for a brief moment, getting very serious and intimidating. "And hooman, don't lose plant from view. If anything happen, scream and run." After that, he walked away towards the stairs, moving slowly in a silent stalking pace despite his wounds.

" … scary." Jackie admitted with a frown before glancing over at Naoki.

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While laying over the polar bear skin, every so often Sabre rose her head to look at the door and then sighed, burying her nose on some old bandages that Aleksey had used. Sometimes she unconsciously emitted some soft sad growling calls. It hadn't been that long since her mate and the host had gone back to New York but it certainly felt like a long time to her.

After putting her kittens to sleep in their basket, she laid down again and began skimming through the messages of her phone quite slowly, ignoring everything and everyone around while well aware the other charges were peeking into the room at her through the crack on the door.

"The sheila is looking pretty down." Kroc muttered, staring at the female cat lying by her many kittens as they slept soundly.

"Hmph. I don't see why. Her mate is alive and healthy so what more does she want?" Dumisa miffed, annoyed that Sabre was so depressed just because her mate wasn't nearby her.

"It's love." Eztli claimed what should be obvious to them. "Real love, better than in my novelas because it's real, but it's so real that it hurts." He purred, staring over Sabre with large adoring eyes at the display of love she was putting off for Aleksey.

"Hm. Sounds boring." Reza admitted.

"I can hear you all, you know." Sabre sighed once more. "If you're going to just stare then better just come in."

"I don't understand why you are so depressed; your mate is alive and well." Dumisa scoffed, poking her tail and gently tugging on it for her attention. We are going back to the host in a few days and then you'll be back with him. I fail to understand why you are acting like this." He nagged in annoyance.

Eztli came by her side and laid besides her, purring and nuzzling her, happy as always. "Si, cheer up."

"I'm not depressed." She mumbled as she buried her face into the polar bear fur. "I … I just miss him a lot. You know, I thought he was dead, but he wasn't, and all that happened, and what if something happens?"

"Longwei is with him. Nothing is going to happen to Aleksey." Jaska spoke loudly from the entrance, hiding himself and not letting himself be seen as he reassured her.

Automatically Sabre growled a warning towards the door, standing up and perking her her fur, her fangs bared. Jaska, hearing her warning growl, heavily sighed.

" … da, I leave. But no worry about brother, Longwei take good care." Jaska spoke before his paws were heard fading down the hall.

"Stupid cat shouldn't bother being worried about you. Not after all the crap he pulled." Dumisa hissed in annoyance.

"But you also tried to kill Sabre - recently too. So why isn't she pissed at you too?" Kroc pointed out.

"Because Dumisa is my friend and because he cares for me. It was an accident and he made sure it was a dry bite. Plus he is a designer partner." Sabre puffed her fur and then went to crawl and lay over Dumisa's coils.

"Hm, hm hm." Reza said, nodding along. "I can't help but notice the double standard." Reza noted curiously.

"No, Rez. It's different." Sabre huffed.

"Well, think about it. Both Dumisa and Kroc have tried to kill you too and you don't go growling at them or trying to kill them back. Only Jaska, and you're being much harsher with him than the other two." Reza noted curiously, staring at her for her reaction. "Can you explain why that is? I don't get it personally." Reza said, trying to think about it.

Sabre growled before she suddenly burst out crying. "He abused me, and more than once, and he faked being Aleksey, and attacked me and Antain and tried to kick me out and the what and … ," she finally confessed her words were lost among her wails. From her view, Jaska had r**ed her and then attacked her on various occasions and tried to harm her in many ways, kicking her out and much more before the stupid heat made her need the help. She almost forgave him because she argued that everything had been a mix of cultural shocks, that maybe he had considered her a bastet all along instead of her real origins, but then he went and tried to kill her again after she accepted he had only been using her as a sex toy. She simply couldn't hold in all this anymore.

Everyone perked up, surprised that she was confessing all this to them and more so that she wasn't fighting more against Reza in this. If she had broken so easily then she really _was_ super depressed.

But, unfortunately, Reza wasn't finished.

"And Kroc was a sociopath determined to murder his father and Dumisa is so afraid of someone leaving him that he would rather kill them than let him leave him. If you tried to leave he'd probably try to kill you again and Kroc, well, if his father was still alive then he'd do anything to rip him apart - including ripping you apart if you tried to intervene. So it seemed that Jaska, the one afraid of being left alone, is the one who got the short end of the stick, but Dumisa has a similar problem with that and has also tried to kill you. Is it only because you mated with Jaska that you were so hurt that he hurt you? In which case Aleksey should probably know that you were in love with Jaska to the point that you now hate him after he emotionally hurt you, which Dumisa had too but you don't love him and that is why you aren't trying to kill him for betraying you. So in other words, you genuinely love Jaska but now that he attacked you, you hate him deeply and now that Aleksey is back, you keep hating Jaska because it's easier for you to say that you hate Jaska while Aleksey is around than to say that you loved Jaska and he hurt you deeply by betraying you by hurting you. I'm really confused by mammals." Reza heavily sighed with a frown, crawling closer to hug the fluffy feline now that she had her guard down. She wasn't even listening to his carefully constructed explanation to take her defenses down so he could hug her fluffy body but, oh well. Her defenses were down now so he could go ahead and touch her fluff.

Reza had barely grabbed Sabre's flailing tail to pet when Eztli walked by his side and gave a fast lick followed by a suck to the merman's ear, making him shriek before fainting in pleasure right there on the floor. Reza hugged himself, blinded by pleasure as he rolled around on the floor in bliss. With the fish incapacitated, the jaguar purred and then trotted over to Sabre and gave her a big hug, accommodating in the lamia's hug too.

"Such a troublesome feline." Dumisa sighed, wrapping his body around Sabre and Eztli while being careful not to knock into the babies's basket nearby.

"It's alright, sheila. If you ever need anything, just ask." Kroc softly spoke with a soft smile, making sure to stay away from the cuddling since his body wasn't suited to something quite so nice. So instead, he watched over the kittens while the more cuddly charges helped make Sabre feel better.

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Jaska trotted down the hall, resisting the urge to join the 'pack' back in the room. He let out a low growl, despising how badly he wanted to follow his wolfish instincts while at the same time wanting to avoid Sabre, a rival bastet in the nearby room, although a rival bastet he had mated with and that those damn wolf instincts also insinuated as something far more confusing. The tiger couldn't help but be pissed at the situation he was in. Instead of joining the others he decided to look for his uncle to spend some time with the older tiger instead.

He walked up to Nikita's room, flickering his ear and hearing Nikita inside the room. "Uncle Nikita, can I join?" Jaska asked, waiting for his uncle's response.

"Jaska? Da, enter." Nikita called, opening the door to let Jaska into his humongous and lavished suite.

Jaska opened the door, entering the tiger's small territory and seeing a nice tall glass over powerful catnip vodka on the table. It appeared he had been drinking by himself for a bit while doing some business on his phone. "Thank you." Jaska said as he sat on the other side of Nikita, taking the bottle and pouring himself a shot. He needed a drink pretty badly.

Nikita, took a shot and accompanied Jaska in the drinking, not saying anything, knowing that would speak when he felt ready for it.

After a almost 10 minutes of drinking in silence, Nikita stood up, catching Jaska's attention. "Let us go for walk." Nikita said before he walked over to the door, opening it and stepping through before waiting for Jaska to follow.

Jaska quietly followed him, admittedly feeling tense being beside him. After all that brainwashing he couldn't help but be tense but at the same time, he felt very comforted by his presence. Jaska let out a shaky breath, annoyed at his clashing instincts.

They stepped outside into the wintery garden, taking a small stroll in the harsh snowstorm outside. Their thick fur kept them plenty warm as they walked into the snow, enjoying the cool winds of the storm against their fur. Eventually they reached a small natural resting area within a thick forest of tree trunks where the trunks protected them from the harsh storms. Nikita let out a comforted sigh, taking a seat in the snow and enjoying the cold. Jaska did the same, letting out a heavier sigh before laying on his back and closing his eyes, feeling comforted by the snow tightly clutching him.

"Hmph. You still much like a cub." Nikita said with a small chuckle, watching Jaska lay in the snow like a small tiger cub would.

"Da." Jaska sighed before rolling onto his side with his back to Nikita, picking up some of the snow and nuzzling his face into the cold snow flakes. Jaska remained silent, wanting to know what Nikita wanted to talk about but also did not want to rush it. He felt very uneasy about what Nikita potentially wanted to talk to him about - which was obviously going to be about him attacking Sabre, a pregnant royal, in a feral rage. " … what going to happen to me, uncle Nikita?" Jaska asked in a quiet voice with his ears pulled back.

"You will finish term of contract and return back under jurisdiction and will receive needed therapy and treatment. But, punishment still pending." Nikita admitted with a frown.

Jaska heavily sighed. He knew that exile was a minimum requirement for attacking a pregnant bastet. Which, admittedly, would not be too terrible. There were plenty of other ways he could survive, although his heart was heavy at the fact he'd never be able to return to his homeland or to any Extraspecies territory unless he wanted to be killed. And the punishment will likely be worse for attacking a royal pregnant bastet.

"I not the one who chooses your punishment Jaska." Nikita remained looking at the snowy woods. "Although I bastet representative, I family and too close. Worse yet, crime was against a royal, so royal chooses punishment." He then looked at Jaska with a worried, almost pitying expression. "Punishment not easy or kind."

Jaska's eyes widened, mortified as he turned to Nikita to see his serious grave face. If that was the case then he would be executed for this. Sabre hated him and nothing would spare him from her wrath. And to be honest, he really did deserve it. He was a very sorry excuse for a bastet and soldier. From getting captured by hoomans and being experimented on, he was already a disgrace to all bastet kind.

"Jaska … you understand how bad this is? Experiment or not, this crime broke bastet and Extraspecies law. You attack already endangered species and almost expose us to humans." Nikita placed his big paw over Jaska's shoulder, leaning over and giving him a soft nuzzle - a very rare sign of affection. "Jaska, I love you as son. If it to me, I be forced to make death sentence, best I could do be to make it fast. But I would choose exile and hide you in some safe place."

" … I don't know." Jaska honestly answered, laying back down. "When I went feral … I was mad. I thought, I finally found mate who not mind that I experiment. When I saw her with sleeping by crocodile's side, I thought that she only used me to satisfy heat, and only because I was similar to brother Aleksey. I was in anguish, thinking I never find mate and never have ... pack." He barely spit out between his teeth. "I not know she royal, or pregnant at time, I only knew she former mate of Bratja. I wanted to know more of bratja, so I sleep with and try to find out more, and that led to attack. But that not change fact of what I did. I accept consequences." Jaska softly spoke with a hard expression, remaining still in the snow.

"Jaska, I try to advocate for you, and once you out of death row, I train you again, all over and more, as hard as needed to make you strong. I light and soft when you cub, but this time I'll make sure you get confident in self again, da?" Nikita grinned.

"It not necessary, uncle Nikita." Jaska said, sitting up with his back to Nikita. "Sabre hate me. She hate me a lot. She thinks I used and worse. I will die." He spoke, resigned to his fate. Perhaps dying with dignity can be the last thing he can do that's responsible to keep his pride as bastet by dying like one. He had been so irresponsible … allowing his capture, allowing the hoomans to experiment on him, allowing himself to hide from his uncle, allowing the host to touch his heart … and so many other things which were shameful for a bastet. He truly did deserve death. He wasn't good for anything else, after all. He was just a broken tiger with a broken mind, not good for anything other than dying to atone for his crimes.

Suddenly, Jaska felt a hard smack that punched him a meter away into the snow. Jaska whipped around, startled and alert as he stard into Nikita's terrifying expression. Against his feline instincts, his tail slipped in between his legs, lowering himself to the ground in front of the terrifying alpha.

"Jaska, no be so pathetic." Nikita growled, expressing his support and tough love as best a he could. "You still alive. "

"D-Da." Jaska said. He nearly forgot who he was talking to, the terrifying white fang of the winter. He always got what he wanted, no matter the price someone else had to pay or the corpses he would have to step over. But then again, he really did not think that Nikita could negotiate Jaska's life with someone like Sabre, who hated him above all else. His life was over, he already knew that - whether she spared him or not, and seeing the alternative was to train again with his uncle, he almost prefered dead.

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After having speak with Nikita, Jaska accompanied his uncle to go to the room where all the other Penske charges were resting. As soon as they arrived they saw all the guys cuddling around Sabre, whom seemed slightly distressed, and once she saw Jaska, she immediately roared and jumped in front of her cubs, ready to attack.

Nikita rose and eyebrow at Sabre's behavior and exhaled. "Come with me, my niece." Nikita said with a gentle smile, understanding this might be slightly different than what he anticipated at first.

Sabre looked at Nikita and calmed down somewhat under his slightly harsh gaze. She then eyed her cubs and shifted her gaze back to Jaska, contemplating before she looked at the guys. "Hey ... can you please look after my cubs for a bit? I'll be back soon." Without waiting for an answer she carefully placed her cubs in the basket between all the guys and then walked towards Nikita as Jaska moved sideways carefully.

All the charges nodded as she stood up to follow Nikita, and a couple of minutes after she left, the door opened again and Jaska came in, looking quite solemn while gazing down at the floor. The charges all stared and watched him in silence, planning to ignore him before he spoke.

" … you all very good housemates." Jaska said, staring emptily at the floor and not moving an inch, lis tail not moving at all. "You all not bad. It was nice … with everyone." Jaska said before he heavily sighed with long drawn eyes. " … luck wished." He spoke, his voice trembling a bit as everyone stared at him, puzzled by how emotional he was.

Everyone turned to look at each other, weirded out by this.

"Is the cat broken?" Reza asked, raising up from a bit to get a better look at jaska. "Well yes, he is, but I mean more than normal. He is shaking like a fish in soy sauce, well maybe not, a fish in soy sauce kinda twitches a bit more than shakes."

"He smells weird too." Dumisa noted, flicking his tongue into the air to taste it - Jaska's terrible fear.

"Why are you saying goodbye, mate?" Kroc rose his head, understand what this was about. He wasn't good at goodbyes either and a couple times he had been just as bad at it.

"Sabre really going to kill me." Jaska admitted, running a shaky claw through his fur. He made a horrible mistake of going feral and now that it came out that she was a royal, he was dead meat. The reality of the situation was quickly catching up to him, genuinely terrifying him.

"She does want to kill you but I doubt she will even get close to you." Dumisa shrugged his shoulders. "She's a strong female but even then she wouldn't pick a fight with you so quickly."

"Well, she wouldn't need to." Kroc growled with a low hiss, but he kept it quiet, feeling disturbed by how serious Jaska sounded.

Reza rested on the edge of the pool, tapping his chin in thought. "If you do die… I will finally be able to make that tiger sushi, right?"

"But Sabre is a nice bastet, she is super cute and nice." Eztli countered.

"You no understand. She royal bastet; she choose penalty, and penalty for attacking pregnant bastet is death, and she royal, so worse! Royal just need to choose way of death." Jaska admitted, his eyes getting misty as he struggled not to cry at his wretched existence and joke of a life.

Dumisa crossed his arms with a serious frown. "Mmhh … if that's the case … she just might."

"Bloody hell, mate. She'll actually do it too." Kroc said, looking disturbed. "You're messed up in the head, Jaska. Won't they take that into account?" Kroc asked as he tilted his head a bit. He wasn't sure what to think of experimented on Extraspecies but he knew that Jaska was not bad enough to deserve death.

"She be only one to judge and decide." Jaska began losing his composure, visibly shaking.

"So she can directly tell me to skin you well and prepare that delicious sushi?" Reza smiled. "Of course there's too much fur to skin and the meat is too hard in some places but I can still make something good, so don't worry, I'll make sure nothing is wasted."

"But Sabre is really nice. She wouldn't hurt Jaska … but he did hurt her, no?" Eztli lowered his ears. "She is scared of Jaska too, and well, she thinks he is dangerous to the cubs?" Very casually, Eztli went to lay besides the sleeping cub's basket in their pen over the polar bear rug. "I mean, she trusts _us_ with the cubs." He noted, leaning in and gently kissing one of the babies, watching as they sleepily nuzzled with each other.

Jaska's shaking continued before he began tearing up, "take care of host and kittens, da? Since I no be around for later. I not even be good uncle, since I be dead uncle soon." Jaska said, his tears spilling over as he gripped his head, shakily breathing through his tears as he began gasping for air a bit.

Dumisa quickly grabbed the tiger and pulled him close, keeping him immobilized. "Check if he's drugged or something." He said, flicking his tongue near the tiger's mouth to try and taste for any poison.

Kroc stood up and checked the pupils of the tiger. "No more than usual, he doesn't seem high or anything."

"Let me check." Eztli went by and sniffed Jaska, licking him up a bit. "Nope. He is definitely not, trust me, I know about that." He then hugged Jaska. "Maybe he just needs cuddles?"

"I not drugged! I just saying goodbye will, da?" Jaska finally broke down and began crying. "I die soon, so I take chance to say goodbyes while still alive." Jaska said, his teeth chattering as he tried to wipe away his tears.

"You're not going to die, mate. Sabre isn't heartless." Kroc heavily sighed, mildly wondering if she really would go through with it. She had helped Kroc killed his father and she has been ready to destroy anyone that would so much as look bad at Antian, and she had some reputation at the arena too. He gulped, but decided to not say any of that aloud and instead laid besides the mental tiger.

"Well, she can be." Dumisa honestly huffed, tightening his hug to stop the tiger from squirming around so much.

"Hey! We just need to convince Sabre to not be bad!" Eztli purred, giving Jaska a small happy bite and a tight hug.

"Yeah. Jaska messed up, but it wasn't bad. No one even died from him going feral." Kroc sighed with a shrug. "The sheela might agree if we all ask her, I hope."

"If we speak in your favor you owe us one a big one, cat." Dumisa crossed his arms and his tongue tasted the air and the fear and resignation Jaska emitted.

"Can I cuddle with the fluffy one now?" Reza asked while coming closer. "The host is not around, so I can cuddle and if I pinch him it won't matter because he will die, right?" He grinned.

"If he dies, I'll never eat any of your s***y sushi again, Reza." Dumisa miffed in annoyance. They would need everyone's support, including Reza's if Jaska was going to get through this alive.

Reza gasped in shock. "But he is going to die soon anyways." The merman waved his arms. "He hurt a royal, and anything less than a horrid and gruesome dead is not possible. If a royal says he dies, then he dies, it's law, even more, royal's words are above law." He then scratched his chin. "But on the good part, all the tiny little tiger bits will be easy to use in sushi and sashimi." Reza then looked solemnly at Jaska. "I'll make good use of your meat, I promise."

"Predator meat tastes bad." Kroc admonished with a frown. "So the cat's meat wouldn't taste good."

The noble merman looked at the crocodile with a serious expression, narrowing his eyes. "Challenge accepted. I'll make some delicious food out of whatever is left of him after the royal punishment is dealt."

"And you'll what, feed it to Jackie?" Dumisa scoffed. "What makes you think she'd eat tiger flesh? Hoomans dislike meat other than the usual cow, pig and chicken … I think." Dumisa muttered, pondering about what other major meats hoomans consumed.

"But … why can't Jaska be forgiven? We've all gone feral before and attacked each other so why is Jaska getting such a harsh punishment?" Eztli asked, confused.

Reza crossed his arms and sighed. "He attacked a pregnant bastet, that alone is super bad in bastet law. Its taboo. There aren't that many kities, you see?" He then suddenly encountered the ceiling or the walls to be very interesting to look at. "But worse, turns out our fluffy female kitty that licks ears wonderfully is a royal. That alone garners a death penalty. My mother said that royal cats were supposedly extinct, but it turns out the few ones left have been hiding in other extra species courts, and now that it comes to light that they aren't dead, they'll need to show power, and if one of them was hurt in any way, by a mad common cat at that, the least they can do is to deal the most horrible punishment they can think of, which will be supported by any other royal regardless of species. And its Sabs decision anyways, and since she hates this cat so much then his death is assured."

"You're a noble, Reza. Surely you hold some kind of influence even to royals." Dumisa frowned in annoyance.

"Are you kidding?" Reza blinked. "My mother may be close to the mermaid queen, but I'm just a not so tragic runaway royal guard." He then smiled. "Although that is a tragedy in some way, despite being a noble I can't do anything. And convincing Sabre to not kill him would be easier, still impossible but more realistic. Besides, the mermaid queen already recognized Sabs, so she'll have to support any decision Sabre takes, which will surely be a horrible death."

"Well, since you are so useless now I suppose your sushi is just as useless if not more so." Dumisa sighed. "If the cat dies, I am permanently boycotting you and your sushi." Dumisa harshly hissed.

"M-Me too! If you're going to let Jaska die, then I'll boycott!" Eztli agreed, mortifying Reza. "C'mon Rez, help us convince Sabre"

"Same here, mate." Kroc nodded in agreement. "If the tiger dies, no one will eat your sushi again."

Reza looked on in horror at their announcement, suddenly and very seriously rethinking about the situation. "But I can't … as a noble, even a runaway one, I must support a royal, and she is _our_ royal, you know? Yes, she is our Sabre, but she is a royal, so she is _our_ royal. I think it won't be long before the other royals, the council or even other nobles force her to establish a court, even commoners will start to seek support and protection under her I think. And if we remain with her, we don't need to back or heed our representatives or anything because she is above them." He groaned.

Dumisa's eyes shined at the this new information that went straight to the front of his mind. Thought dealing directly with Sabre he could bypass his sisters entirely. Even if they were territorial leaders, they weren't even nobles, and not even the council would go so easily against a royal. He didn't know about that little trick, but now he had a plan. Well, regardless of how this played out he planned to stick to Sabre like glue after this.

Kroc blinked, surprised since he didn't know much about royals and was a little surprised at how much influence they held. But still, Sabre was just Sabre, right?

Eztli huffed and stomped his foot on the floor. "Reza, if you dont help us, we'll find a way to convince Sabre and the host to not eat your food never ever again"

Reza groaned again, then he tapped his fingers together. "I guess maybe I can remain neutral?"

"Not good enough, guppy. You need to help too." Dumisa smirked.

"Yeah. Besides, the host will be upset if Jaska dies. I wouldn't doubt that she'd never eat again out of her depression." Kroc noted.

Reza's lips trembled. "But … but … "

"That's right. When humans lose loved ones, they are hit very hard. Why, the host just might die of loneliness and sadness." Dumisa chuckled, enjoying the fish's horror.

"R-Really?!" Eztli gasped, startled as he fell for the ploy as well. "Then, you have to help, Reza! I don't want the host to die!" Eztli shouted, now scared for the host's life as well.

"I've heard that in tragic tales, b-but is it true?" Reza looked worried for once. His tail flipped back and forth nervously. He knew that hoomans were very emotional creatures since such fun tragic tales could be spun from them but he had no idea they could become that depressed over one death.

"Yeah. Hoomans mourn the most out of most races. They are very prone to depression when a loved one dies, in fact." Dumisa said with a grin. "So, will you help or not?" Dumisa asked, the he twisted his lip in a sly grin. "Besides, if Sabre decides to not get rid of this sad and mental furball, then you'd still be supporting a royal's decision because that would be her decision."

"I guess that is true." Reza nodded. "Very well, I'll help with this plan and contribute to the … what were we again? A pack? A school? A … what?"

"We are familia, sort of, I think?" Eztli purred, cuddling against Jaska. "Does it matter? Let's cuddle, Jaska needs hugs."

As the charges all hugged Jaska in a rather supportive way, Jaska felt his wolf instincts be calmed by the 'pack' that was helping him relax a bit more. He closed his eyes, nuzzling back against them while knowing that he was still a dead tiger. Sabre would never change her mind. As brilliant as a negotiator Nikita was, he would not be able to convince the royal bastet that he had hurt so much of letting him live.

"Tipped mena!" Antain cried before he made a leap over Jaska's face and head, climbing around the pile of predators to cuddle and groom the sad tiger, getting his hand under Jaska's fur to search for a small ribbon and then tying it on the tiger's head.

Jaska let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes, enjoying what could very well be the last normal day for the rest of his short life.

Reza stared at the cuddly group before glancing out the door. Now was probably a good time to go pledge his loyalty to her since he didn't want to go home after his term was up. Hanging out with these tragedy stricken charges was too much fun.

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In a private booth on the Extraspecies side of the lodge, Nikita and Sabre were sitting in a private room with hot tea and snacks set out for the two of them to enjoy while negotiations, hidden behind a nice chat, took place. Nikita calmly drank his liquor while Sabre enjoyed her tea, staring up at Nikita and wondering what he wanted to talk about.

"You very close to charges, eh, Sabre? I surprised you allow other males near cubs so young." Nikita lightly chuckled, taking in a deep breath before taking another small shot of his favorite Vodka.

"Not just any other males, uncle Nikita." Sabre calmly took a sip of her tea, already sensing this was going to lead to something. "They are far more than friends. We've been through quite a bit and we trust each other. We are almost family so to say a pack."

"Family, hm? A family of different apex predators can be very difficult to manage." Nikita lightly smiled in a teasing way.

"Family in a way, yes. And hard to manage? The hosts helped to diffuse initial animosity, we did fought each other a bit at the start but we've gotten close enough to trust each other like we haven't trusted others." Sabre refilled his glass and her own cup. "I wouldn't trust anyone else close to my cubs unless I have a very good reason for it." She closed her eyes for a moment. "But now tell me what is the real issue you want to discuss, uncle Nikita. You have been rounding a topic, have you not?"

"I have, da. I want to ask what you plan for Jaska punishment." Nikita calmly said, taking another shot of strong Vodka.

"Jaska's punishment?" Sabre, almost imperceptibly, narrowed her eyes while hiding her snarl. "As the closest bastet representative … aren't you the one deemed to give the proper punishment according to bastet customs, uncle?"

"No, not this time. I too closely related, besides, Jaska attack pregnant royal, so decision with closest royal or royal victim choose for Jaska punishment. Before you give word, Sabre, what punishment will you give to nephew?" Nikita calmly asked.

"Tell me uncle… what would be the normal punishment?" Sabre asked with a very serious tone. It was clear she knew the answer but wanted the other bastet to say it aloud.

"Normally death." Nikita calmly stated without another word, letting the silence sink in for a bit.

Sabre calmly took a couple more sips of her tea, showing no expression, then, she placed the cup on the table. "Why would I deem the punishment to be any different that then? Or is it that I merely choose the method?"

"Because he brother of you mate." Nikita answered.

"He abused me, and then he attacked me more than once." She contained her growl, but even so, her rage burned cold but latent in the air. "He is the reason why Aleksey got so hurt too and, if nothing, he is still a danger to me and my cubs. How bad is it that I trust a family of different apex predators more than another bastet?"

"It bad. But I, Nikita Sviet, uncle in law, ask of you as personal … favor. I no want to lose family either." Nikita said, putting the vodka down and remaining silent as his tail methodical flipped back and forth.

Sabre remained in silent for a bit, preparing more tea for herself, filling her cup once more and then inhaling the infusion's scent. "You said it yourself, uncle ´Kita. That cat, an unstable experiment attacked a pregnant bastet, a royal at that. If you don't give the highest punishment, as a council member you'll lose respect and credibility, harming all your present and future plans. And I, as victim, and more so, as a royal in charge of it, can't give anything but the harsher penalty or else I'll look weak, easy to manipulate and gullible at best."

"Da." Nikita swallowed his alcoholic beverage. He had to admit, he needed to give her the respect she deserved. He almost expected her to spare him for the mere fact she was mated to his brother but she had no mercy for Jaska. That was certainly something he appreciated in a niece-in-law.

"I assume all this situation, in fact, all regarding me is not yet officially confirmed, si?" Sabre calmly eyed the little confectionaries on the table and grabbed one, her stern expression remaining in place. "After all, you are here on vacation and this, so far, it's a family matter until the existence of the new royal bastet is officially revealed to the rest of the council, even if some court has already acknowledged me and all important people know … details are not official."

"Yes, you correct. Since not yet official, punishment can change. I ask you kindly, as a parent, to exile Jaska rather than kill." Nikita asked in a polite tone, still surprised at her thoughtful comprehension of the situation.

"That is a favor favor I can't agree upon." The leopardess said quite straight forward before taking a cookie and eating it. Before the council member could say more or show his heartbreak, she continued, grinning. " … at least not for free." She winked.

"Oh." Nikita stated, studying her before wryly smiling. "There something specific you want?" Nikita asked, flicking his tail around in genuine interest and renewed hope.

"Yes, I don't want me or my cubs to be used and I imagine a bunch of individuals and groups are already planning how to do that." She crossed her legs and then leaned forward to place her elbow on the table and rest her chin on the back of her hand. "Quite frankly, I don't have many resources, but I think I may have a plan that will help me and will serve the council too. If implemented right, it might be useful for Extraspecies in general." She eyed Nikita and waited for his reaction.

"What you have in mind?" Nikita asked, curious about her plan.

"Simply to create an enclave inside of New York city." She took a deep breath and exhaled calmly, taking on a serious pose. "It would serve you as a way to keep hoomans from trying to get access to Extraspecies hidden cities. A place where all that curiosity can be directed without really intruding in the real territories, plus, it would serve as an economic special zone for commerce and goods that Extraspecies specialize in." She eyed the old tiger. "Even if you want complete separation from hoomans, some appearances should be kept up to avoid trouble, at least until your goals can be truly and fully implemented."

"Hmph. It true that council can implement such things, but best away. And true, it would be worth keeping up appearances for time being." He noted with a mischievous smile. "How this plan helps you?"

"As I've mentioned, I'm not leaving yet, and however safe Russia may be for Extraspecies, it's true that my position would be less … favorable to myself there, uncle. Not because of you, but because of the structure, specially as a royal." She gave him a new bottle of liquor. "But as a royal, I too have the possibility to establish some stuff, even something more important politically speaking than a mere territory, and if I were to find a place with appropriate characteristics for an enclave … I could remain independent, wouldn't I?"

"But you would still be vulnerable." Nikita frowned, worried for his niece-in-law's safety. "A royal surrounded by humans? I dislike the idea." He admitted.

"Not if such a place is made secure from its design and conception." She looked up to the older bastet, noticing his worried expression and feeling actually touched by such, yet also knowing that she walking on very thin ice. "From the council's perspective this is a great move. Having a royal forward would, a new one that is not buried in the other important Extraspecies affairs is a great show to hoomans and common Extraspecies while not really sacrificing anything. Also, to any Extraspecies in the enclave it will give security and a sense of territory, helping the place grow fast before hoomans can act in any counterproductive political way. Not even just that, I also have the perfect place in mind and the perfect initial plan. I even secured the cooperation of certain hooman coordinator that still is in a position to pass any adjustments needed. it will serve also to gather all those rogue extraspecies that are illegals so far by giving them a place to reside in."

"I must admit, that very impressive." Nikita admitted with a smile. "I like idea as council member, even if as family I do not. But if we do this, I request you take bodyguards I choose to protect you, nephew and cubs." Nikita asked, setting his condition.

Sabre nodded, beaming a big cheshire grin. "Of course, I also know very capable nannies … err ... bodyguards too, which I'm sure you will approve of, after all, they already went to help me and the other charges during that horrible and scary smuggling incident."

"And if I agree, you only exile Jaska?" Nikita asked with his ear flickering.

"Since you and Aleksey care for that cat … " Sabre huffed, crossing her legs and unsheathing her claws a bit, "You said he is mental and needs training, so I think it would be a good idea if you saw to such training, uncle Nikita. He may be many things, but he too is a trained operative, and I don't want anything to ever happen again to Aleksey."

"You want nephew to serve as bodyguard?" Nikita blinked, surprised at this turn of events but before he could ask her for more details there was a knock on the door.

"HEY! SABRE!" Reza shouted from the other side of the door, making Sabre jolt in surprise as Nikita glanced over at the door. "Since it turns out you a royal kitty and all that, can I enter your court? I will ask in the traditional protocol if you want but that is quite boring and long and all pledges of loyalty are silly, so why don't you accept a runaway noble? I promise to make good sushi and your favorite ponzu sauce to it. Please? And where are you setting up a territory? Back at the host's territory? Is it going to be your territory now? Will you have to fight the host for it? She'd be easy to take down but couldn't you at least make her a royal petter and leave her arms intact? Or something? She makes nice treats too, not as good as sushi but her seasonings are nice enough. If you don't want her, can I take her? I'd keep her in her place of course, and take all her pets if you don't want them. Maybe I could even give her a little cushion to sleep on at night, and I'd take super good care of her tooooo," Reza said from the other side of the door.

"Hmph. Already gaining followers?" Nikita chuckled. "A noble at that; very good." Nikita said as he took another shot while being at ease,e now knowing the fate of his nephew.

"Nya?" Sabre tilted her head looking between Reza and Nikita in confusion. "What? Reza? What is this?"

"You no know?" Nikita asked, pouring himself another shot. "Extra species often seek to join a court or a territory under a strong alpha. Royals often have legions of loyal followers. Only alphas and royals gain significant followers, enough to protect territory and fight for territory. I have 103,023 followers currently, they have followers too, most live in upper Siberia which protect territory for me while I out. I support and protect them as whole. That is ruling of great alpha. And their followers support me too." Nikita proudly explained. "I not have more because I no royal or even noble. Royals get support from their races too." He chuckled with some proud delight. "Followers are individuals royals or alphas collect overtime, gaining loyalty. They do as royal or alpha ask, protecting territory and making commerce or else. How many followers you have?" Nikita asked, curious.

"Eh?" Sabre blinked again, flicking her ears in complete confusion, still processing this information. "But I don't have … ?"

Reza quickly came to hide behind Sabre, hiding from the scary tiger. "She has me, probably the other charges and mmhh … oh yes, those nice warriors that went to help Kroc at the port. Hey Sabre, I can skin that cat that hurt you if you want me to. Because you're taking me in, right?" He grinned.

"Well, I … ," Sabre stuttered, for once being bombarded with far more responsibility and power than she wanted, which was far more dangerous and troublesome.

"Excellent! Well, I'll go back now to prepare that sushi, bye-bye." Reza claimed before crawling out of the room to avoid Nikita's gaze.

"Shall we continue negotiations?" Nikita asked, raising his glass while Sabre gulped and nodded.

For the moment Sabre ignored the followers thing and concentrated in her original plan. She explained it in detail and asked for the cooperation and investment, Nikita replied and asked about visiting and training right for the cubs, which Sabre dosed properly, all while keeping Jaska's life in the periphery and not mentioning Jackie. She kept some cards hidden, but after a while, plans got outlined and prepared as she counted on Nikita fulfilling his word, which to Extraspecies was as strong as a written contract, or so she hoped.

"I must say, niece-in-law, you know how to negotiate." Nikita smiled cheerfully, almost purring while drinking some more of the special catnip vodka he brought to the snow lodge. She was certainly ruthless in negotiations and that would serve her well in the years to come, especially when dealing with the other royals. Aleksey indeed had found a good mate.

"Thanks, uncle ´Kita." She smiled, taking a sip of water before standing up. "I'll assume we'll begin with everything as soon as possible."

"Da." Nikita nodded.

"Alright." The leopardess purred, quickly bumping noses with the older cat while holding her breath to not get drunk on the alpha's manly scent. "I'll be back to the room now, then."

She waved goodbye and then went away, leaving Nikita to make the appropriate phone calls. Sabre walked down the hallway with quiet steps, all was planned and laid out and seemed to be going in a good way so far, however there was still that loose end of a striped menage, and however much she dreaded having to be even near that horrible cat to tell him the news as Nikita had requested, she had too. She just needed to find where he was first, which hopefully was far away from her cubs. But, now getting anxious, she decided to go check on the cubs just in case.

The moment she stepped through the door she paused, seeing everyone staring at her with a pouting expression while they all hugged Jaska tightly in the middle of them all, of the which looked emotionally dead to the world.

"Sabre, you can't kill Jaska, please!" Eztli shouted with tears in his eyes, bounding over to her and tightly hugging her while he cried. "Please don't kill him, he's not a bad cat! He just made mistakes!" Eztli sobbed against her while hugging her tightly.

"He's right, sheela. Sure, the tiger was stupid but that doesn't mean he should die for it." Kroc agreed with a stiff nod.

"Exactly. He may be a mentally impaired feline but he's one of us, one of our 'hooman' family members. Killing him would be rather petty of you, considering all the mistakes you made as well." Dumisa said, holding Jaska tightly in his coils.

"Hm~ yes, I enjoy the drama Jaska makes so I want to keep him around." Reza said, not sounding very enthusiastic at all.

Sabre huffed, fakely betrayed at the other charges. "So Jaska turned you all against me?" She huffed as the charges stared at her, waiting or her word on what Jaska's punishment will be.

Reza seemed to sense her annoyance, so he very subtly dragged little Antain over in front of him, using Antain as a little shield to use against the feline in case she went feral from rage. But then again, a little fluffy fox would only distract her for a moment but that was all he would need to escape an angry kitty.

"Come menace, Uncle Nikita told me I should tell you about your punishment." With a new growl Sabre moved back outside. As a precaution, she took a few steps back. "Don't get too near or I'll rip you apart."

Jaska very heavily sighed, hanging his head slightly before he removed himself from the embrace of the charges. "Niet, that enough. I go now." Jaska said with a quiet breath of air. He needed to face the consequences; he knew that. No more running from this. He needed to take responsibility and if he needed to die for that then so be it.

Sabre walked ahead, often taking glances backing growling each time until they arrived to a conference room. It wasn't one of the big convention ones but it certainly was large and neutral enough for her to enter and go straight to the left to position herself at a corner where she waited for the tiger to enter. Plus, she had confirmed this particular room was isolated to keep privacy. It was starting to make sense why Smith had chosen this lodge in particular.

Jaska entered the room and shut the door, earning a cautious hiss from Sabre before he went to the other edge of the room, where he sat in the furthest corner away from her as he quietly awaited his sentencing with a grim frown on his face. Before she could speak, however, he spoke up.

"I … I truly sorry, Sabre. I only wanted information on brother, but ended taking advantage of you for more than that. I not mean to hurt you." Jaska apologized with his gaze fixated on the ground. He was not looking for remorse or mercy. He understood the implications and was ready to accept the consequences.

"You were worse than awful to me, Jaska." She hissed, her fists shaking as her fur puffed out in anger. "I hate you, I hate you the most out of anyone else on this entire planet." She snarled.

" … da." He simply answered, emotionlessly staring at the ground with a frown. His fate was already sealed. All he can hope for now was a fast death.

With a hard and cold voice, Sabre spoke as stoically as she could manage . "You are going back to train with Nikita." She took a moment in silence, calming herself down.

" … what?" Jaska said, blinking in surprise as he tried to process what she just said.

"You are also in a permanent probation. First and foremost, you must NEVER touch me or get near me or my cubs in any way." She began growling again, her eyes narrowing and her pupils stretching.

"Da, that easy." Jaska said with a sharp nod. He doubted his brother would want him to go anywhere near her or the cubs anyway. Afterall, he was 'mentally unstable' with all the wolf DNA in him, which he understood. He was still loved, but they were being rightfully cautious of him.

"That's not all, menace!" Sabre hissed, walking cautiously towards the door, nervous or angry. "Never talk to me unless spoken to first, never let yourself be groomed by the host before the host comes to groom me or Aleksey or my cubs because I don't want your scent on or near the host while I'm being groomed. Never be in the same room as I am, don't breathe my air and _if_ I allow you, you can have five minutes of Aleksey's time a day at any time of the day at my choosing, if I even let you be with him that day. You are as dangerous to him as to anyone else." She made a brief pause to take a breath and continue. "Never do anything for or with the cubs unless they are in immediate peril from some other force and never, _ever_ touch Antain even if Antain is burying ribbons in your stupidly thick fur."

"Da." Jaska agreed, nodding along with her ridiculous rules. He would follow them; it was the least he could do for nearly killing her and for her not to kill him horribly, although he knew some of those were impossible to fulfill entirely and maybe, if he couldn't get close to the cubs or Antian, they would come to play with him on their own, maybe. Still, he was very confused to say the least about not getting the death sentence. "But why you spare life?"

Sabre crossed her arms. "Not that you deserve to know but I made a deal with Nikita in exchange for your life. You are also going to finish your contract's term before going back to train with Nikita until he thinks you are … better." Once more she narrowed her eyes and puffed her tail, making it lash around. "And I only did it because it's usefull for my plan and because Aleksey doesn't want you dead although you deserve it."

Jaska stared at her in shock. So she really was going to allow him to live even after almost killing her and her unborn cubs? Jaska was in a stunned state of mind before he shook it off, letting the words of her conditions sink into his mind before he frowned. Training with his uncle was almost worse than a death sentence, especially now that he was probably going to be forced back to square 1 of training with other newbies. " … I wish you would have killed me instead." Jaska said as his ears lowered, imagining all of

the horror his uncle was going to put him through for this.

"Im also keeping it secret that you are a horrible brute abuser that hurts former mates and pregnant bastet." She growled with utter disgust and bottled anger. "If no one knows you attacked me then I don't need to pass official judgement to allow Reza to skin you slowly as he wouldnt mind, or at the very least have you exiled, alienated and segregated as your uncle asked me to. And get this in that thick and brutish skull you damn menace, I'm doing this for Aleksey, the most loving and caring mate anyone could ask for, the one and only that you dared impersonated. He wouldn't like you dying."

Jaska remained in his stunned silence, hardly able to believe his ears. He wasn't going to be killed? He could barely wrap his mind around it. No one that he has heard of has ever lived to tell the tale of hurting a royal, let alone a pregnant royal.

"And I repeat, stay away from me and my cubs." She hissed.

"Da, I no go near cubs." He nodded in agreement. While he did wish to be a good uncle, he'd have to wait until they're older and when they're curious about him. He imagines when they're old enough they'd chase him around a bit, which he honestly thought would be fun.

"Beyond that, there is another thing. NEVER mention that 'certain information' about my origins. Do you get it?" She puffed her fur as much as it could puff, the information about her experimentation was her biggest possible loop hole. "If anything, the one reason above all that I'd have for getting rid of you, it would be to maintain that information quite. I was a f***ing imbecile for telling you about it. I should've never trusted you." Her eyes seemed to water a bit.

"Da, I no tell no one." Jaska agreed with a nod, suddenly remembering that indeed, she was an experiment too. "You family now, and so I no tell no one." He assured her. "Just keep brother happy." He asked.

"So you'd talk if Aleksey wasn't alive?" Sabre growled, narrowing her eyes again, shocking her head.

"Niet. I never tell even when thinking brother gone. None my business telling others about experiment." He said, correcting himself.

"But it was your business to use me and try to kill me." Her pupils contracted and her claws began coming out as her tail lashed from side to side.

"Would you not do same to learn about Aleksey?" Jaska growled in annoyance before his expression softened. "I regret hurting you. I go feral because of own problems, and I not do it again."

"Nothing guarantees that you won't. I don't trust you, menace. But I trust you care about your sorry excuse for a life to keep away from me." Sabre sniffed.

"I not do again. I thought before we mates, I desperately wanted mate, and you seem to like me. So when I thought you mates with Kroc, I lost it. But now, you mates with brother, again. I see you love bratja and bratja loves back a lot. I happy brother has you as mate and I no attack again." He assured her. "I keep away as far as I can. No more converse unless you initiate. I not go near room or kittens or you."

"To be honest." Sabre started, trembling a bit before biting her lip, taking a deep breath. "I thought we could be so too. But you never said anything, so I thought you were satisfying your lusts … and after you went feral, I thought I was nothing more to you than a warm hole for your misshapen thing. You said that, and then you attacked." She hissed in anger before quieting herself. "You going feral clearly showed me what you really thought of me, so I'm not going to believe anything nice you say now or ever." She hissed, harshly glaring at him a couple tears coming from the edge of her eyes. "If you dare to break this agreement, I will find a way to make you wish you were dead." She hissed with such a seething rage that it made him flinch.

"I understand." Jaska said, glancing away in a submissive sort of way. He was annoyed to be submitting to a female smaller than he was but she was annoyingly fierce. Or maybe it was the royal blood in her that agitated him so much? Had that always been the case perhaps? He mildly wondered if that's why she acted so fierce and unforgiving. Although … it did seem that she had a misconception about how Extraspecies go feral but he feared for his life if he tried to explain it better to her now. There might be another moment for it or maybe someone else would explain it to her. After all, in reality she really didnt know that much about extra species."

"You are going to fulfil a duty so you're not just a worthless lump of wasted space. You are going back to Nikita to train and once you are finished, you are going to become a bodyguard for Aleksey and protect him from anything that could hurt him. That is the only way you'll be usable, menace." She hissed. "I'm sure Reza told you about my plan. Be grateful I'm still letting you be a part of it, albeit a small part for my mate's sake." She hissed.

"Da. Least I can do for causing much trouble." Jaska softly smiled, and took a step forward as if to shake her hand to agree with this deal. "thank you … sister-in-law?" Jaska teasingly said, not sure if he was using the hooman term right.

Sabre's pupil's constricted and she hissed immediately. "Don't get near me!" She hissed before she then carefully took a couple steps back, sliding away from the room and running back towards her cubs.

Jaska stared at her before looking away, letting her escape out of the room. It was clear she was still suffering when he was around. It was trauma, he knew it well, didn't he? After all, she had passed through experiments and losses too, so she was having posttraumatic stress, and it seemed she was projecting it all on him. She needed healing too, and it would take a long time probably, but for now, this was as good as they could be, and he was alive, although the thought of going back to the hell his uncle called training maybe was indeed a punishment worse than death.

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With a loud grunt Jackie unloaded her car of the large chunks of meat and fish, making sure to carefully hold the bags with the berries inside for Longwei at a safe distance so they weren't crushed. She definitely wanted to get on all of their good sides, more so because they were council members and it depended on them to get her charges back soon, so giving them some of the good meat and berries was a good idea.

Jackie walked up her stairs, kicking the door open before pausing at the freezing air that stabbed into her skin. It was colder inside than outside! Her mouth parted in confused horror, seeing the windows open all in the living room and in the kitchen. What the hell-?! Who the hell opened all the windows?!

Jackie staggered over to the kitchen, setting down her bags of food before hurrying over to the windows and shutting them, feeling her skin prickling before she felt freezing air coming out of the vents in her house. She hurried over to the thermostat, reading a big fat 0 on its scale before quickly turning on the heater and setting it to a crisp 80 degrees fahrenheit.

"WHO MESSED WITH THE THERMOSTAT?!" Jackie shouted between her chattering teeth before seeing the plant man sitting by the oven that was turned on, desperate for warmth.

"Landowner … your property is too cold." Naoki managed to say, frozen in spot with a ice forming over his bark.

"Holy-! Hey, are you alright?" Jackie asked, touching his near frozen arm before she quickly forced him up, pulling him slowly into her bathroom. She quickly filled the tub lukewarm water, gently guiding Naoki into it and watching him slowly sit down in the water without the slightest change in expression. "H-Here, stay in here and warm up for a bit." Jackie said before she left to go check for other damages.

The moment she stepped out of her room she spotted Aleksey turning the thermostat down again, making her jolt. "Aleksey! What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted, startled.

Aleksey paused and turned back to her, all smiles as he tried to turn the thermostat back down again. "Place too hot. Cold place better for siberian bastet and northern ice dragon."

"No, absolutely not! We'll freeze, now don't touch the thermostat." Jackie said, walking over and trying to readjust the thermostat again back to a nice warm 80 degrees.

"Too hot and I get sick from heat. I no want to be sick besides hurt. The place too warm for cold weather charges." Aleksey shrugged.

"How can you stand to be in the cold at all? You barely have any fur left to keep you warm." Jackie pointed out in annoyance.

Aley's eyes widened before his ears lowered, suddenly looking a bit depressed. "I … da, fur patchy, funny, da? But I use to cold. Uncle let us outside in arctic to learn enjoy cold, so I enjoy cold."

"You're not touching the thermostat." Jackie stated, refusing to be baited by his attempt to tug on her emotions. "There is very little I won't negotiate with and the thermostat is one of those things. It stays at 80 degrees, period." Jackie said with a firm set of eyes. "Now, I can groom you to help you acclimate to the warmth and give you ice baths if you need it but I won't be changing it.

"80 degress? That burns!" Aleksey countered, but he still looked down.

"Fahrenheit." Jackie bluntly stated.

"How much in celsius?" The tiger tilted his head.

"About 26. Now come with me to the living room, I'll groom your fur so it looks nice." Jackie heavily sighed, motioning for him to go into the living room.

"16, that summer temperature." He puffed up and then coughed.

"It's not going to be changed, end of story." Jackie stated before grabbing some brushes and sat down, beckoning him to come over to her.

"20." He bargained as he approached.

"It's not changing." Jackie stated in a firm tone, reaching up and gently petting his neck before brushing his shoulders.

"But 26 too hot, 26 is tropical." He huffed.

"It's warm for the reptiles and I need the house to heat up for them for when they get back in a few days." Jackie explained. "I don't want them to barely be able to move when they get out here.

"But only reptile in house is longwei and he dragon of cold." He complained with a pouting frown.

"You let in all the cold air so the place will take a day or two to warm up." She said, stepping up her petting to turn him into mush for a bit while she got some work done.

"So I open windows again?" Aleksey asked, sounding hopeful.

"Nope." Jackie stated as she began petting the base of his tail and his ears, trying to determine his weak spot. She was going to pet him into sleeping so she could work on the house some more and not have to worry about the thermostat.

Aleksey twisted here and there under the petting, cracking some of his stiffer bones while he leaned into the petting. Jackie easily found his weak spots and had him leaning over her quite fast as she brushed his patchy fur, carefully to not get too close to his wounds.

"Do you want to go to sleep, Aleksey?" Jackie asked, gently petting up his neck and rubbing the soft skin there, hearing his purrs thrumming strong in his chest. Without needing an answer from him, she took a brush and gently began brushing the thicker patches of fur with the bigger brush while using the smaller brush to gently brush the uneven shorter fur everywhere else, hearing him groaning in pleasure.

Aleksey grabbed her and half rolled to be practically leaning over her while hugging her tightly, purring and rubbing himself on her.

Jackie paused, surprised by how cuddly he was before realizing that Aleksey was a big cuddler - even more than Jaska was. Jackie smiled in content, enjoying the warmth of the big tiger as she kept up the brushing, leaning into the hug and accepting the warmth of his body as compensation for him opening all the windows earlier and making her house near freezing.

Among his purrs, Aleksey suddenly nuzzled her face before he pressed his cold nose in her ear, then he began lickign the side of her head. She paused, startled before he began munching on her hair, adding random grooming licks here and there.

Jackie was puzzled by his grooming. None of her charges ever did that to her and it was a little weird but, oh well, who cared? Jackie kept trying to pet him into sleep, petting his chest and back to try and make him loosen his hold so she could more directly pet his sweet spots to slowly lure him into a nice quiet sleep.

"Sabre … ," Aleksey called very softly between purrs, hugging Jackie and emitting soft sad presents and pitiful meows, hugging the hooman all more needily.

Jackie glanced up at Aleksey, seeing the pure love in his eyes as he nuzzled against her, flipping his tail around in pure happiness. The host softly smiled, grabbing her phone and calling Sabre

"Hello? Jackie?" Sabre's voice sounded on the phone, making Aleksey's head snap over towards the host's phone as the hooman grinned.

"Want to hear Aleksey's purring from my petting?" Jackie asked before turning the phone towards Aleksey's chest, watching as Aleksey took in a deep breath before loudly rumbling his purrs just as loudly as he was before, letting his mate listen to his cheerful petting before Jackie pulled the phone back. "Want to talk to him?" Jackie teased Sabre, seeing Aleksey's eyes practically begging to have the phone.

Some cute mew of acknowledgement came out from the other side of the line. "'Leksey! How are you? Is everything all fine? How are your wounds?"

"Good, good. Host likes to keep house too warm." Aleksey huffed, sounding annoyed but looking too happy to be anything but overjoyed at hearing his mate's voice. "But, I admit, host petting much nice. I understand why you so attached to this hooman." Aleksey purred, gently squeezing Jackie to make her keep petting him. "I still investigating. House is fine, but surroundings are suspiciously empty and some plant came to join court. You fine, Sabre? How are cubs? You started to think names? What about other plans? Someone brushes you there? You eating well?"

Jackie let out a soft sigh, reaching up and continuing to pet his patchy fur while he excitedly talked to Sabre, and vice versa. The host tried to get free of Aleksey's grip but he held firm, nuzzling her every now and then to encourage her to keep petting him. With a huff she kept petting him, being nice and gently so she didn't lull him into a nice sleep while talking with Sabre. Instead, she let the couple talk, admittedly jealous at just how lovey dovey they were for each other. It was adorable honestly. She had never seen a relationship like that ever in real life; no wonder Sabre missed him so much.

"Hang you first." Aleksey purred.

"No, you hang up first." Sabre responded happily.

"Niet, we hang on same time, da?" Aleksey suggested excitedly.

"Si, at 3. Ready? 1...2...3…!" Sabre shouted but neither of the couple hung up.

"You no hang up." Alekesy pointed out with a soft purr.

"Because I miss you and want to hear you more … ," Sabre happily said.

Jackie could barely contain her laughter as she resisted the urge to click the end button for Aleksey but just kept on petting regardless. After he hung up she was just going to pet him into sleep so she could get some work done. Once Aleksey hung up, Jackie stood up on her knees and began to fervently pet him and pick up the pace, surprising him as she leaned over him and onto the ground, petting him quickly and making his purrs rev up quickly

"You change petting pattern, faster now. Curious if not suspicious, da?" The tiger grinned, stretching and cracking some more bones that probably have cracked earlier already.

"I'm trying to make you go to sleep so I can get some work done. I'll make you some nice seasoned meat too once you wake up." Jackie said, trying to entice him into going to sleep while she sat on his stomach, being careful of his wounds while petting his shoulders, neck and jaws. "Now go to sleep so I can get work done." She huffed, feeling a little stiff after being hugged for so long by the large tiger.

"You little work to do with no charges here, so fine to keep petting longer." Aleksey yawned.

"Are you kidding? I've got so much cleaning to do, not to mention cooking for you and Longwei." Jackie sighed, slowing down her petting considerably after seeing his yawn, a sign he was slowly being lured into sleep. She moved further down his body, gently petting his sides before gently scritching his belly, watching as he slowly began to relax more and more with his eyes slowly closing.

"Hmph. You are a lousy host for leaving food to start to decompose." Longwei huffed in annoyance.

"It won't go bad from being left out for a short hour." She huffed. "Now, do you want fish or berries for dinner?" She asked, curious. "Or steak, chicken or duck? I have lots of different kinds of meats." Jackie said, continuing to pet Aleksey.

"Fish for wei-wei and then if he let self be pet, he have berries too." Aleksey teased with a grin.

"Aleksey, do not encourage the hooman." Longwei huffed, flicking his tail. "However, I will endure such while I account how many points should be subtracted from the hosting considerations."

" … if I put you and Aleksey to sleep with my petting, do I get extra points?" Jackie asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Of course not. Do not be ridiculous hooman, Aleksey might as well fake to sleep quite easily only to have a moment of fun out of it." Longwei looked at the tiger as if he was a disobedient kitten.

"Then what if I just put you to sleep with my petting?" Jackie asked with a cheeky grin. "Would I get points back then?"

"Niet. Wei-wei too strict. Lost points are lost, so hooman should gain new points." Alexey stretched, curiously watching the tip of his own tail curl around.

Jackie heavily sighed and shrugged. "Alright, then. Longwei, come here I'll pet you to sleep too." Jackie grinned starting to get up from Aleksey before Aleksey rolled over on top of her and nuzzled her back aggressively, making her laugh before she kept petting his head to make him relax. The doorbell rang, making the laughter come to a quick end. "Hold on, let me answer that." Jackie said, trying to get up but Aleksey grabbed her leg, chuffing in response.

"Niet, come pet more." He grinned, nuzzling her back before she pushed his head away.

"Aleksey, relax! I'll pet you later." She snorted a chuckle, finding Aleksey's behavior to be very funny. He reminded her a lot of how Sabre demands for attention and cuddles from her all the time.

Jackie eventually got free of his grasp before she walked over to the door and opened it, finding Jake on the other side. "Oh, hey Jake." Jackie said, surprised to see him. "What's up?"

"Hey … where have you been? I've dropped by a few times in the past week but you weren't here." He said, nervously peeking inside and then behind himself, seeming a little tense. "Hey, that jaguar ain't here, right?"

"Sorry, I was up at a snow lodge in Canada somewhere. Come on in." Jackie said, stepping aside for him to come inside. "And no, Eztli is still in vacation with the others." She explained.

He walked into the house, taking off his heavy bag and setting it aside.

"Phew~ that was heavy. Oh, hey, is that big Kroc guy still here? I got him something as thanks for before." Jake said as he opened up the bag, pulling out a medium hunk of meat that would serve as a small mouthful of meat to an XS like Kroc but it was a pretty poor grade of meat. "Here, where is he? I want to give it to him myself." Jake smiled excitedly, looking into the living room and pausing, looking at the 2 guests. "Oh, hey, who are you?" Jake asked with a friendly smile.

"They're friends of one of my charges. They are coming over and visiting for a while." Jackie explained as she took the meat from him. "I'll give this to Kroc later when he gets back and let him know you gave it to him." She said, taking it and putting it into the fridge.

Longwei huffed a cloud of icy mist as Aleksey casually smiled while his tail stopped moving. They both observed each other, not seeming very impressed with Jackie's friend.

"Oh, yeah cool, cool." Jake said, staring at the Extraspecies very curiously. "So uh, are you an Indian tiger? And you, are you a … lizard?" He asked tilting his head curiously with a smile. "But you got horns and stuff." He said, staying where he was and not approaching them.

"Aleksey is a Siberian tiger and Longwei is a … wait, Longwei, what kind of dragon are you, Japanese or Chinese?" Jackie asked, curious.

"Foolish hooman." Longwei narrowed his eyes.

Aleksey chuckled, exposing his fangs more visibly in his smile. "Boundaries of hooman countries no apply to Extraspecies." He merely said eyeing the newcomer carefully. "And who this hooman? Host seems to know."

"Is this bag of fertilizer here to serve as offering? He doesn't seem to be of decent quality." Noaki appeared out of nowhere holding a potted chrysanthemum. "If he is not here as an offering then he is an intruder. I'll deal with him and then use him as fertilizer regardless. He'll be good enough for the grass." He casually said, placing down his precious potted plant and then approached him while Naoki's hands grew like stakes.

"Whoa, a plant man." Jake said with a smile, not seeming very intimidated by Naoki before Jackie stood in front of Naoki.

"Naoki, stop. He's a friend of the family and he can visit whenever he wants to." Jackie said, making him stop. "So, Jake, what brings you around?"

"Well ... I was actually hoping for a free place to stay the night before I go on the road again. Motels can get expensive here." He childishly grinned as Jackie lightly laughed.

"Yeah, sure, but you're paying for dinner tonight." She grinned before taking his bag and tried to pick it up but Jake grabbed it from her.

"Yeah, sure, on me. I've got my bag." He smiled, carrying it to the spare room across Jackie's room.

"Aleksey, do you want me to keep petting you or later?" Jackie asked, knowing now that petting a cat while a stranger is in the house isn't a smart idea since they often get too anxious. Although Aleksey did seem to be more laid back than Eztli.

"Light petting be fine, but do tell about friend. I don't recall he be mentioned. He comes often?" Aleksey asked, calmly letting the host pet him but keeping his attention on the new comer.

"No not really. I've only seen him a handful of times but he was really good friends with Jay." Jackie admitted with a smile. "Jake was good for him."

"You talking about Jay?" Jake asked, trotting back into the room with a grin. "Hey, I'm sorry if I was a little insensitive before about that. I really thought you were pulling my leg there." He apologized.

"That's alright, don't worry about it." Jackie said as she gently pet his ruffled fur.

"I curious and I think nice to make conversation with guest, da?" Aleksey looked straight at Jake and sniffed the air. "So you host's family friend? How long you've known host?"

"I've known her since she was about 7. I mostly hung out with Jay though." Jake grinned as he took a seat, looking over Jackie petting the tiger with an obvious jealous face but refrained from asking to pet the tiger as well.

"Who is Jay? Family or another friend of host." Aleksey asked with a not too big smile on his lips. "If guest knows host since she was small then surely he be close, I think. He lives close?"

Jackie's petting paused a bit before she sighed, continuing to pet him. "Jay was my twin brother. He died a few years ago." Jackie explained with a frown, emptily staring at Aleksey's fur as she numbly pet the same spot. "Jake didn't know that he passed away since he was traveling for about 5 years around the world so when he came back to New York a few months ago he dropped by to see him." Jackie explained.

"Yeah. Kinda wished I paid more attention." Jake lightly joked but his laugh was stiff and awkward.

"Twin brother?" Aleksey sighed. "I know, I have brother too and I almost lost, we too similar if not twins looking." He then nuzzled Jackie a bit. "What about rest of family?"

Jackie remained silent, her fingers lightly trembling.

"Oh, now you've got to hear this. Her father went and got himself killed about a year after Jay got offed, can you believe that? He was about to take custody of Jacks from that crazy woman but, he was at the wrong place and time and went the same way Jay did with a semi." Jake explained before pausing. "Oh hey, I don't think you ever said where your mother was. She's not still here, right?" Jake asked, looking back over the couch to see if she was there.

"She's at a mental institution getting the help she needs." Jackie explained but her voice was slightly trembling. Aleksey glanced over, observing Jackie's clearly distraught and frightened expression that was hidden from Jake.

"Seriously!? She's not in jail? Jacks, you shouldn't be paying to put her through a mental institution. She's clearly not going to recover from her insanity. I mean, hell, how many scars for you have from that crazy b****?" Jake asked before Jackie suddenly stood up, covering her mouth and quickly leaving the room. "W-Whoa, hey, Jacks I-I didn't mean it like that." Jake said as she slipped into her room, leaving the 3 Extraspecies and Jake in the room having just observed the rather fast emotional breakdown of the hooman. "Ah d***," Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair as he awkwardly stared at the hallway.

Aleksey shivered a bit, looking at where the host had run off before sitting up and looking at the guest. "What happened just know? What was that about mother?"

" … I don't think I should say anymore. I think I already said too much." Jake admitted with a guilty frown.

"You made host … distressed." Aleksey closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, his expression a serious and scary scowl. "I might need to break guest to know why she is so distressed, da?" He then cracked his knuckles soundly. "It takes only 1 small leap for me to land over small hooman guest, with one claw I can rip open stomach, da?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, no need to get physical man-uh, tiger." Jake said, putting his hands up and trying to calm the situation down. "Look, her mother was basically the town's bike, alright? For some reason her mother hated women 'prettier' than she was so whenever she saw a pretty lady on the street, she'd attack them. From what Jay told me, it was regular for her to hurt Jackie a whole hell of a lot to the point she had to go to the hospital every few weeks. Her dad was all overworked trying to support the family and was often away for months so he had no idea what was going on. I kept telling Jay he should talk to the police about it but he just ignored the situation and drank a whole lot. I was usually the one who drove him home and for some weird reason the mother really cared for blue Jay." Jake explained quickly, a little terrified of the tiger. Encouraging him to speak faster, the tiger cracked the knuckles of his other hand. "So uh, I should have known better than to talk about it in front of her. I'll uh, I'll go see how she's doing," Jake said, trying to get up and make a quick escape to go see Jackie.

"Sit, guest." Aleksey growled, showing his fangs and stopping Jake from running away.

Jake froze, staring at the tiger before quickly and nervously sitting down with a paled face. "O-Okay." He said, nervously sealing his mouth up as Aleksey's ear flickered, hearing Jackie crying quite hard in her room.

"And what about guest? You never told police? And it being 5 years since you away, da?" Aleksey sat down. "You been here for long?"

"Well, no, I didn't. I told my mother but she told me it was none of my business. And yeah, my family moved out of the city about 5 years ago so we've been traveling around a bit after that. I hadn't heard much about what happened until I came and visited Jacks a few months ago. After that I did a little digging and found out what happened." He admitted with a frown. "And I've only been back for about 3 months." Jake answered, feeling very intimidated by the rather terrifying tiger. He was surprised by how aggressive he was being towards him, even if was only sitting there, menacingly. "Ha ha." Jake lightly laughed. "You must love Jacks a lot to be so protective over her."

"You been here 3 months and only visited now?" Aleksey yawned, showing his fangs.

"Well, no. I visited about 2 months ago but the jaguar was pretty scary. He started acting up so Jacks had to kick me out." He frowned. "I was a little too intimidated to come back." He nervously chuckled. "I felt bad so I wanted to uh, come back and see Jacks again."

"And where you staying now? You said you going tomorrow, why come to ask for housing if you only come to say goodbye? I curious kitty. As you said, we like the host quite a lot." Alekey kept his gaze on the boy, maintaining eye contact. It only took a couple seconds for Jake to look away.

"Hey, New York is expensive. So I was just going to crash here for a night or so until I find another job in the next city over. I just kinda go where I'm needed." Jake shrugged in a bit of a carefree manner while avoiding his scary intense gaze.

"And do tell, why you smell like beating?" Aleksey grinned. "Host no notice, but you no fool Extraspecies."

"Beating? You mean like my heart beating? Well, I am being questioned by a scary cat." Jake said with a nervous laugh.

"Ha ha, no. It clear someone beat you up, rough up small hooman a bit before coming here." Aleksey tapped his nose.

"Well, what can I say, it's New York. Muggers are everywhere. I didn't want to worry Jacks since she already has enough to worry about, so can you not tell her? She'd flip and try to dress the wounds if she found out." He said with a nervously sheepish smile. "And they're not so bad, really."

"Da? Very well." Aleksey leaned back. "You can go speak with host, and please, no distress her."

"Y-Yeah, will do." Jake said, hopping up from the couch and hurrying over to Jackie's room to check up on her and get away from the scary tiger.

As soon as the hooman guest were out of sight and ear reach Longwei appeared from wherever he had been hiding. "Suspicious as it comes."

"Da." Longwei whispered."Same as the Urals-4B."

Aleksey and Longwei looked at each other and nodded before growling in infrasounds while changing their postures very slightly but in quite the significant way for the other to decipher.

"We now act. Same like in Balkans." Aleksey stretched before standing up and sniffing the air where Jake had stood for a bit to confirm something. He then looked around a couple times before finally focusing on Naoki. "Plant, listen up … "

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Jackie's eyes cracked open, hearing some metal clanking together in the other room. She sat up, rubbing her head as the shuffling continued. She mildly wondered if it was Aleksey roaming around or maybe Longwei but they could see in the dark so it was unlikely them that was making all that noise. Maybe it was Jake? She rolled out of the bed sleepily before opening the door, glancing into the guest's room and seeing a dim light flashing underneath the door.

She stretched, not caring about putting on any pants as she opened the guest door. "Hey, Jake, having trouble sleeping?" She asked, looking over to him before she froze. Jake's head snapped up while in the midst of stuffing some expensive jewelry that belonged to her mother into a bag but that's not what she found to be the worst part of it. On the ground was a needle, empty of whatever contents were inside along with her charge's information being inside of the bag as well, including documents that were blacked out and were supposed to be hidden in Jaska's room. Even the piñata Antain made of Jaska's important documents was inside of his duffle bag.

Without much warning Jake grabbed the lamp and threw it at Jackie, forcing her to throw her arms up to defend herself before Jake tackled her over, stepping on her gut and running away and out the door.

"Oh you son of a b****!" Jackie hissed before she took off after him out the door. She could hardly believe it, Jake was stealing from her? And not only that, he was stealing documents about her charges. The only thing she could think that they could have been for was for Mario, the only one nearby that would pay for those. But Jake wasn't a junkie; but after seeing that needle in the room, that's all she could think about. Since when the hell did Jake turn to drugs?! Hell, he was the last clean one in Jay's friend group!

She chased him down the street, following as he looked around in a disorientated fashion before turning down an alley. She booked it after him, lunging forward and grabbing his bag as she resisted the urge to rip this traitor apart. They were family friends, how could he of all people do this to her?!

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She shouted at him, wrestling the bag out of his hands before he grabbed her and threw her onto the ground, trying to yank the bag away from her. "Jake, stop!" Jackie shouted, getting to her feet and punching him in the throat.

Jake stumbled back, gripping his throat but held onto the bag with a firm and strong grip. "Ow," he wheezed, trying to rip the bag back but Jackie held onto it tightly.

"Jake, what the hell do you think you're doing with those documents?" Jackie aggressively asked, yanking the bag back and trying to take it back from him.

"Let go, I need these!" He shouted before grabbing Jackie and throwing her against the brick wall before he jumped on top of her and tried pinning her down by sitting on her stomach. "D***it, stop struggling! I can't believe I'm about to waste this good s*** on you!" Jake snapped at her before he pulled a small syringe out of his coat.

"Jake, Jake don't you dare!" Jackie shouted in fright as she tried slapping his hand away but he stabbed her in the chest, injecting whatever drug was in there into her before she grabbed his hand and broke his wrist, making him shout in agony before rolling off.

Jackie lunged at him, kicking him onto the ground before she began driving her fist into his face, feeling the bones breaking the harder she punched him. "You f***ing a**hole, you were the last friend I had and you try to pull this s*** on me?! F*** you!" Jackie shouted, feeling her eyes becoming misted. She knew that she had to run home and call an ambulance quickly since she had no idea what he injected her with.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice!" He shouted back at her, covering his face from her barrage of punches. "Luigi is going to kill me if I don't get him this!"

"You're such an idiot, I hate you! How could you do this to me, of all people?! After all the f***ing s*** I've had to put up with in my life, you were the only decent human being through it all, and we barely know each other!" Jackie angrily shouted at him. "I hate you, I hate you!" Jackie screamed at him, unable to help but think of all her charges and their horrid pasts with humans. "It's people like you that make Extraspecies hate us, you know! You f***ing scum of the Earth!" She shouted down at him. "You are the kind of person that is worser than s***! How the hell are Extraspecies supposed to accept us when you try to pull that kind of s*** for a drugged out son of a b**** like Mario?! He's the one who put you up to this, wasn't it?!" Jackie shouted, grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking him up to her face, glaring down at him. "Answer me, Jake! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I don't know, I don't know! I'm sorry, Jacks!" He said, beginning to cry as she saw his pupils enlarging. He was already under the effect of whatever drug he gave himself. "Look, Jacks I'm sorry! I needed the extra money to make it back to Europe!"

"You are a pathetic son of a b****! Never come back here again or so help me I will kill you!" Jackie shouted, punching him across the face one last time before he curled into a ball, holding his head as he sobbed and cried, repeatedly apologizing while rocking back and forth.

Jackie stood up, glaring down at Jake and feeling herself begin to cry. Why were so many humans she knew such horrible people? She honestly began to wonder if she just had a horrible sense of judgement or if Extraspecies were right about humans. She angrily kicked his side before she grabbed the bag of stolen goods and documents and hurried back to the house. She had to hurry up and call an ambulance before that drug or whatever he gave her took effect. To be honest, she was terrified. What did he just inject her with? Heroin? Some other crazy new drug on the street? What if it got her hooked on whatever it was? The thought made her shiver in fright before picking up the pace, trying to make it home to call for help and report the robbery. Her chest constricted in agony as she struggled to ignore it. Jake was a family friend; a good one. He was there for Jay when he started going awol and helped him through a lot so she always thought of him as a good guy. But now look at what happened; he robbed her and tried to beat her up. That was something she would never forgive from that stupid pathetic a**hole.

Jackie stumbled up the stairs of her house, beginning to feel very dizzy and uncoordinated. She picked up the pace, barely smacking against the door as she tried to find the door handle but was unable to. "H-Hey, hey! Aleksey, Longwei! Someone open the door!" Jackie barely said before it opened up with a smiling Aleksey on the other side. Without a word he grabbed her, dragging her inside as she slowly dropped the paperwork all over the hallway, feeling herself growing very dizzy before Aleksey got a better look at her face.

"Hmph, pupils large." He said, tilting his head and staring at her with narrowed eyes. "You very foolish hooman to give information so easily, more so for letting self be tricked." His smile melted away as he and now looked like the scary and dangerous tiger he was. "And then you run after without telling. You no scream either for help. Stupid." He huffed.

" … wait, you were watching? What the hell!" Jackie shouted, trying to stand up straight but her legs wobbled, seeing the ground moving and tilting from underneath of her. " … why are the floors tilting." She asked aloud with a horrified gaze, tightly grabbing him for support as she began leaning to the far side to try and balance herself on the suddenly unstable floor. "H-Hey, Aleksey, I have … I have to call an ambulance. Jake stuck me with something … I don't know what." She said, blinking as the colors of her house began to melt around her, bubbling and pouring together onto the ground to make a mess of strange colors.

Aleksey sniffed her. "I know drug. Expensive hallucination but not that dangerous. You fine after high trip. I interrogate now, and I suggest you speak before I start questions."

"B-B-But I don't want to get high." Jackie said, trembling in fright as she began hyperventilating. "I'm scared of heights!"

"You no choice, drug in system, I can break finger by finger and you no feel it, but pain later will be great if I deem so. So now speak fast all you can." He spoke calmly, but in a very threatening tone while tossing her towards the couch.

"Q-Q-Questions of what?" Jackie asked, tilting her head back and rubbing her eyes as she trembled in fright. He entire body felt light and fuzzy, making her feel lighter than air and yet she was sinking into the couch slowly. "What do you want?" Jackie asked, looking over at him and seeing his fur morph into a slippery liquid onto the ground, making her reach out and touch his belly to try and feel if it was fur or squishy liquid.

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Outside the building, Longwei breathed some cold mist over his bloodied hand, freezing the red liquid over his claws before clenching his fist to make the frozen liquid fall to the ground, leaving his hand clean. From above his shoulder he eyed Naoki wearing many layers of the host's clothes to protect itself from the cold as he leaned over him, staring at the future fertilizer. "Jubokko, you heard it all. Make sure that nothing remains of this bag of fertilizer and get rid of the ones responsible for this mess."

"Hai." Naoki said while some roots crawled over the frozen bloodied shards on the ground and absorbed it. "I'll make sure to follow the trail and obtain more fertilizer for the future wall of trees. This one answered your questions quite well, and although I've been using some of the minor hoomans of this mafia, I can always use more fertilizer." He said, sounding a little eager but did not express it.

Naoki slowly turned down the alley, silently walking into the darkness to track down those responsible for trying to steal from his mighty Heika.

Longwei huffed a cloud of chilly vapor and went back inside of the house, looking forward to killing Jackie Penske as well. Clearly she was a part of this little plan to hand over documents in exchange for money. All Aleksey had to do was make her talk but that was easy for a tiger like him.

Longwei stepped inside, expecting to see the host in a pool of blood but to his disappointed he saw Jackie strung out on the couch, not bloody or broken in any way as Aleksey laughed to himself over something apparently very funny while Jackie was reaching up towards the ceiling and moving her arms in circular patterns. "Stop leaving messes … I have to clean it up." Jackie groaned with tears glistening in her eyes.

"Look at hooman, Longwei. She try to clean invisible mess on ceiling." The tiger laughed before looking over to him. "She innocent. Idiot, but innocent. That Jake hooman was good friend of dead brother, so she trusted wrong hooman. He used to be petty criminal but he reformed … or not. Host think Mario gang try to steal papers using Jake, but she retrieve those, and now she drugged and cleaning the rainbow on the air." He snorted a laugh, seeing Jackie begin to cry.

"Nuuuuuuuuuh it's not getting clean," she cried, tossing and turning on the couch a little bit. " … why can I taste the rainbow?" She softly cried, clearly distressed.

"Foolish hooman." The dragon frowned, letting out some vapor from his nostrils before turning around to go and eat some fruit to help ease his annoyance. "What is your assessment, Aleksey?"

"Hmph." Aleksey lightly chuckled, nuzzling the host's head. "She good hooman, Wei-wei, like Sabre say. Hooman is imbecile and weak, will need guards and lessons to not tell info to anyone, known or not. But I deem her passable. Good heart, bad brain. She good host, I deem her so"

Longwei twisted his lip, not liking that Aleksey was vouching for the hooman but respecting his opinion. "What else did you find out?"

"Blocks and blocks around empty because gang activity, she and only older couple down street left enduring gang activities. Local mafia lead by some Luigi and Mario hoomans, they traffic mainly, but all normal illegal activities. " Aleksey sighed. Sabre was right; the host herself was harmless but the information she knew could prove dangerous. As long as she is watched, she'd be fine. "I go talk to Sabre, Wei-wei, and tell all." He volunteered himself, taking the phone before heading back to his room to speak with her about the news.

Longwei frowned as he turned and stared at Jackie, seeing the host staring up at the ceiling with very enlarged pupils.

He glared in annoyance. Note to self; make the hooman pet him later. That was the least she could do since he could not rip her apart after proving her guilty - yet.

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Aleksey perked up as soon as the phone clicked with Sabre answering on the other side. "Aleksey?" Sabre called with a soft purr.

"Da, it me." Aleksey hummed, "you right; hooman is imbecile but kind and pets nice." Aleksey said, giving his approval for the hooman. "But she needs lessons on how to not talk so much. Should have listened while hooman guest was over." He huffed.

"Guest? She never has guests." Sabre mentioned with some suspicion in her voice.

"Da, hooman guest named Jake. Apparently Eztli had bad run with him. He try to steal documents and money, but host caught and brought back things. Wei-wei take care of rest." Aleksey explained. "Did you know about host's family?" Aleksey asked, curious.

"Oh, that one. I had forgotten about that." Sabre then let out a short sigh. "Si, I knew, I researched the host thoughtfully at first. Why you ask? Did something happen? Are you and the host alright?"

"Hm, host a little hurt, I fine. Hooman stuck her with rare hallucinogenic drug so she be high for about 8-12 hours." He explained before sighing. "I interrogate guest and host ran to room crying once topic of mother come up. How hoomans so cruel to own children confuse me." Aleksey admitted with a huff. "But, houses from about 6 blocks radius mostly empty from gang activity. You know that too?" Aleksey asked, sounding a little smug.

"Yes, I know. I'm planning to use them." Sabre grinned. "I spoke with uncle Nikita and made a deal with him. He is going to support this … operation."

"Oh? You have plan?" Aleksey asked, sounding a little confused. "What you planning?" He curiously asked.

"Ah~ I was going to tell you before but I never got the chance. I was just too happy to see you alive, and well, as handsome as ever." Sabre purred happily as Aleksey listened to the little kittens hungrily calling from the other line. "The plan is simple … are you in my room? I made sure there was inner cooper lining hidden all around to avoid data breaches."

"Da, I in room. How are kittens?" Aleksey asked with a rumbling purr, lovingly listening to their voices over the phone.

"They are hungry and adorable and missing their dad." Sabre chuckled. "We really miss you." She purred.

"And I you, mishka." He smiled.

"Aweeee … I miss you more … ," Sabre cooed.

"Niet, I miss you even more than that." Aleksey smiled happily.

Before they engaged into a discussion of who missed the other more, Sabre continued. "Well, back to the plan. You know that the royal thingy about me just complicates things. I can't go to Russia because I have no foothold there and it's filled with nobles and royals and many that would like to use a new young naive royal for their own ambitions." She groaned. "Disappearing is also out of question, it would be impossible too."

"Impossible is right. Nikita not let us disappear." Aleksey chuckled.

"Exactly, so I researched a bit and got a crazy idea. If anything one of my advantages is that no one knows how I may act and I better act fast before anyone else does, right?" She chuckled back, knowing well he knew that she was right. No Extraspecies could predict her moves because she had no idea how Extraspecies would react in this situation. "It seemed that the programs had accepted the creation of special economic areas but it had not been implemented, so I was going to use the deal I have with my clothes branch to establish a business central here in such conditions and also gather more economic resources. I already convinced the hooman coordinator and the place around the host's home is perfect. Since it's empty and a bit away from the city, the land price is quite cheap, but it's still near a port. Since this country is new to the contracts, there are no deals and no Extraspecies court or group have any big power here yet."

"Hm~ mishka, you so clever. You know I support without question." Aleksey smiled.

"I love you." Sabre immediately said without hesitation. Then she took a moment of silence to give a kiss to one of the cubs. "And about that royal thing … well, the mermaids recognized me and the bastet royals sort of too, so word will get out soon. I don't know details, but it seems I can establish some territory or court, ugh, so troublesome, but Reza, the noble lion fish that prepares good sushi, the other charge. He already kinda joined and I have no idea how to react, so I think we just need to go with the flow and act fast. What do you think?"

"Creating territory and gathering followers best plan. If we no can hide, then let us shine brighter than any other." Aleksey grinned before his expression turned more solemn. "I no can protect you, so gather up followers quick next best thing. We can ask Nikita for some bodyguards to guard you so you are safe while here in hooman infested New York." Aleksey explained.

"You are with me Aleksey, that's all I want." She purred. "Nikita already decided on bodyguards. It was one of the conditions to support this plan."

"Good. But how you convince uncle? He would not let you or cubs or me to be in hooman infested zone so easily." Aleksey scratched his chin, wondering just what his naughty little mishka did to convince his uncle. "You no overcome with sweet alpha scent, da?" Aleksey lightly teased but at the same time was slightly worried. Alphas attracted a great number of females regularly and uncle Nikita was no different. Females have been known to leave their own mates for someone as strong as Nikita, and there was no one as strong as the great Nikita.

"ALEKSEY! I'll bite your ear as soon as I see you for that comment!" Sabre growled.

"You bite all you want as long as I only one you bite." Aleksey purred, flipping his tail back and forth in delight. "I only tease, mishka, I no can help! I just so happy." He said as his deep thrumming purrs almost drowned out his own voice.

"You better groom me well when I see you or I wont forgive you. Then I bite you more" Sabre growled, sounding huffy but clearly amused. "And about that, I explained the advantages to the council and Extraspecies in general. Everyone knows that the host's country is an idiotic war mongrel with too many weapons and greediness; also there's the thing about hoomans pushing to get reverse contract but the council refusing to let any hooman near Extraspecies cities and there is the problem of the illegal extra species there. In this economic zone all that can be fixed. It's going to be an Extraspecies territory that doesn't hold any real Extraspecies secrets because I don't know any, I may be a royal but I don't know because I wasn't raised by Extraspecies. I can offer a place to house and work for all those that would be illegals otherwise and since I have jurisdiction over the place, then I can allow a couple reverse contracts to calm the hoomans. It's so crazy and daring that it might work."

"I like plan." Aleksey smiled. "What about defence forces? I doubt hooman police will police area much, they hardly do so now. New territory will need secret officers making sure everything going alright." Aleksey said. "Will you use uncle's resources for that?" He asked, worried about the hoomans that could do to all those Extraspecies inside the mini town.

"I'm sure uncle Nikita wouldn't mind it, but I already know Extraspecies that can and are willing to do that. They are strong too." Sabre pondered about the entire fight club. If she proposed them a nice deal that let them fight they would surely agree. "Also once it's established there won't be that many problems with hoomans. They have signed treaties, which in this country is meaningless, but they _do_ want to be in good terms with Extraspecies if only because they want to benefit from us."

"You seem to be gathering lot of followers already." Aleksey hummed in delight.

"Well, mmhhh, I'm not sure they are followers, most are acquaintances and only the other charges know I'm a royal. I'm not sure how they will react once everyone else finds out." Sabre sounded a bit nervous. "You think it will be alright?"

"I no see why not. Maybe bring Kroc, just in case." Aleksey lightly joked.

"I'll bring everyone. After all, we need to finish our contract with the host. I know the council doesn't like this but the truth is that if the contracts end suddenly there can be counter arguments for any decision they take. This will give them too little time for whatever plans they have but during that, I expect to gain enough myself to be as independent as I possibly can." Sabre meowed, accommodating the kittens and lowering down so Aleksey could hear their meows more easily.

"That is good. Sound like you plan out most of not all so far. But what of hooman host? You plan to kick her out of territory with other left over hoomans in area?" Aleksey asked.

"Of course not! She pets too good, and she is so foolish that she wouldnt survive out there!" Sabre did sounded worried. "And how is she? Mmhh … please send me a link to the videos, I'm sure you found the cameras I installed around. She is high, right? I think Eztli should go to help her with that, she'll surely need help after the experience ends."

"Hm, yeah." Aleksey said, walking over to a hidden compartment in the wall Sabre had made before opening it up, downloading the files before emailing an encrypted link to Sabre. "Watch to heart content. I interrogate hooman Jake and learn much about Jackie background. I not like how she abused - she likely to repeat same behavior around kittens if given chance." Aleksey frowned.

"She already had been around the kittens with plenty of chances. You already have your veredict about her, no?" Sabre asked with seriousness.

"Hm~ da, I will accept. but I still worry. She still hooman. What if she have similar mental condition as mother? I wonder if stress make her snap at some point." He murmured suspiciously.

"Check the files in the B-002 folder. You'll see all the times she could have snapped but didnt."

"Hm, that I do. Can I watch all recordings? Or there recordings of you you no want me seeing?" Aleksey teased.

"You already know all secrets Aleksey. Besides," she chuckled. "If there was anything I wouldn't want anyone to see then rest assured there's or evidence no videos of it. But … take care of not watching the videos on the R-TTS folder, specially not the ones 23 to 47." Sabre specifically mentioned, knowing he would watch them specially after he got curious enough. "There's some hidden secret info in those that you probably don't want to know about." And of course there was info, lot of it because those were videos of Reza talking, and talking and talking, even talking to himself for hours on end.

"Hm! You make this kitty curious." Aleksey teased.

"Dont be curious of those. " Sabre teased.

Jackie's blood curtling scream suddenly sounded, making Aleksey jump in startlement, holding the phone firmly before he hopped out of Sabre's room and hurried into the living room, watching Longwei's tail holding a pillow up against her face in a smothering motion.

"Wei-wei! No kill host." Aleksey said, taking the pillow away from her mouth and watching as Jackie hugged herself, her entire body wracked in cold shivers as she crazily mumbled to herself in fright. "Hm. Drugs hitting host hard." Aleksey frowned.

"She keeps crying and saying she is scared to get high. Such an annoying hooman." Longwei growled in annoyance.

"Aleksey! I'll send Eztli there! " Sabre called from the phone.

"Hm, good idea. I take care of host until Eztli come." Aleksey said before hanging up. He leaned down, gently petting Jackie's side as she continued to shake erratically while her eyes darted around the room.

"I love you dear! Bye!" Sabre hung up. This time there wasn't a change for along goodbye and discussion of who loved the other more.

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I hope you enjoyed this long chapter! _**10 reviews**_ for this chapter to get the next one :)

Chaos-dark-lord: Yes, this was LONG but Sabre's plan is out. Did anyone figure it out? Also Jackie seems to have earned Aleksey's approval, so she now needs to convince certain dragon (good luck with that Jackie), and the charges need to come back too and soon. You now know what happened to that Jake guy and more details about Jackie's family past… all is advancing smoothly mwahahaha.


	39. Chapter 39

"Jackie~!" Eztli shouted, sprinting into the house and finding the host on the couch in a cold sweat. "Jackie, Jackie it'll be alright, I'm going to be here to help you ride this out, you adorable hooman you!" Eztli cried excitedly before squeezing her in a hug. "Are you at the part yet that you can taste color? Or is everything just melting? Oh! Or are the colors melting into the back of your head?" Eztli asked as he nuzzled against her with a loud rumbling purr in his chest.

Jackie did not answer. Her hands continued to shake uncontrollably as she stared up at the ceiling, looking genuinely terrified. She was scared of drugs and she could have sworn she was somewhere between life and death at the moment, although she was very slowly starting to mellow out.

"It's okay Jackie, my adorable hooman! Sabre showed me the videos of that bad man, I told you I didn't like him!" Eztli whined, hugging her tightly and giving her lots of cuddles to help her transition between the phases of being high. "It's okay Jackie, if I ever see him again I'll kill him for you, because I'm a strong independent kitty, who isn't scared anymore!" Eztli cheerfully proclaimed as he kissed her cheek and hugged her head into his chest.

"Indeed, that unwanted hooman male was evil. But fear not, he has been disposed off." Longwei approached, maintain certain distance while eyeing the strange jaguar. "However, since you were here when that male hooman came first, I would like to ask you about that occasion."

Eztli gasped and whipped around, startled as he stared at Longwei. He remained frozen before he hissed at the dragon and grabbed Jackie, running into the kitchen and leaping up into the small hidden den in the corner of the kitchen while dragging Jackie inside to the warm safety of the mini den.

Longwei raised a suspicious brow before he floated up to get on level to the den but a pair of pants hit him directly in the face. He tossed them off and he rose his hand to block the pillow and the other clothes that the jaguar was throwing at him in an attempt to make the dragon leave.

"You were mean and hurt my friends and you let Jackie get drugged without her consent! That's scary for the first time and without me being here to help her, she would have been super scared and might never have some with me someday now because she'll be too scared!" Eztli shouted at him, preparing the rest of his clothes to toss at him. "I'm not letting you near the host, so go away, you mean lizard!"

"Mean? I am not mean, Mr. Balam. I am merely assessing the situation to ensure your safety." Longwei crossed his arms. "A drugged hooman is dangerous, but more so, the one who administered the drug to this hooman was here previously and caused some commotion that you witnessed first hand. I must assess the whole situation and understand what other dangers may be related." Longwei finished before tilting his head. "Or is your reluctance towards me because of the incident with the saltwater crocodile? I assure you it was an accident while seeking to stop the smugglings." Longwei spoke as he raised a hand, catching a pair of underwear thrown at his face before Longwei tossed it aside and crossed his arms, staring into the den silently for the jaguar's response.

" … I still don't like you." Eztli growled, keeping Jackie safe all stuffed in the back of the small den. "Stay away from me and the host! You'll hurt her again!" Eztli hissed while gently grooming the host and hugging her, talking her through the process still.

Longwei narrowed his eyes, surprised as he exhaled vapor. "I am high operative for the council, Mr. Balam. I am here to ensure all Extraspecies are protected and don't suffer the abuse and terror hoomans bring. I, Mengyao Longwei, dragon of the northern ice from the rising lands before the emerald northern ocean, have in particular decided to enforce the ancient pact between bastet and dragon kin, since I was saved by the bastet and I owe more than a life debt. Therefore I in particular have dedicated and will dedicate my aptitudes to help your kin." He declared loudly with an alnot thunderous voice. "I see you've been deeply traumatized by hoomans and I with your information we can bring justice to the guilty or if possible, revenge as stated in all our regulations."

"Go away!" Eztli growled at him. "You're mean to the ones I love and you're mean to Jackie too!"

Longwei let out a deep sight that caused a small cloud to form. "I understand the abuse from you past … host was more than deep, so why is it that you seem so attached to this hooman? Does she gives you or does anything to you? Something that you like?"

" … she doesn't hurt me. She loves me and does not hurt me with her love." Eztli admitted with a surprisingly deeper voice than Longwei would have expected from the feline who was yowling earlier. "Her love is gentle and very sweet. I can see she cares for me, and I care for her too." Eztli said, hugging Jackie a little tighter before nuzzling against her cheek.

"And how is this love? Does she touches you? Besides the petting? What about that time when she invited the hooman male? What did she do when you showed your displeasure for his presence? Did your past host used to bring … guests you didn't like?"

"She doesn't hurt me, and would never hurt me, not like those other hoomans did. I trust her." Eztli said, grooming the host's head as he slightly trembled. He regretted going feral and hurting her; he regretted being a coward and abandoning her when Olivia turned up. But he was a big strong kitty, just like Jackie said he was, and the other charges too. "The host even protected me when that woman tried to get me back." Eztli said, his voice beginning to tremble. "I ran away because I was scared, but the host fought her so she wouldn't take me-!" Eztli cried, his eyes misting over. "My hooman is a good hooman, and I won't let you hurt her like you did before at the port, or at the snow lodge, or even when you let her get drugged!" Eztli roared loudly, snarling and sitting in front of Jackie and glaring out at Longwei through the darkness. "You're mean and unfair!"

"WEI-WEI!" Aleksey called sharply, making Longwei glance back at him. "Let me try."

"Very well." Longwei exhaled again and floated down. Before Aleksey could try to jump up to climb the rafters, the dragon grabbed him like a kitten and took him, placing him in front of the den.

Before Aleksey could start reasoning with the young feline, Eztli slowly crawled closer, reaching out and patting the tiger's arm before gently grabbing his wrist and trying to pull the tiger inside of the den. Aleksey grabbed at the edges, hissing at his soreness before Eztli pulled him alongside the host. Eztli crawled over him, sitting down with his back to Aleksey - a very great sign of trust and acceptance towards Aleksey, while Eztli lightly growled at Longwei near the entrance. While Aleksey was chuckling at how he was accepted so quickly, the host began touching the tiger's fur, mumbling something incoherently before she automatically began petting the large tiger.

"Eztli, wei-wei not a bad dragon. He just bad at communicating." Aleksey spoke, accepting the pets and touches.

" … but he hurt Jackie so easily, and she's a good hooman." Eztli said, dangerously flicking the tip of his tail as he glared down Longwei. "If he was nice, why would he hurt someone nice?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"He strong dragon and he have trouble holding back strength. He normally breaks furniture while trying to move it or he breaks phones not make for him. Also he nice, he like to look after cubs." Aleksey then looked at Longwei with a smile. "And he can change size, still strong but he fit in jar to lick cherry juice and get stuck in it." Aleksey cheerfully laughed.

" … that doesn't explain why he hurt someone nice if he's supposed to be nice." Eztli said, looking back at Aleksey with a frown.

In a fraction of a second, Aleksey dropped his smile and became very serious. "Wei-wei has good reasons for not liking hoomans. Me too in general, and you host in particular have serious evidence against her, da?" The tiger eyed the delirious host. "She too many charges, so it suspicious, charges too varied, but not all charges reported to the council. Council need to know about charges so charges be protected, especially endangered charges, like bastet. If council knew of you, you would have gone away from hoomans to a safe place to heal. But that not all, Jackie host hid Jaska and royal Sabre, da? She appeared in smuggling incident, she attacked other hooman host, she has unstable past too, so she potentially dangerous. Also she little money of her own if not for contracts, so she could try sell charges. There's been cases."

"B-But you don't understand, that's not-," Eztli tried to defend but Aleksey cut him off.

"We here to investigate and take if she guilty. Hosts under contract, if found guilty get under jurisdiction of council, and council makes sure give justice, vengeance and make example of those who damage any Extraspecies. Even small crimes can be given death, what changes is method and how fast it is. Hoomans too dangerous, we no show weakness." Aleksey growled, his eye shining in the dark of the den.

"But she's a good host! She's nice and takes care of us!"

"So? Hoomans are hoomans. Most are horrible or terrible, very few exceptions. If you no understand most of hoomans are as bad as your last host, then you never be strong kitty." Aleksey huffed. "Hoomans betray and destroy even to other hoomans all the time, you best to distrust until now. I heard your story, cat, you know few hoomans or Extraspecies. I tell you, in all my life I only know 2 hoomans not bad out of many thousands known. And well, I and your host still in probation, da?"

Eztli trembled, finding himself too stressed out to handle any of this. With a loud cry he leapt into the back across Aleksey and Jackie, pulling aside some clothes before pulling out a bag with some roots in it where Eztli began to quickly devour one.

"Capi roots? It been long since last I saw those." Aleksey commented, looking at the roots he once tried. "They help sleep, da?"

"Not that you care." Eztli pouted with his ears lowered, munching away at the root quickly to forget his problems, even if for a little bit.

Finally losing his patience, the tiger placed his claws over the jaguar's neck, making the feline jolt in surprise. "Maybe I no care about whiny little cat, but I understand, da?" The tiger growled, tightening his grip to the point his claws were almost ready to puncture Eztli's throat. "Want to know story? Mine and Jaska? Father die to hooman war, mother die of sorrow, we betrayed by hoomans. Bratja taken away by company to hurt and use against uncle, tiger who raise us. I went in search, I saw many experiments and horrible stuff, I almost die because I blew up place and I left mate to fend for self. You think I no nightmares of Sabre getting caught? You think I no dread losing older bratja or that I no know my cubs targets?" Aleksey snorted as he leaned with his eyepatch closer to Eztli's face for the jaguar to see the intensity in his gaze, but then, Aleksey's usual goofy smile appeared out of nowhere although his claws remained where they were. "That why I here. To ensure palce safe. Besides, host pet good. You no only cat with problems, so stop bickering, da?" The Siberian tiger then let go of his grip and patted Eztli's head a couple times.

" … fine. But you're still mean too." Eztli pouted, not appearing very threatened by Aleksey's demeanor, possibly due to the drugs, as he grabbed another capii and handing it to Aleksey while Eztli quickly gnawed on the root.

"You think if I mean Sabre would love so much?" Aleksey puffed a bit and then gave the root a couple licks before looking at Longwei. "Hey Wei-wei, I share root with you, come give lick."

"What is that root?" Longwei asked with suspicion, still focused on what Aleksey just said. He had perhaps overestimated the heaviness of Aleksey's experience and position or how the tiger probably felt about his current weak condition.

"It's a capi root. They're super good! This way I can get high with Jackie." Eztli purred in excitement, licking his lips at the taste of the super tasty root as it already began taking effect, making Eztli at ease and much calmer now.

"I will have to decline." Longwei eyed the root and how fast it had affected the jaguar.

"Jaguar … Wei-wei no that bad, now that root helped you calm I tell you truth. Listen, Longwei shy because he not used to petting, much less such good petting." Aleksey slyly smiled.

"He's not?" Eztli asked, gasping. "He's never been pet before?!" Eztli spoke as if this was a grave error on Longwei's part.

"Niet, hoomans only hurt him before, so he is shy to the host because she pets him sooo good, da?" Aleksey grinned.

"Yes! Yes! I am such a good petter!" Jackie laughed, giggling to herself loudly while holding her stomach.

"Oh? Oh, yay! See, Jackie? It's so much better once you hit the giggling phase!" Eztli laughed, hugging and purring against her before he poked his head out. "Mr. Mean dragon, come get pet by the host! It feels suuuper nice!" Eztli grinned, slowly beginning to physically melt thanks to the root taking effect.

"Willingly allow myself to be pet by that hooman?!" Longwei looked at the drugged jaguar and at the laughing Aleksey while the hooman made petting motions to both of them and then towards him. He let out a small cloud of mist, stunned.

"Come here Wei-wei, let self be pet." Aleksey laughed, his plan and intention finally clear.

"It's okay that you're mean, I'll pet you very nicely." Jackie grinned, "I am a great host and petter. Your scales are very soft to touch because my fingers slide along like butter on ham." She dizzily laughed, her words slurring together.

Longwei groaned and rolled his eyes and was about to say no before Eztli suddenly looks at him with super big eyes that reminded him of Aleksey and Jaska when they were younger. Longwei held his tongue, staring down at the young jaguar.

"Just come, Wei-wei. Duty to ensure hooman good host, so you must, da?" Aleksey rolls a bit to the side to make space for longway

Longwei groaned in annoyance but he landed near the entrance of the den regardless. Before he could complain, Eztli janked him inside and placed him besides Jackie so she could pet him. Longwei only growled, leaning away from her in response. Eztli laughed before tossing Jackie into Longwei's lap in response. It took every bit of Longwei's self control to not throw her off before she twisted around and leaned over him, hugging him.

"No no, Jackie! Pet the mean lizard, pleeease?" Eztli said before hugging Jackie from behind and nuzzling against her head before she began petting Longwei.

Longwei sat with his face scrunched up in disgust as he felt the hooman's hands roam over his back before gently gliding up his neck. He was not scowling because he was disgusted by the experience but he was, in fact, angry at himself for actually enjoying the hooman's hands moving over his skin and scales. He let out a very low hiss and a puff of vapor into the hooman's hair, watching as she leaned against his shoulder and giggled and laughed to herself while she continued to pet him before petting his upper lip.

To prevent Aleksey from seeing the pleasure in his face, Longwei closed his eyes and tried to meditate and dilute the effects of her petting but he slowly felt himself drifting near the edge of sleep because he felt so relaxed under her nimble fingers.

"Hey Wei-wei, if you petting keeps so go and lower you might get boner. Face of pleasure too obvious, da?" Aleksey laughed even more, "that be funny, but maybe you need, you no mate in decades … and this host contract type very interesting, she available as mating prospect, da?" Aleksey grinned.

"Why bother with a mate when I am busy caring for Nikita's estate? Or you, you rowdy cub." Longwei frowned in annoyance.

"Because you want more, Wei-wei, but western dragons too big and aggressive and sunset dragons think you too childish. You need go out more or you get stuffy in head."

"Young tigers need to learn their place." Longwei stated with a fierce glare over in Aleksey's direction, noticing the hooman's petting stopped. Once realizing she was now sleeping the drug off, he knocked her off onto the den's ground along with Eztli who kept his arms around JAckie and nuzzled her lots. Longwei softly growled at the sight, finding the sight of a bastet cuddling up to a hooman being intolerable. "Why does this young bastet constantly spurn me and go back to this filthy hooman?" Longwei stated with a tone so filled with rage that Aleksey half expected him to crush the hooman's skull right then and there.

"Because he so mentally traumatized that he cling to any shred of niceness, also he entering mature state and no know how to handle given that he no raised among Extraspecies, let alone bastet, he a very cuddly kitty that never before had cuddles, so now he cuddles when can? Or he finally approve of mean lizard wei-wei and cuddles as sign." Aleksey stretched, still chuckling. "Or maybe this hooman merely nice and not bad as we thought."

"Don't speak such nonsense." Longwei huffed, expelling a large puff of vapor that made the two high children loudly laugh and touch the swirling mist with their eager grabbing hands.

"But Wei-wei, if you want little ice dragons someday you have no choice but to consider … more possibilities, da? dragons of Asia older and think you too childish, western dragons too aggressive and bigger than you so you no like. You also too busy to search mate else. Hoomans at least live less and total change of little ice dragon and no mix or other type of dragon." Aleksey cuddled against Longwei, his smile far less cheerful and somehow more focused. "But that no point. I read papers. Contracts with this host have mating seeking clause open. But there no indication of such with any of her charges. She no pursue them. I find weird, but still, I think she nice."

"Hmph. You have undergone countless surgeries thanks to this Ms. Smith and your memories could have been altered." Longwei stated.

"Ha. What would you say if I say I think she evil? You no accuse my mind of altered then." Aleksey chuckled, annoying Longwei. "That Smith woman calculating, da? But her priority is ensure good cooperation with Extraspecies. It personal for her. She could have let me die, after all, she had Jaska to convince uncle, but she save me; not because uncle is Nikita, but because she too a 'nice hooman'. I damaged, but even with 1 eye, I still see clearly."

" … would you like another eye to even out your vision?" Longwei casually offered, making Aleksey stop laughing entirely. His eyes were wide, stunned at the words Longwei spoke.

"An eye … you no mean 'that' type of eye. You still keep?" Aleksey asked, shocked at what Longwei was proposing. Maybe Aleksey's mind was indeed playing tricks on him.

"Of course. And as sole heir, I choose who I desire to bestow those parts to." Longwei said, staring straight ahead with a rather unreadable expression before he glanced over to Aleksey with the smallest smile. "A discolored eye would better suit you then no eye at all." He said.

"But Wei-wei … that eye ... it remain of your family, of what parts and pieces uncle rescued." Aleksey dropped his ears, looking very much like the cub Longwei considered him to be. The offer was so touching that Aleksey had trouble finding words to say.

"Better in a body than in a jar." Longwei sighed. "It is my choice who to give them to. And you do not need to worry, the ancient techniques keep them fresh." He lightly chuckled.

"You bad at joking Wei-wei, but you really not bad." Aleksey nuzzled against Longwei and joined in the cuddles. "I … thank you, da?"

"Yes. If you would accept my offer, I would be proud to give you a replacement for what you lost." Longwei smiled, giving a light nuzzle back to Aleksey. "And let us hope those cubs are not as rowdy as you were, otherwise I will get many more headaches when I help you look after them."

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Sabre smiled cheerfully as she munched away at small duck chunks cut in bite sized cubes, all in a delicious sausage that was slightly hot and that she was complimenting with a cup of wine, all while enjoying the nice ambient from inside of the expensive restaurant that was free them thanks to Nikita. At her side the babies softly mewed, nuzzling against each other inside of the basket as Sabre smiled, watching them with adoration in her eyes.

"They're real cute, sheila." Kroc grinned as he looked over the young babies.

"They are." Sabre purred, closing her eyes for a moment and then enjoying another bite of her delicious meal.

"Hmph. It is hard for me to comprehend when something is 'cute' persay, but that are … interesting." Dumisa said as he tilted his head and tasted the air above the young babies.

"They really are weird looking and I really want to touch them. They are like you, sort of, but super small, with big heads and I think they look more like normal cats than like Extraspecies." Reza said with eager eyes directed at the little cubs. "I want to touch them and poke them to see what makes them make those little squeaky noises they often make, and those high pitched squeaks make my ears tingle nicely." Reza grinned as Sabre pulled the basket closer to her and away from Reza.

Antain hopped up onto the cushion, adding to his mountain of 'stolen' food before he hopped off the seats again and dashed over to the buffet while trying to be sneaky in taking lots of food for everyone, coming back and forth and putting more and more food onto his plate to claim his spoils.

"So … how did your interviews go?" Sabre asked them, grabbing her glass and taking a sip before placing a small duck piece in Antain's mouth to the delight of the cub. Antain eagerly chewed on the duck, licking his lips before he leapt off of the bench and ran over to the buffet to grab more food.

"Didn't even get to interview in person. Someone crushed the machine." Kroc sighed before glancing over at Dumisa. "But then there was that dream, and that my interview I guess"

Dumisa's immediate glare was enough to tip Sabre off that something went poorly for him.

"Oh! Well my interview was very fun, I got to talk to my little sister who isn't as little any more and my mother for hours on end and we talked forever about the host, her house, her cleaning tactics, the clothes, the new situation, the other charges," Reza started enthusiastically, blabbing about everything they talked about in great detail.

"Dumisa … what happened? You seem tense." Sabre placed her fork aside, eyeing Dumisa carefully. "Was it something bad?"

" … I found out the old leader of the tribe was replaced by my sisters." Dumisa said, staring at nothing in particular as he clenched his teeth in anger.

"You have sisters?" Sabre blinked, grabbing her fork again and cut another piece of duck.

"Ain't that sort of good?" Kroc asked with confusion at the snake's mixed body language.

" … I learned that I have over 900 children." Dumisa said with a rather emotionless expression. "They want me to return and continue populating the tribe so they have enough warriors to overtake nearby tribes. They're planning to use my son as a breeding stock, and he is excited to be one." Dumisa spoke, his hand trembling in anger as he barred his fangs and angrily glared at the wall.

Sabre dropped her knife and fork and remained in utter shock, her head spinning at just the thought of so many children. Kroc stared at Dumisa as his jaw dropped in shock. The snake had over 900 offspring? Kroc had never heard of such a ridiculous number of offspring a snake was able to produce.

"Mama misa?" Antain tilted his head, placing another egg in front of Dumisa before staring up at the snake in confusion.

"WHAT?!" Sabre screeched. "But they can't take you away. You signed your contract." She quickly moved to give Dumisa a hug. "Your contract was for 20 years, no? They can't break that."

"My contract will eventually come to an end and I will have to return. They are now large enough of a tribe that they can influence the council into returning me, a male lamia, back to my home tribe." Dumisa stated with a fierce hiss before turning his intense glare to Sabre. "I'm going to be part of your new territory or court or whatever it is. As a royal, they won't be able to take me if I pledge my allegiance to a royal. So you're going to take me or I'll hate you." Dumisa said with a fierce gleam in his eyes.

"Eh?" Sabre blinked. "I mmhh … I know I can make the territory and sure, you can stay and all, but pledging loyalty? I don't know how that works." Sabre stared back and worriedly pawed at Dumisa. "Mmhh … do I need to fight your sisters or something? I don't think I can fight more than 900 lamias … can't we just hide you?" She suggested.

"I am taking that as a yes, then." Dumisa stated with a cold tone, picking up some water and sipping on it quietly. "I'll give you some tribute later." He flippantly offered with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Tribute? What are you talking about?" Sabre shook her head, but before she could speak, Reza interrupted.

"Well, that settles it! Dumisa is now your second official charge, with me being your first." Reza smiled, clapped and then waved his hand. "So now you need to take care of us, and of course we need to give you the tributes and all the normal stuff but if I can advise you - and since I'm in your care now and as a noble supporter I can - then maybe we can skip all the traditional protocol and ceremonies and else because those are boring, believe me, I've been too many, they last too long and very little happens, food isn't normally good which only makes them even worse and also since this is a mixed-up court then it probably gets mixed up boring stuff, I don't know for lamias, but mermaid stuff is too ornamental and ceremonial and beautiful … but you don't have a palace and the host's house which probably is now your house if you accept her too is too small. Are you going to adopt the host and if not, I can adopt her then? Are we taking over? Are you going to start giving up arbitrary rules? Oh, look, they do have crusty apple pies in the buffet. I haven't experimented with the crusty part yet."

"Heh. You're picking up more and more followers, that's good." Kroc laughed with a big grin. "I don't think I'll pledge myself to you, but I'll still visit your territory if you let me."

"Well, if you get your own territory then there would be an alliance, it's quite normal and the support from a royal would count a lot." Reza commented, poking whatever food was in front of him. "And of course our little court could do with allies too, so I guess it's fine, or maybe the crocodile can pledge loyalty too from afar and still consider himself independent enough if you allow it. It would be more believable to anyone else because small territories normally want to claim they are protected by more important territories, it's a sort of an enclave thing."

"Not now, mate. I want to get stronger first." Kroc grinned, clutching his fist eagerly. He still needed to find Nikita at some point and ask him about training him.

"Mmhh … guys? Can you explain this?" Sabre looked between all of them before grabbing Antain and trying to place him on her lap, but the sneaky cub only took whatever food his mother was giving him and then ran away to steal more food and be a good provider.

Dumisa watched Antain running around, finding it helpful that Antain was bringing so much food to the table. A particularly juicy egg treat caught his eye on Antain's plate as Dumisa tasted the air, expecting to taste the sweet smell of the food but instead caught something strange. He turned, locking eyes with a stranger before seeing him start to pull a tranq gun from inside his heavy coat.

Dumise lunged and loudly hissed, getting shot with the tranq from another stranger in the same vicinity but before it could hit him, a butter knife shot out broke it, making it harmlessly clatter to the ground.

"Not this time. I haven't seen you fight for real before, snake, and I don't want to see you drop all sleepy this time, no matter how amusing it is." Reza laughed, quickly collecting the other knives on the table.

Screams in the restaurant quickly exploded as a fast surge of fleeing patrons darted out of the entrance, leaving about 15 human men behind taking out their guns and opened fire over the entire table. Kroc leapt up, covering Sabre and the babies as Reza threw butter knives and stabbed the 5 assailants in the hands, forcing them to drop the tranq guns so they grabbed normal guns and began shooting at Kroc but his thick skin stopped the bullets.

Dumisa quickly shot around to the other side of the room, avoiding the main barrage of bullets before he snapped forward, slapping his tail against the many assailants.

"Leave or fall, piss hoomans!" Dumisa hissed as he ducked and wove through the air startlingly fast, grabbing one of their guns and smacking the human in the head with it before he continued to slither around and smack the violet humans around.

"Dumisa! Get Antain!" Sabre roared while jumping sideways, tossing the table sideways to use as cover but the bullets easily penetrated the wood, making Reza and Sabre rely on Kroc as a shield.

Dumisa's eyes darted around the room before spotting the little frightened fox hiding under the table. Before he could reach the table one of the gunners started shooting after him, forcing Dumisa to make a swift retreat to avoid the deadly bullets. His skin was not as thick as the crocodile's so he needed to be much more careful.

As Dumisa kept dodging one of the men spotted Antain hiding under a table. Before Antain could flee the man grabbed the fox, making Antain scream before the man backed away and continued firing until he ran out of bullets.

Dumisa hissed, waving his body back and forth as he tried to guess where else the men would shoot as the group of attackers began backing away, keeping up their concentrated firing over the large crocodile. The black mamba hissed in aggravation, slapping a table and making it fly over the group of humans and knock some of them down before Dumisa began throwing every table and chair he could find to help blind their vision.

"Antain!" Sabre screamed, letting out a fierce roar towards the fleeing men.

"Stay down!" Kroc hissed as he looked over his shoulder, glaring at the men before they turned down the hall and began to make a hasty retreat.

Dumisa darted forward but took caution, ready to dodge at a moment's notice should they try to shoot him. Kroc's eyes flashed, turning to follow them before Sabre ran ahead of him.

"Kroc, watch the babies!" Sabre shouted as she took off after the men, letting out a loud and fierce roar that alerted the entire snow lodge to her panic. Nikita would come running after hearing that, she was sure of it.

"Reza, watch the tykes!" Kroc hissed before he took off and ran, leaving the lionfish with the babies … alone … for the first time ever. Reza's eyes greedily glowed as he flipped the table over, yanking the babies behind the table as he armed himself with many butter and steak knives to use as weapons in one hand while using the other hand to pet their soft fluffy fur while chuckling and giggling to himself.

Dumisa was about to move forward but upon a new barrage of fire directed at him, he was forced to take cover in a room as Sabre desperately ran on ahead, refusing to give up the chase. Sabre rounded a corner, rushing down a corridor leading outside of the snow lodge. Dumisa hissed, trying to follow but the attackers began firing at him and forced the serpent to remain hidden.

Back down the hall Sabre started catching up with the men, spotting Antain struggling to wriggle out of the kidnapper's grasp. He loudly cried in alarm and fright, trying to claw through the kidnapper's thick suit but was unable to leave even the smallest mark on the man.

"Mama!" Antain shrieked as they made it outside where 13 snowmobiles were waiting for them. They quickly situated themselves onto the snowmobiles, revving the engines in preparation to leave.

Sabre ran out after them, roaring and tackling one of them off the snowmobile, viciously biting his arm off and almost slashing off his throat before she was stopped by a bullet shot into the shoulder from the man beneath her. Sabre howled in agony as another man shot in stomach with a tranquilizer dart by one of the other men, making her stagger before falling onto the ground with her world fading to black as she tried to reach towards Antain, crawling on the floor growling. Very quickly she grew too dizzy, slumping painfully onto the ground.

"You moron, don't kill her! We need to retrieve her too so hurry up and load her up." One of them shouted as a few of them waited just outside the range of her claws. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head before they grabbed hold of her and tried dragging her onto one of the snowmobiles but Kroc came out hissing, lunging for them and grabbing one of the humans before smashing his body against the ground.

Dumisa shot out of the hallway as well, biting one of the assailants and using his tail to crush one of the men trying to ride a snowmobiles away before he was forced to slither around in the snow quickly to avoid the bullets that kept him at bay. He was never a warrior but he at least had the speed of a black mamba nevertheless.

The group of attackers kept on firing, shooting at Kroc as he raised an arm and blocked the bullets from hitting his eyes as he kept charging after them. The humans quickly retreated onto their getaway vehicles, speeding off into the snowstorm without Sabre. Kroc stopped short of the snow, already feeling his muscles slow down from the exposure to the freezing temperatures, making him angrily hiss at the retreating figures.

"D***it!" Dumisa hissed, already too slow from the cold to catch up to them. Dumisa slowly retreated, feeling his body failing him as he pressed himself against the snow lodge's wall, trying to soak up the heat before he began falling forward in exhaustion.

Jaska, after having dispatched of more attackers, had finally caught up to his pack after following their scent trail. He ran out of the door to the source of the commotion, startled as he saw Sabre bleeding and unmoving on the ground before seeing the snow mobiles quickly leaving. He had heard the guns firing and immediately ran towards them to see what was going on and he was mortified that Sabre was hurt from it. All he could process was that Sabre had been injured by those who were fleeing so his ears lowered, hissing towards the retreating vehicles.

"They got Antain!" Kroc roared and picked up one of the snow mobiles before throwing it, knocking two more out and onto the ground, dead and otherwise. Kroc stayed by the building, knowing he couldn't go after the blokes in this kind of cold weather. "Jaska!" Kroc said as he turned back and stared at the bleeding sheela in the snow.

"Get inside!" Jaska roared and took off into the snow storm after them, running on all fours and breaking his clothing to allow himself better movement. The large tiger followed the trail, hissing under his breath. Where the hell did all these people come from? Were they from the company that had Sabre and Antain before? The thought made him snarl in anger as he picked up the pace.

Kroc hissed after Jaska, pissed that he couldn't follow. He would just cause more problems if he attempted to follow and get Antain back. They already had enough trouble here.

"We need to hurry up, Kroc. This cold will kill us sooner than anything else." Dumisa warned as he began slowly retreating back inside of the warm building. As much as he hated to admit it, he was near useless in this kind of weather. "It's best to leave the snow chasing to the ones who were suited for cold weather. So for now let's head back inside and get Sabre medical help." Dumisa suggested.

So instead Kroc picked Sabre up, putting pressure on her wounds to try and stop the bleeding. Who knew how many other shooters could be inside of the snow lodge now and he needed to protect Sabre and the other kittens. Kroc froze, his eyes widening. The kittens which were all left with Reza. Alone.

Kroc nervously frowned, turning to go back and get the kittens before finding somewhere warm to hide out in but was stopped by a large wall of white fur. Nikita skid to a sudden stop, spotting Sabre unconscious and bleeding with a gunshot wound in Kroc's arms and roared with worry and rage.

"Some blokes took Antain and shot Sabre, Jaska is after them now. I'll take care of the others." Kroc quickly explained as Nikita quickly assessed Sabre, seeing her wounded and the tranq dart in the ground but not dead yet before Nikita angrily roared as he took off into the woods at an incredible pace, following Jaska's fresh scent.

Kroc picked up Sabre and ran back inside before he stumbled to a stop, listening as more gunshots went off all around the snow lodge. Kroc hid Sabre against the wall as he roared at them and attacked them, ripping them apart and getting all bloody before he ran into the restaurant and saw lots of dead bodies filled with butter knives while Reza peeked out from behind the table, holding a kitten in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Hey! I almost tossed a kitten instead of the knife, ha ha." Reza laughed. "It was funny, but the kitten mewed in time and it looked as if it wanted to fly because it wiggled its paws as if it was trying to swim in the air." Reza laughed in amusement.

"I'm confiscating these." Dumisa hissed, taking the basket of kittens away from the needy fish before Kroc picked Reza up.

"But we were having fun here." Reza pouted. "At least let me hold those kittens, they really are soft and warm. They aren't good throwing weapons, so I won't toss them."

Kroc hissed, carrying Sabre and Reza while Dumisa took the kittens before they began booking it to a safe room, the same one that had held Sabre while she was feral and was reserved for them. There would be no other place safe other than a safe room that was protected on all sides from inside and from outside. He could fight and defend the room but going outside was a mistake - he would never last against this many attackers and neither would any of the others.

Kroc staggered to a stop once again, spotting a group of men and Extraspecies dressed in tactical gear before they spotted him. "There she is, the cat!" One of them shouted before they lifted up their weapons and prepared to fire. Before they could get a shot off, 6 knives were planted deep into their heads. Kroc blinked, startled before glancing over at a laughing Reza.

"Since when did you know how to fight?" Dumisa asked in confusion, staring at the fish with a frown. When did the fish learn to throw knives like weapons like that? Dumisa huffed, annoyed before checking the kittens to make sure they were safe.

"These sure are rookies." Reza rose an eyebrow. "What poor skills, and shouting out who is their target, even stopping before they actually shot. Very lame." He then looked at Kroc while swinging a knife in his hand. "However there are many apparently so should we go to a safe room that we can defend more easily?"

"Already heading there." Kroc said, picking up the pace and hurrying down the hallway as people, hosts and Extraspecies alike ran past him towards the exits, assumingly to run away from the massacre and perhaps take their chances in the storm outside.

Kroc did his best to avoid smacking any of them over as he turned down the hallway with a large number of safe rooms, many of which were already occupied by assumingly scared Extraspecies and people trying to protect themselves but one at the end of the hallway was a single safe room open - and in front of that was a mean looking water buffalo looking in their direction and smirking.

"Ah~ there's the woman. Thought you could try and hide, hm?" The Extraspecies chuckled with a dark smirk. "Put the lass down and I'll let you leave." He viciously smirked.

Kroc merely stared at him, realizing he was working with the humans with guns before Kroc set everyone down and stretched out his arms for a quick moment just before he darted right for the large Extraspecies.

"Whoa ho!" The water buffalo cried enthusiastically before he charged forward, meeting in a thunderous crash with the crocodile. Kroc loudly hissed as he grappled at the buffalo's arms, getting a hold of his biceps before Kroc lifted the water buffalo up, startling the heavy Extraspecies before Kroc slammed him into the wall repeatedly.

Dumisa watched from afar, protecting the kittens and Sabre with his body while Reza rested on top of his coils and stared down the hallway with a few butter knives at their ready.

"What a fun day." Reza smiled."Best vacation ever."

Reza watched the fight rather enthusiastically, finding this to be rather interesting before he heard more steps running down the hall. The lionfish smirked as he readied his knives and threw them down the hall just as attackers with guns rounded the corners, all of them dropping to the ground dead from the knife inflicted wounds. Reza smirked, readying some more blades as he gently pet one of the kittens with his free hand. This was turning out to be a very fun vacation.

With a pissed off hiss Kroc snapped the water buffalo's neck and slammed him into the wall before he quickly picked up the others, dragging them into the safe room before shutting the door. Kroc let out a heavy sigh of relief, turning and seeing Reza repeatedly poking the little babies and making them meow loudly in protect.

"We should stay in here - safer that way." Kroc nodded, glancing at the door.

"What the hell is going on?!" Dumisa hissed, anxiously coiling up. "I taste too much blood in the air." He looked around as his tongue tasted the massacre in the air once again, displeasing him. He flicked his tail, nervous. "Who and where the hell did all these pests came from? Isn't there anywhere else we can escape?" Dumisa asked, anxiously tasting the air to try and sense for approaching enemies.

"Well, if we are staying here maybe you can go and get me more knifes. I already tossed all the steak and butter knives that were nearby, but, mep, maybe staying in a hidden room was a bad idea because now we trapped ourselves and those guys just keep coming, and without knives I can't do much if they don't get close to my spines." Reza shrugged as if he was getting bored.

" … d***, you're right." Kroc hissed, annoyed at his blunder. But the safe room was the only room he could think of that was protected well on all sides except the entrance. Anywhere else would have left them either exposed to the people or exposed to the cold air.

"Well, it's the best place to be. It sounds like there are people all over the snow lodge shooting anything and everything in sight." Reza said with a smile. "Lots of them tried running into the restaurant but I made sure to stab them before they got close." Reza grinned. "But, now I'm out of knives, so go get me some more."

Kroc heavily sighed. "Keep watch over the tykes and sheela. I'll go get you more knives while they don't know where we are." Kroc said as Reza grinned.

"Of course. I wouldn't be a royal guardsmen if I had no skill out of water as well … oh, get me some water too," Reza grinned.

"Hey snake, you stay here and guard the room." Kroc said, approaching the door.

"Do you doubt it? My poison is replenishing." Dumisa huffed, positioning himself better to get comfortable, but still remained uncomfortably tense. "I'll deal with anyone who comes through the door who isn't from our household." He smirked, baring his fangs.

Kroc nodded before he peeked out of the room, making sure it was empty before he slipped out and shut the door, making the safe room indiscernible from all the others in the hallway. Kroc quickly snuck out of the safe room area, listening to the guns all over the snow lodge. He was admittedly worried for Smith but knew she would be alright - he wouldn't put it past her to be joining the fight at this point.

Kroc quietly snuck down the hallway, avoiding anything that sounded like it was running or gunshots. With a silent step he paused, glancing down a nearby hallway as he heard someone creeping along the boards. Kroc crouched down and hid himself, listening intently to the movement before he whipped around and grabbed the gun, ripping it out of Ms. Smith's hands before he paused.

"Ah, Smith." Kroc said, handing her gun back as she covered her heard, visibly appearing shaken. "You alright, sheela? What's going on? Why are there so many bloody blokes with guns?" Kroc asked, hoping to get some answers.

"I don't know. What I do know is that someone, a big force, is storming the snow lodge and killing a lot of people here. I have the other charges and hosts safe in another part of the snow lodge now and I was out looking for you." She said, looking over his wounds. "What happened? What's the situation?"

"Can't call for help?" Kroc asked with a frown.

"I already called but any reinforcement is too far away to arrive in time with this storm. D***it! Whoever they are must have planned this." She hissed. "And they put a lot of resources into it. Whatever is their objective it must be something big."

"Really? Everyone?" Kroc said, pondering her words. Those other blokes took Antain and shot Sabre, and they seemed to have been looking for the sheela. Kroc didn't hesitate to speak out. "Smith, Antain was taken by the blokes. Jaska and Nikita are after them but Sabre was shot." Kroc explained, watching as Ms. Smith's eyes widened in alarm.

"What?! Is she alright?" Smith asked, her complexion visibly paling.

"Yeah, got her and the other Jackie's charges in there too. I need to get knives for Reza." Kroc said, looking around the room. "Where's the big kitchen at?"

"Go back to the safe room and hold tight. I'll organize some help to come get you and bring you to the largest safe room with the other hosts and charges." Ms. Smith said, reaching up to radio someone before Kroc stopped her.

"No. They're after Sabre, sheela. They tried taking her but I managed to stop them. If we went to the others, they'd be killed." Kroc said with a frown, making Ms. Smith's frown deepened in worry.

"D***-!" She hissed under her breath. "She's their objective … but how did they know?! We need to get you out of here."

"Don't worry about us, Smith." Kroc said with a toothy grin. "We're alpha predators. I will protect the sheela and the others. Go back to the others and stay safe." Kroc ordered.

"There are way more attackers than the lodge's security can take. It's a full out attack by someone." Smith protested, using the chance to reload her extra charger. "Who knows what kind of weapons the have." She warned.

"Hey, Smith. I've fought plenty of blokes and we are in a safe room. I will be fine; didn't come this far to be taken down by some random attackers. They're a lot like the poachers who used to be in my territory." Kroc said with a confident grin. "Now go, hurry." Kroc said before he turned away and started heading towards the largest kitchen.

"Very well, I'll trust you predators." Smith uploaded the other charger. And then turned to run away to help all everyone else. "Be careful." She said, hesitating to leave before she took a deep breath and calmed herself before continuing on her way to search for survivors.

Kroc quickly arrive at the large kitchen, peeking inside and spotting some humans inside. Kroc's eyes turned to predatory slits as he snuck into the kitchen, crawling along the floor and sneaking up behind one before lunging at him, snapping his jaws around his neck before thrashing and killing him quickly before lunging at the other human and killing him as well. Kroc grabbed a large bowl, looking through the kitchen and grabbing as many blades as possible along with wetting a lot of towels for Reza's scales. Not knowing how long they'd be pinned down for he went ahead and grabbed some slabs of meat before he ran back into the hallway, perking up as he heard gunshots near the safe room area.

Kroc picked up the pace, hurrying into the hallway and sliding to a stop before he froze, startled to see all of the attackers dead and down with Reza breathing a little heavier by the entrance of the safe room.

Reza chuckled to himself. "I always find it entertaining when someone underestimates me on land because I'm an aquatic Extraspecies." Reza grabbed back some of the knives and passed them to Dumisa to let the snake coat the knives blades with his poison but the snake pushed his hand away.

"No." Dumisa huffed. "I'm running out of poison already so I won't coat your knives again."

Reza grinned. "At least snakes are not completely useless, but too bad your poison is about to dry up just when their reinforcements are arriving soon." Reza stretched himself out a bit, grabbing his towel to keep the moisture up. "Maybe I should have hit the radio before one of them called for help and not hit the guy and let other grab the radio to tell our position. But now, we'll just have to rely on hitting the mark without ensure dead by deadly poison."

Dumisa stared at Reza, honestly a little intimidated by his cold cut answer before Dumisa huffed, grabbing a knife and spitting some venom onto it. "You are more deranged than you look, fish." Dumisa narrowed his eyes, perhaps now a bit more worried about Reza's strange antics.

"Here are the blades; hide within the door." Kroc said, standing in front of the partially opened door to the safe room. "Dumisa, stay inside and kill anyone who tries to get in." said as Dumisa glared at him before heavily sighing.

"Yes, alright. I'll make sure no one gets inside. We don't want anyone hurting our friends." Dumisa said with a soft smile. "You be careful too. I won't be able to save you if you get hurt." Dumisa smirked.

"My scales are thicker than yours, mate. I'll be fine." Kroc grinned.

"And why aren't you closing the door? It's a safe room, so if this can hold in raging Extraspecies then they surely can cover against some mere bullets. Your big body could probably hold it shut no matter what they tried." Reza began placing all the knives nearby, humming along in enjoyment.

"The other safe rooms are full of people and not all are safe rooms; if we hid while they know we're here, they'll open all of the doors and kill them inside before eventually finding ours." Kroc hissed, glancing at the other doors. He mildly wondered if there were hosts and charges inside trying to survive this like they were. Kroc let out a threatening hiss, sympathetic towards them. Hiding scared with their tails between their legs … it's an awful feeling he was all too aware of. He was going to defend this hall and everyone in it.

"Oh … but are they worth it? I'm not saying that I'm not finding this fun and all but I heard there are way many more and I don't think you are going to last that long, then I of course will run out of knives and Dumisa will run out of venom quickly after that. Then I'll have to break my spines to toss them like darts but I don't have that many and then we'll probably be overrun or something and when they kill us then they'll take our kitties." Reza commented oddly calmly. "Maybe I should have prepared some sushi for a last meal instead." Reza sighed with a shrug.

"Well, Jaska and Nikita will be back soon after hunting the kidnappers down. Just have to last until they get back." Kroc said, listening to multiple fast feet running down the hall as he slipped into his fighting stance, prepared for anything.

As soon as the first wave of attackers came, Kroc charged forward with his jaws wide open.

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Jaska ran after the fleeing kidnappers, running amongst the trees and avoiding their shots while lunging when he could at them. The men may have been moving faster but they would run out of gas eventually or would have to avoid hitting trees, giving Jaska the chance to get close. After a few attempts he managed to knock about 5 of them off and killing them quickly before quickly hurrying after the others while getting shot at.

A loud roar told Jaska that Nikita had arrived, and another roar directed him to start running to the right to make a pin maneuver on the remaining fleeing hoomans. Jaska hissed, taking slightly higher ground over snow slopes to get in a better position to catch the hoomans who were still shooting at them but quickly running out of bullets.

Nikita roared to redirect their attention and Jaska lunged to take one out before it was the other way around, giving Nikita the chance to not only take out one hooman out but also to grab his gun and shoot to take out another one. The tigers took out the hoomans one by one until only the last one, the one holding Antain, remained.

Jaska and Nikita both made a run for the snowmobile but the man twisted around, shooting at Jaska with quite a few bullets hitting him. Jaska let out a pained shout before he tumbled into the snow, having mistakenly thought that this one wasn't holding a gun due to him holding the pup. The human turned back to get control of his snowmobile, nearly crashing into a tree. As the assailant evaded the crash, Nikita lunged for the snowmobile, making it swerve before crashing. The white tiger quickly checked on Jaska, seeing him snarling at the man before the two tigers began to quickly approach him.

The man backed away, putting a knife to Antain's neck. "I'll kill him, so back away or I'll slit its throat!" The man threatened before Antain bit his hand as hard as he could and leapt away from him. The man tried to grab the fox but he only managed to slice the cast on Antain's leg.

"Tipped mena-!" Antain shouted as Nikita lunged at the man, pinning him to the ground as Jaska caught the little fox, holding him and checking him over for injuries while Antain cried against Jaska's chest in fright.

"Shhh, shh," Jaska softly whispered into Antain's ear, watching as Antain hiccuped and cried in fright.

"Mama, mama! Where mama, tipped mena?" Antain cried as he buried himself into Jaska's warm fur and trembled.

"If you speak all, death shall be fast, human." Nitika growled with controlled rage and grab the man's hand, breaking the first finger. "Otherwise I keep alive for long, long time." He hissed, snapping the man's next finger and making him shout in pain.

The man glared at Nikita before moving his tongue in a fast and obvious fashion. Nikita grabbed his jaws and stabbed his claw into his tongue, forcing it to hold still before Nikita ripped out a small pill lodged against the man's tooth out to reveal the man's attempt at a fast death. Nikita smirked, flicking it out into the snow. "F*** you." The man spat at Nikita.

"You think I not know tricks? I older than them, even invented some." Nikita broke more fingers and then the man's wrist, making him cry out in pain. "I will start ripping skin soon and then take you back for questioning, I will find identity and kill all family if there any, and make you watch. If no family then I use you for long experimentation and training practice. This not be slow death." Nikita smirked, barring his teeth in a terrifying fasion.

The man's eyes widened, and after another broken bone from his other hand, the human began to talk.

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

With a snap of his neck the man laid on the ground motionless, barely breathing with every bone in his body broken in at least five different places and many ligaments taken out like strings holding a marionette. Jaska kept Antain's face covered so he couldn't see the horror as the young tiger glanced back at his fearsome uncle. "We keep alive?" Jaska asked, eyeing the mutilated body with the man still barely breathing.

"Not for long, we have all information we need and searched body to get what he had. We must track back and search other corpses but this one still useful for something more." Nikita walked over and took Antain, gently licking his head before looking to Jaska. "You alright?" Nikita asked, staring into Jaska's eyes. He knew the wounds weren't that bad due to the small caliber of the bullets but he was concerned about his nephews mental psyche.

"Fine." Jaska said, nuzzling against Nikita. Jaska was edging on feral earlier but when Nikita showed up, he felt like a pack working together to take down their prey. He frowned at the thought before sitting down in the snow and licking his wounds, checking the bullet holes more thoroughly to make sure no bullets were left in his thick fur and skin. He already made sure to check himself for them but couldn't do so thoroughly without dropping Antain.

"Adrenaline still too high to notice last one, Jaska?" Nikita smiled warmly and reached into Jaska's fur and into his wound, making Jaska hiss a bit before Nikita pulled out a bullet shard with his claws. "This small embed between muscles, so easy to miss but easy to give infection later. To check for this shards look at grazed fur where it tickles." Nikita grinned, glancing over his other wounds.

Jaska lightly chuckled, standing up and nuzzling his uncle before Jaska laid back down, cleaning some blood off of himself. "I rusty." He sighed in disappointment.

"Da, but you'll do well." Nikita nodded to Jaska while petting Antain and turning around with the fox in his arms. The old tiger approached the barely alive human and deposited the cub in front of the bloody mess that had dared kidnap the cub. "Antain, this one hurt you and family, you know what predator must do and where to attack, da?" Nikita asked, eyeing the pup in amusement.

Antain whined and backed up a bit, hiding behind and hugging Nikita's leg while nervously staring over the scary hooman.

Nikita chuckled. "You remind me of Aleksey when he a cub, he took time to manage killing bite." The tiger approached and stepped over the man's knee, breaking it with a loud cracking sound. "He no threat, Antain. This one not hurt you anymore, but you must make sure he never hurt anyone again." Nikita then pointed at the man's throat, ripping the jacket to leave the throat more exposed for the cub. "You bite here as hard as you can, then you maintain bite and pull back, try." Nikita encouraged.

"Little fox never hunt anything bigger than pigeon or bunny." Jaska warned, staring at the hooman impassively. He just wanted to get back and see how Sabre was doing but he knew he should bring Antain back with him - or maybe not, considering she told him never to touch him again.

Antain's chest huffed, scared as he hugged his tail nervously while Nikita pushed him closer to the human's neck. The little fox sniffed the neck, backing up a bit nervously before Nikita's foot gently pushed him closer to the body. Antain gently patted his paws against the man's neck, leaning in and sniffing him before the man wheezed a particularly loud breath, making Antain's tail fluff in fright before he quickly bit the man's throat, trying to bite away at it but his little teeth barely pierced the skin, making not too deep punctures.

"Well done, Antian! Now harder and pull back." Nikita encouraged, getting down and putting his claw right below the fox's jaw to puncture the throat in a way Antain couldn't tell. "You big predator Antian, first big prey you kill, and a very dangerous prey." Nikita praised the pup with a gleeful smile before pulling the cub to hold him and pet him more.

Antain watched as his prey began to bleed out from assumingly his bite, making Antain gasp before he leapt forward and bit into the hooman's neck again while growling, getting blood into his fur before Nikita laughed at the kit's eagerness.

Jaska stared at the little cub before turning to Nikita. "I glad you accepting Sabre's adopted cub." Jaska faintly smiled, watching Antain run around the body a bit while biting on his clothes to try and drag the large prey away.

Antain laughed gleefully and ran over to the slashed throat, biting it and playing in the warm blood for a bit as Nikita chuckled, letting Antain run around his first real prey before the cub went to the white tiger, raising his arms. "Tipped Kita!"

"He fine cub, and family too. Important to Sabre and good test for parenting on smaller cubs for her and Aleksey. Little fox has many possibilities for protecting bastet cubs later too." He smiled again but quickly turned serious. "Jaska, go back and assess situation, prepare to evacuate. If something wrong, roar and I come. I check other bodies with little fox. He deserve justice." Nikita smiled, taking Antain and nuzzling him gently.

"Da." Jaska said watching his uncle reach down towards the body to teach Antian about weak spots before Jaska began making his way back to the snow lodge.

Jaska began to trot back towards the snow lodge, keeping up a decent pace. He imagined that the medical staff must be in a frenzy helping Sabre but Jaska knew she'd be alright; she was a tough woman and a shot to the shoulder wouldn't kill her.

As Jaska neared the snow lodge he paused, listening closely before hearing gunshots going off inside of the snow lodge. His eyes widened in alarm before Jaska turned and let out a very loud echoing roar, warning Nikita that something was very wrong before Jaska ran into the snow lodge.

Bodies littered the hallways as he ran past them, mostly human bodies but there were also some Extraspecies bodies too, from the attackers and from the guests. It was a massacre. Jaska quickly sniffed out Kroc and Sabre's scents back towards the safe rooms where the loudest guns were sounding off from.

Jaska stopped by the hallway, glancing over and seeing the door to the safe room open with Reza throwing knives into the gun firing crowd. In front of the door was Kroc, badly bleeding and hurt with his lower jaw ripped off and lodged into the wall from a previous fight. In front of Kroc was a large hippopotamus who locked arms with the saltwater crocodile, trying to force him back as the gunners aimed for the more shallow skin on Kroc's body, namely the creases of the knees and belly of his body. Lined against the walls of the large hallways were bodies of large Extraspecies, assumingly those Kroc had to fight. Both Extraspecies and humans were trying to hunt down Sabre?

Jaska hissed before he lunged at the humans with the guns, ripping the weapon from one of their hands before mowing down the rear of the gunners. Jaska ran through the gun totting attackers, killing them off before he ran up to the hippo and shot it right through the eye sockets before slashing the throat, making the Extraspecies gargle before Kroc slammed the large fighter against the wall. Kroc stood on his feet, breathing heavily as Jaska quickly grabbed Kroc's jaws and, after some struggling, ripped it out of the wall to find the jaw badly dented and misshapen before Jaska checked the screws on the side of Kroc's remaining natural jaw, finding his jaw dislocated and bloodier than ever. Taking another look at the jaws, Jaska could see the hippo's teeth marks embedded in the metal. The hippo must have ripped his lower jaw off recently, then.

"Looks like you lost your jaws for now." Jaska said with a frown, tossing the metal jaw aside as Kroc nodded in annoyance.

Jaska's ear flickered as they turned, seeing more unknown assailants fly around the corner and set up their guns on them. Kroc stood with his back to the gunfire as Jaska used Kroc's body as a shield against the bullets. Jaska hissed in anger before he saw a silver flash by his eyes, watching as three butter knives dug into 3 of their foreheads before they collapsed onto the ground.

"Haha, this is so fun! I'm saying it, this is very entertaining." Reza laughed with glee as Dumisa watched from inside the room, keeping an eye out for anyone who drew too close to the entrance.

Jaska grabbed Kroc's ribs, making the large reptile hiss as Jaska began pushing Kroc back closer to the gunners. Kroc quickly walked backwards, letting Jaska direct his body where to go before Jaska whipped out from around Kroc and attacked the assailants with his claws extended. Kroc let out a roar and turned around, holding up his arm to block the bullets from his eyes and mouth before he began grabbing and crushing the attackers with his claw. Kroc hissed and swung his tail down low as Jaska leapt onto his back, firing over the crowd with a stolen gun before leaping down in front of him.

"Turn now, again!" Jaska growled and Kroc twisted around, hitting a few more attackers with his tail while Jaska jumped back to cover behind him. They walked like this once more and this time Jaska managed to grab a pistol from one of the bodies and he fired from the side to hit another mark, making the other take cover and he taking the chance to jump forward and attack on melee again, receiving a few bullets close range before he ripped out their throats.

Kroc loudly hissed from the back of his throat as he whipped around and threw Jaska being him. The crocodile barely caught the horns of a large bull Extraspecies before sliding back, struggling to slow the attacker down as Jaska got caught up behind him. The both of them were slammed into the wall as Kroc redirected its horns, jamming them into the wooden wall and making the bull get stuck before his tail whipped around and broke his spine.

Kroc's eyes narrowed, seeing the hallway clear for a small brief moment before he looked back and saw Jaska lying on the ground out cold. The saltwater crocodile quickly picked the tiger up, hurrying back before tossing Jaska into the safety of the room before he turned back, hearing even more of them hurrying down the hallway. Kroc was pissed and surprised - how many of these bloody blokes were there?!

"They even send in their reinforcements, how fun!" Reza laughed. "These guys seriously set out many expensive resources." He chuckled, holding up a blade to Dumisa's mouth as the snake milked out some venom onto the knife.

Instead of waiting for their attack Kroc ran forward, grabbing the zebra Extraspecies just as he rounded the corner before he broke his leg, attacking and clawing at his chest before the gunners began shooting at Kroc and forcing him to turn around and take the bullets. The zebra Extraspecies turned around, kicking Kroc in the back and sending him flying down the hallway before he tumbled into the wall, barely standing up in time to protect the front entrance to the safe room while they quickly advanced. Kroc had been fighting like this for as long as the attack has lasted. He was already feeling his knees shake and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up much longer. At some point he was going to have to lock them all up in the safe room and use his own body weight to keep the door from being pried open.

From out of nowhere a loud, deep roar echoed along the corridors. Hardly a second later some shots were heard followed by an equal number of bodies hitting the floor. An empty handgun smacked into the head of a bear Extraspecies from the huge white tiger that ran forward, carrying the fox cub in one arm and lunging to grab the bear by the head with his other arm, twisting in the air to slash open the next assailant's throat with his clawed feet. In the same move he broke the neck of the bear and stood behind it, using the body as a shield against his companion's bullets. Nikita tossed the bear's body forward and leapt into the air, twisting around to slash at the face of an antelope that was trying to aim at him. The antelope leapt back, spooked as Nikita stole it's gun and shot at the next wave of attackers before discarding the newly empty gun and punching the screeching antilope onto a wall clawing open his stomach.

Nikita rolled over the floor, grabbing a submachine gun from one of the bodies and shooting at the last wave of attackers that had come his way. The white tiger rushed forward in a zigzagging pattern to avoid bullets while still holding onto Antain and reaching the assailants that had chosen to take cover from the bullets, only for them to be dispatched in a surrealistically swift way by the living legend of an alpha that was the white fang of winter called Nikita Sviet.

Kroc turned around, seeing the hellstorm of white and black fur shooting through the crowd, ripping the attackers apart as Nikita tore them to shreds. The older white tiger grabbed what weapons he could from the corpses, firing the bullets until he ran out before he attacked with his claws and ripped the humans and extra species alike to shred so quickly that it was only a matter of seconds before he finished them off for now. Kroc was in awe at how fast and efficiently Nikita had taken them down, all while carrying Antain in one arm. This was the power of a true alpha and Kroc was now more determined than ever to become one like the rainbow snake directed him to.

Once the attackers had been disposed of, Nikita came back to the front of the safe room and stepped past the star struck crocodile before opening it and going inside.

Dumisa automatically lunged forward with his fangs exposed and ready to deliver a deadly poison but Nikita dodged with ease, grabbing Dumisa's throat and holding it tightly as Nikita stared at him before letting the startled black mamba go. "Y-You stopped my bite?" Dumisa asked, stunned. He had never met anyone react faster than his bite before.

"You too slow for a mamba, snake." Nikita remarked while walking over towards the fish, ignoring Reza's defensive hissing before the old tiger set the scared and blood stained Antain down by the fish who kept talking to him before Nikita checked on Jaska, seeing him out cold. Antain ran over to the other babies, trying to leap into the fray to protect himself before Reza caught him and casually began to wash off his fur.

"What situation?" Nikita looked at Reza. "Make it short." He growled to the talkative fish that shut up his mouth.

Reza took a very deep breath, preparing himself. "We were eating and someone attacked and took Antain, Sabre run after them and then Kroc came back with her all tranqued and with a bullet shot and then more enemies kept on coming so Kroc tossed everyone in the safe room and we held off but they kept coming and then Jaska came and helped kroc and then … that's it, the place is being attacked and everyone in it."

Nikita eyed the crocodile, taking note of his injury and then turned around to head out. "Seal room from inside, you too wounded to fight." The tiger then went back out into the hallway but paused, hearing the crocodile follow him into the hallway. Nikita turned back, coldly glaring at the crocodile. "Go back inside." Nikita stated as a firm order.

Kroc stared right back with a fire burning in his eyes before the stubborn crocodile shut the door, remaining in front of it to keep being the main shield of the safe room. Kroc defiantely hissed as much as he could with his injuries and looked Nikita in the eyes, sending a very clear message; he wasn't going to give up from just a few injuries.

"Very well." Nikita smirked, recognizing the look and potential in the eyes of the young crocodile before the tiger turned away and began scouting and killing whoever came with a gun and aimed it at him, all the while Kroc listened and watched, now more determined than ever to learn from Nikita. It was now clear while this alpha was so feared and revered.

As Kroc listened to the carnage the door opened, making him look back as Jaska stumbled out of the room with a phone in hand. Jaska's legs wavered, leaning on the wall for support as he held the phone up to his ear.

"Code fire storm, immediate back up required. Use phone's coordinates." Jaska said, breathing heavily as Kroc lent Jaska an arm and helped hold the tired tiger up. Jaska slid the phone across the floor a decent distance from them, holding onto Kroc's arm and tugging him back.

Kroc perked up and let out a mangled hiss as rushing feet began running down the hallway. The crocodile pushed Jaska back a bit before he charged forward but Jaska tightened his grip on him.

"Niet, all fine, trust me!" Jaska shouted, struggling to hold the large crocodile back as Kroc hissed, listening to the attackers draw closer.

From above the phone a black portal materialized, startling Kroc at the sight of such strange things appearing out of thin air. From it came a red and gold bird Extraspecies covered in flames which immediately shot tranquilizer darts at whatever was in front of them, and they just so happened to be Dumisa and Reza.

Reza deflected the dart with a fast flick of a knife, making it hit Dumisa too. Dumisa froze, his mouth hanging open in shock as he stared at the darts having just emptied inside of his chest. "F-f***er." Dumisa hissed before slumping onto the ground out cold.

"Awe~ the snake is just a magnet for traps." Reza snickered and laughed, clapping his hands at the entertainment.

"Berg!" Jaska quickly took a step forward and began speaking in Russian towards the large bird who returned in kind.

From the portal came out a team of well equipped and ready for battle Extraspecies, all of who were in thick tactical gear as they piled into the room and pointed their weapons at Reza and the others to neutralize the potential threats.

The firebird let out a fast chirp as the team halted, taking their guns off of Reza and the others before getting into formation and looking down the hallway to see dozens of bodies all over the place.

"It so good to see you alive, Jaska." Berg smiled before she leaned over and nuzzled him a bit, noticing his many wounds that bloodied up his fur coat. "You are wounded … and that crocodile too. Firearms of medium and high caliber it seems. You need medical attention." She said and then checked her weapons charger.

"Da, I explain all later, Berg. We injured and attackers keep coming and attacking, trying to take Sabre, a female kitty. Many more attackers, well armed and prepared. They have both Hoomans and Extraspecies." Jaska pointed out Sabre who was lying in the corner of the room amongst her kittens. "They took one little fox cub but uncle after them now." Jaska explained quickly.

"Nikita is out here?" Berg tilted her head and chirped some orders to the operatives while a smaller squad moved aside towards the charges. "We evacuate you quickly after fast first aid."

Jaska nodded and grabbed Kroc by the arm and pulled him into the same room while a second team of operatives came from out the same portal. "We need evacuate soon." Jaska explained before taking a seat, letting out a heavy pained sigh.

Kroc nodded before pausing, glancing over at his broken metal jaw before quickly grabbing it and walking into the safe room with Jaska. A minx Extraspecies medic, identified by the logo in her uniform, came into the room along with them before she cast her expert eye around the individuals who were injured before she walked over to the basket of kittens, checking and making sure they were safe before she walked over to Kroc and began taking a look at his jaw.

Reza looked around and then crossed his arms, raising a bit up and pointing at the medic. "Hey, fluffy medical lady … shouldn't you follow protocol and attend the royal in the room first?" He then did something unusual for him; he flared up his noble presence and veil to be noticed, looking far more imposing than he was normally for a brief moment. "If the royal kitty dies then the fun ends."

The medical officer jolted, surprised as she looked to Reza before the noble pointed at Sabre who was heavily breathing in the corner of the room. The minx quickly ran over to her before checking on the wound, quickly giving her better first aide and quickly to seal up the wound after removing the bullet while being utterly cautious.

Kroc uneasily eyed the fish, taking notice of his powerful noble aura. The fish was certainly a strange one and Kroc knew he was a royal guardsmen noble, but for his aura or veil or whatever it was called to be this strong … well, it certainly surprised him. Kroc however, glanced over the sheela, worried for her more than about Reza's little display. The injuries didn't look too bad but he can imagine that she'll be in a lot of pain when she wakes up.

"You be fine, I'll help patch up." Jaska said, continuing the first aid to Kroc as the medic treated the royal while the security team that remained behind kept stealing glances at Sabre.

A sudden buzz in the firebird's com made her answer with a few sharp chirps before she turned towards Jaska. "Jaska, we evacuate immediately. You know of any safe location? Portal can reach only can a country away at most."

"Da, I know of place." Jaska answered before pulling out his phone.

"Is it secure?" Berg asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Better than here and Longwei there already." Jaska said, searching for the host in his contacts.

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMMWMWMW**

Fun fun! I always love some chaos in the chapters and this was the first real danger they've been in so far :3 _**10 REVIEWS**_ for this chapter to find out what happens next 3

 **Chaos-Dark-Lord:** Wasn't this chapter fun? (I sound like Reza without the ramblings) for us it was very fun to have the guys fight for real, and for once Dumisa wasn't tranqued … at first XD , But yep, things doesn't look too good, except for Nikita's parenting techniques.


	40. Chapter 40

Naoki, wearing layers over layers of the host's clothes to keep moderately warm, silently slipped through the alleyways, moving his vines and plants relatively quickly before he slipped in through the host's back door, collecting himself in the garage as he laid out all of the goods he stole in the name of his great Heika Sabre, may her fangs pierce all dangers. The plant man quietly went through the gifts to be presented which included cases of money, jewelry, a toaster and other electrodomestics, some computer equipment and plenty of other general things he considered to be useless, inspecting their quality before Longwei returned as well, spotting the plants and many of the goods Naoki had collected.

The dragon walked closer but not too close, making an educated guess as to where the Jubboko really was. Being a plant Extraspecies it was close to impossible for other Extraspecies to tell the difference between him and other plant life. "I see you've raided what you found." Longwei crossed his arms and sniffed the air, verifying that no one was anywhere near. "I request you hand out _that_ stuff as … evidence." He spoke, referring to the piles and piles of paperwork and a couple hard-drives off to the side but well protected by curling vines.

"Hm … I do not know what 'stuff' is you are referring to. All that I have gathered belongs to the great Heika, may her reign be bloody and terrible." Naoki spoke as his vines slowly and methodically grew a great many thorns as a warning towards the potential thief.

Longwei sighed, letting out a small cloud of mist. "Very well, leave everything in the garage with all your plants for now, but I'll require _that_ stuff in particular later on as evidence. Whether you deem it or not." Longwei paused, suddenly hearing the faint sound of metal hitting a wooden board in a continuous rhythm, a sound that brought up some particularly bad memories. That was the sound of a clacking knife, something he went to check out immediately, leaving Naoki fade in the background as he went up the stairs.

In the kitchen Jackie quietly cut away at the meat, preparing more heavily seasoned meat for Aleksey and lighter seasons for Eztli, along with a frozen berry dessert for Longwei. She figured he might like that.

Eztli deliriously purred while hugging her from behind and nuzzling her, clearly still high while he messily kissed her head. "You're so soft when you're all melty like warm gooey shtuff … stuff." His claws lightly kneaded against her skin through her shirt, making her very uncomfortable. All it would take would be Eztli hugging her a little tighter and those claws would rip right through her skin and cut her quite a bit.

"Eztli, are you still high?" Jackie asked, puzzled about how long the capii roots lasted for him. "You're sure you're safe taking those drugs for so long?" She questioned, wondering if she should really try to figure out another cure for his insomnia instead of those drugs. She was worried about how they'd affect him long term but there wasn't much she could do to help him unless she got him addicted to something healthier. She wondered if she should pet him to sleep or let him sleep in the same bed as her if that would work or not.

"Si, I ate too much capri and I didn't have any alcohol left. It's fine, as fine as your scent of sweat." He cooed, nuzzling her aggressively yet lovingly as his claws dug into her sides, holding onto her rather rightly as he used his claws to express his love.

"No, Eztli no! Retract the claws, retraaact!" Jackie begged, hunching forward as he leaned over with her. In a desperate attempt to make him lighten his grip, she gently cupped Eztli's cheeks as she began petting away, making his rumbling purrs vibrate her hands as he adoringly stared her in the eyes. "Eztli come on, please put your claws away they hurt." She said, poking his soft cheeks and squishing his face a bit. "Go lay down and I'll pet you later, okay?"

Eztli stared down at her with his pupils so large they covered most of the whites in his eyes. "I love you, Jackie." Eztli said, leaning in and nuzzling her. "You are a super good hooman." He purred, suddenly hugging her and licking her shoulder before kissing it, albeit drooling somewhat.

"I love you too, Eztli." Jackie lightly chuckled, petting his sides before she tried to go back to cooking but Eztli had a strong grip on her. She heavily sighed, letting the jaguar hug and cuddle her.

"It seems I caught you, hooman." Longwei said as he appeared with a sturdy looking camera on hand, focusing on taking a shot of Eztli's face and overly drugged eyes.

"Caught? Doing what, exactly?" Jackie asked in a flat and slightly annoyed tone. Longwei had been nothing but critical of her at all times of the day, judging her cleaning, her appearance, her petting - everything. And it was really starting to get on her nerves.

"Taking advantage of an Extraspecies who is under drugs and possibly drugging him even more is unforgivable in the council's eyes." Longwei stated, looking back into his camera feed to make sure the picture came out well.

"Eztli took those drugs while I was high myself from the drug that son of a b**** Jake gave me, which you let happen to me." Jackie growled in annoyance, partially blaming Longwei for letting that happen. "Eztli was the one who ate an entire capii root - and to be honest I'm getting kind of worried for how long he's been high for." Jackie pointed out in annoyance as she looked up at Eztli, nervous for him. She really didn't know a whole lot about drugs but Eztli knew a lot about them and his own tolerance so he should be fine … probably.

Longei flipped his tail and huffed vapor. "The jaguar is here and in such condition because you could not stop spewing information that could have been used in detriment of your charges. Not only did you let in a hooman that had caused distress to your charges previously you also gave out all sorts of sensible information like precise localization." He narrowed his eyes. "You also knew that this Jake hooman had been a criminal in the past. It is hard to think you had no conscience of the possible consequences. Such actions are equivalent to selling your charges. Having ended under the influence of hooman drugs is only another consequence of such stupidness, and in direct consequence this jaguar ended up having to come here to see your state and thus get drugged, which I repeat, it is your fau…,"

Before he could finish a pillow was thrown his way, making him raise an arm and deflect the fluffy pillow as Eztli stared at him, pouting. "You're harassing my host again." Eztli huffed, lifting up the pillow and smacking him on the arm again, "stop harassing my hooman." Eztli said, smacking Longwei a few more times with the harmless weapon.

Longwei remained calm under the attack, more surprised at it happening at all. Longwei sighed, letting the jaguar take his brief annoyance out on him.

"Eztli, stop that." Jackie sighed, gently taking the pillow from him and tossing it back onto the couch before Eztli grabbed her, hugging her tightly and purring in enjoyment. Jackie turned back to Longwei, frowning. "I didn't give out anything precise information, I was still vague." Jackie pointed out in annoyance. "And … and I had no idea Jake would do something like that, the f***ing prick." Jackie growled in annoyance. "He's not welcome anywhere near here again so it's fine now."

"I assure you that despicable hooman is indeed not coming back." Longwei let out some clicking purr and his lips turned into a satisfied yet slightly evil looking smile. "Although at any rate, you seem to not understand what confidential information is about so perhaps your tongue should be cut off instead to avoid such disastrous results."

"It's okay that you're a stupid host for trusting a guy like that but don't worry, I'll take care of you anyway." Eztli purred, licking Jackie's cheek.

Jackie stared at him with a firm frown on her face before she let go of Eztli and walked up to Longwei. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, studying him in annoyance. "Longwei, why are you so desperate to incriminate me?" Jackie asked without deviating her gaze - a sign of clear defiance.

"I would not try to do such a low and demeaning act. Only hoomans would do such." He narrowed his eyes and exhaled a small cloud of mist. "I am here to expose you and uncover everything which you are hiding."

"Go ahead and search everything and anything you want. I have nothing to hide in this house nor anywhere else. Hell, I'll even take you to my storage container that has a bunch of my crap in it. You want to look through my mother's old dresses and shoes too? Go ahead and look, Longwei. I have done nothing and have nothing to make me a criminal." Jackie said, glaring up at the oversized lizard.

"Given the background on your unstable progenitor then it might be a good idea as much." The dragon stood tall, not deviating his gaze either. Jackie narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"I thought the same when I came here Wei-wei, so I went looking for every toy or punishing thing she may had and destroyed all so I knew I already checked, I destroyed everything that reminded me of those other hosts too, all those ugly clothes, the squeaky shoes, the ceiling spots … ," Eztli purred. "But she doesn't have any."

"Wait, _you_ were the one who did that?!" Jackie shouted, stunned. "Why?! I had to buy all new clothes and everything after that!" The host shouted before sealing her lips up awkwardly. She yelled at Jaska a lot after that and blamed him and Sabre. She was going to have to make him lots of treats to earn his forgiveness.

"Yup!" Eztli meowled. "But you are a nice hooman and didn't punish me or Jaska or anyone. You didn't chain us down, beat us, burn us, lock us in a cage, have us lick nasty stuff, let anyone use and film us, and you didn't leave us without food for days or any horrible stuff." He tightened his hug, letting his claws dig into her skin while keeping a super happy smile. "You didn't hurt us at all!"

Jackie stared at him in shock, frightened by just how badly he had been hurt before. It was astonishing that he had come so far considering that was his background. She gently hugged Eztli, holding him tightly and protectively. "I would never do something like that so don't say stuff like that." Jackie said, trying to hug him super tight to help him feel more safe while he accepted the cuddles between purrs and hugged her back, even scratching her a bit in his excitement.

"Eztli Balam, I must interview you about those previous hosts." Longwei said with a stern expression but his eyes slightly more open, his tail flickering anxiously behind him.

"Why?" Eztli asked, looking up at Longwei with large doleful looking eyes.

"Because you have suffered much and not only do you need attention, but we seek to provide you with justice and revenge as needed." Longwei spoke with a soft but firm tone towards the traumatized kitten.

"But it's okay now since my awesome hooman here beat up Olivia and defended me and the house." Eztli purred, licking Jackie's hair. "She's such a smart and beautiful and wonderful host and she's all mine." Eztli purred, hugging Jackie tightly as she flopped back a bit, having the life squeezed out of her as her back cracked.

"I do need to assess the situation for your own good, Mr. Balam." Longwei walked over and placed his hands over Eztli's shoulders to drag him away. "We'll go and converse in your room if it makes you feel safer."

"NO!" Eztli stubbornly shouted as he struggled against him, holding onto the host tightly. As Longwei struggled to pull Eztli away he gasped, getting an idea of how to free himself. He held onto Jackie tightly with one arm before twisting around, clumsily petting Longwei with his claws and ripping holes into his clothes while purring and trying to pet the dragon into submission."

"Please drop the hooman and come, her presence will only distress or distraught you." Longwei insisted, trying to drag the kitty along.

"No! I'm not talking unless she comes with us … and you need to be nicer to her! Also, let her pet you so you become nicer!" Eztli shouted while tightening his grip on Jackie. "Jackie can make everyone nice by petting them, so let her pet you so get nice."

"Da Wei-wei, let self be pet, you enjoy it." Aleksey came, grinning at the scene before him.

"Ow, ow OW! Eztli, not the claws! Don't use your claws!" Jackie shouted, trying to squeeze out of his grip.

In the midst of their fighting her phone went off, making her pause before she checked the caller ID to see it was Jaska calling her. "Hey, hey guys, calm down! Jaska is calling." Jackie said, making the two pause before she answered the phone.

"Hello? Jaska?" Jackie asked, a little surprised that he was calling her. Her charges never called her since they were usually together.

"Host, hand phone to Longwei; it important." Jaska stated in a cold voice, startling Jackie by his tone.

"Yeah, sure." Jackie said, uneasy. "Longwei, Jaska wants to talk to you." Jackie said, holding the phone out for Longwei as Eztli continued to nuzzle her.

The dragon frowned in annoyance before taking the phone, holding it up to his ear. "Here, Longwei." The dragon spoke, slightly worried as to why he called.

"It important. Berg want to speak." Jaska said before handing the phone off to one of the most trusted followers under Nikita's ruling.

Longwei was immediately on guard as he expressionlessly listened to the phone being handed over to the firebird Extraspecies.

A melodious but deep female voice with a thick russian accent spoke. "Longwei. Snow lodge has been compromised. Is current residence you in secure?" Berg asked in a firm tone, alarming Longwei.

Aleksey flickered his ears and jumped right beside Longwei, opening a couple wounds as he tilted the phone his way to better hear what happened. "Berg? What happen?"

Longwei pushed Aleksey aside, taking the phone back. "Report the situation, Berg."

"Jaska inform us of intrusion in snow lodge. Female royal bastet shot. Nikita and Jaska pursued attackers before Jaska return to the snow lodge and call us. While calling us he found more enemies littering ground like bugs who try to take kittens and royal bastet. Threats neutralized but we not know how many enemies in snow lodge left. We make immediate travel to your location if house secure to provide better medical assistance to the royal."

"Sabre? Shot? Is she alive?!" Aleksey's eyes widened and his fur perked, he looked really, frightened.

"WHAT?!" Jackie shouted, mortified as she dropped the knife. "S-Sabre is hurt? What happened?" Jackie asked, not having heard their conversation.

"Who's named burt?" Eztli asked with a cheerful smile and confused tilt of his head.

"Mengyao Longwei, is premise secure or no?!" Berg demanded in a hard voice.

Longwei looked at the hooman host and hesitated for a moment before looking at Aleksey.

"Longwei, confirm place is secure and let them bring in Sabre!" Aleksey demanded harshly, his expression wracked with worry.

Longwei glanced over at Aleksey, saying nothing before staring at the hooman in the residence with suspicion. After a few moments of studying her, he answered. "Yes, the premise is secure. Wait a moment." Longwei spoke before walking into the living room, whipping his tail around and throwing the furniture out of the way. "You may proceed. Use my position as coordinates." He spoke as he stepped into the center of the living room.

Jackie watched from the kitchen as a large black portal expanded in front of Longwei before the dragon backed up, watching as a bloodied up and partially bandaged Sabre was carried into the room by a large female bear along with Jaska who walked in with his fur roughed up and bloodied. In the tiger's arm was the basket of kittens, soundly sleeping and oblivious to the horrendous states of Jackie's charges.

The last one to exit the strange portal was a large battle scarred bird woman of some kind, dressed in tactical gear. She looked around the room with her sharp eyes before locking her gaze onto Jackie. In a fraction of a second the bird woman launched herself over Jackie with her talons extended, leaving a trail of lights and sparks in the air behind her before her wings were set ablaze in a terrifying display of raw power.

Jackie did not have time to react or make even the smallest squeak as the woman came face to face with her, kicking her down and standing over Jackie's body, aiming her rifle at the hooman and making the host's face pale. Jackie smacked against Eztli's chest as he hugged her tight. Jackie remained low to the ground in fright before making her gaze slightly wander to show submission to the large and terrifying woman. Eztli continued to nuzzle against Jackie, not seeming to care at all about the rifle in his face.

"Who is this hooman?" Berg the fire bird spoke aloud, keeping her aim steady.

"This house is the hooman's domain. She is the host for the charges, including Sabre." Longwei explained. "As of now, she is considered a neutral entity." Longwei spoke, sounding rather uncaring.

Jackie didn't dare speak, instead remaining deathly silent as she avoided the woman's terrifying gaze. She had no idea what Extraspecies she was but she was very, very scary. There wasn't a moment's hesitation when this large bird woman attacked her.

A

"Hmmm~ your weird fur looks super soft." Eztli purred, nuzzling Jackie's cheek before Eztli leaned over a bit and licked the tip of the gun's nozzle as he continued to purr, oblivious to the danger.

A loud roar drew their attentions towards Aleksey who was shaking while looking at Sabre in fright. Longwei quickly tackled the tiger, grabbing him in a restraining way as the tiger looked like he was about to go feral over the injuries his mate had suffered.

"I'll take him to the safe room." Longwei spoke, grabbing Aleksey by the fur on his neck before dragging an tossing him into the safe room. With a fast spin of the handles he locked the door, making sure Aleksey could not hurt anyone in case he did go feral.

"U-Um, can I get up now?" Jackie spoke up while still avoiding the bird's beady eyed glare towards her.

"Quiet, hooman." Berg chirped but despite the cute and unexpectedly melodious sound, her glare was beyond terrifying.

"You look so super fluffy … can I cuddle you?" Eztli asked with a deep set of purring, flicking his tail back and forth as he looked up at Berg with large adorable eyes.

Jackie sealed her lips up tight, hearing scales moving over the tiles before she looked over and saw Reza cheerfully smiling at her as he half crawled and half slithered over to her, using his tail to push himself forward.

"Hello host, how you've been we were at the buffet on the restaurant when we got attacked, well, Sabre was attacked, and the buffet wasn't that good, it was only mildly varied, but it wasn't the feast it should be for a royal, but we were keeping our royal secret, anyways I could have prepared far better." He huffed a bit. "Oh, and I finally got to nanny the cubs, they are super soft and make weird noises depending how you pet them, if you poke them lightly they make small meows, but if you rub them over the back they make other rumbling sounds, and since they had eaten before I discovered that if you tab them a bit they burp! You could almost see them deflate a little bit when that happened. I didn't know that kittens were inflatable. Also, we might have lost Antain … he kinda ran out of the safe room while the guards were there and stuff but no worries, Nikita will find him. Probably. Maybe. Who knows. I hope he's safe, he's my apprentice in the art of knives which is fun and lets his fluffy self be cuddled." Reza shrugged before he noticed the firebird was still pointing her gun at the host. "Oh, and you can leave the host to me, bird lady. I am her charge, after all." Reza said, slipping in between the large bird and Jackie before Reza laid on Jackie's chest, letting out a happy hum. "Now is a good time for sushi, I think. The charges can join me in my room so we aren't in the way for Sabre getting all fixed up." Reza smiled, trying to drag Jackie away with him. "Remember, you have no authority over me, miss birdy. Insinuating I or other members of this household are anything but victims is quite the fiery declaration." Reza rose himself to met her gaze and then smiled while flailing his scales and spines. "I'm noble under the royal's kitty court, son of the bloodline of Sereci, under the court of queen and council member Verain Bishno Oshia Pengar LIV, the negotiator. And now I, Reza of Sereci, ex royal guard of the reef brigade XXVI, on the sunken reef, are now part and high member of the count of royal bastet Sabre Neofelis Nebulosa the first, referred to by her followers as the all great and mighty Heika Sabre, the swift bringer of demise and death, and liberator of the captured. The storm of violent murder of the enemies of Extraspecies, the savior of the condemned, the fangs of the night and the claws of the sunset; she whose fangs are daggers, she whose her claws are knives and she whose tail is the silent fluffiness which whispers death in the night by her primary staff position as royal chef and noble affairs advisor, are now speaking in her name and under her favor." He then flared his spines and fin. "Her court may be new but you can check my noble crest and all that information and titles if you want, or you can let the host pet you to relax as you feel my veil, the little aura thingy you can feel which you already felt before. You may be a mythical one, but you aren't a noble, are you?" Reza asked with a sneaky smile.

Berg stared at the fish before she withdrew the rifle. "Do not do anything suspicious. The moment you do, I will enact the death penalty." She said with her eyes burning. "Noble or not, the life of a royal is in danger."

"Do endanger us and we'll be the ones to dine on roasted bird, it's not good for sushi but I'm sure I can make a nice teriyaki." Reza countered, smiling before grabbing the host. "Host … you look quite pale, so you need to eat something, right? Sushi? Or would you like noodles?"

Berg glared at them in annoyance before Kroc walked through the portal carrying an unconscious Dumisa. Jackie turned around at the sound of slithering scales, her eyes widening in fright as she locked eyes with Kroc who was missing the lower half of his jaw. Before Jackie could cry out his name and go see him Reza caught her, flipping her around onto the ground as he leaned over her with a cheerful smile.

"You'll have to wait a bit for giving us your pets, host." Reza smiled while keeping his hold firm. "The situation is a bit more delicate than what you commoners are used too."

"B-But Kroc, he's hurt, a-a-and so are my other charges." Jackie said, looking back and seeing Kroc with his back to her before he dropped Dumisa onto the ground who laid there limp as a log as one of the medics came and checked on him.

"Be patient for a little while, host. This nice team of very deadly and trained Extraspecies are from the council and must ensure this place is safe and that the injured are taken care off and hoomans are very dangerous creatures even if they are= hosts, more so if they have no medical expertise with extra species that need immediate attention." Reza patted her head a couple times. "And a hooman messing around is quite a bother to the nice medics and their very hooman triggered companions."

Jackie sealed her lips up tightly, worried sick at seeing most of her charges in such bad shape. What in the hell happened at that snow lodge?! Jackie jolted, feeling Eztli's tongue gently lick her neck as he nuzzled against her, purring in happiness.

"Yayyy! Everyone is home!" Eztli excitedly shouted, grabbing Reza's cheeks before yanking a startled Reza in for a sudden deep kiss. Jackie's mouth popped open in shock as Reza tensed up and leaned back away from the jaguar but he kept his grip before pulling away with a yowling purr just before he began nuzzling the confused fish.

"That was a show of affection for hoomans, right, a kiss? But I thought most hoomans did that between a boy and a girl, oh, but sometimes it's between boys and girls, right? So what did that kiss mean? There are varying levels of lip on lip contact, which I find to be super strange, but we're both males, so what does that mean? Does that mean you see me as a potential mate? I'm afraid I'd have to turn that down, but cuddles could be nice since you're all furry and soft like the garbs on princess mermaids although you are a male. I cannot reciprocate but I do care for you, I guess? But not on a romantic level, just on a platonic level and a slightly more curious level as to the weird webbing between your toes." Reza said, looking down and squishing Eztli's foot a bit as Eztli hugged both Jackie and Reza, nuzzling and purring against them both.

"Escort them to the noble's room and make sure they behave." Berg ordered to two of the guards, both of them being snow leopards. They nodded, turning towards Jackie and the others before vines suddenly wrapped around their bodies and subdued them.

Vines began raining down from the rafters as wooden spikes shot up from the ground and walls, tangling up the startled guards and began pulling them towards the spikes. The various guards hissed and roared, firing their weapons at the plants but it only slightly slowed them down.

"Whoa, whoa whoa Naoki, stop!" Jackie shouted, seeing Naoki restraining the bodyguards with murderous intent while staring over Sabre with a frown. "Naoki, Naoki put them down, they're here to help!" Jackie said, stumbling over to Naoki before grabbing his arm. "They're here to save Sabre's life so put them down!" Jackie said as Naoki stared at her, seeming displeased.

"Are they? Why is my Heika sleeping?" He looked at Jackie. "Hidenka, what's happening?"

"U-Um, Sabre was hurt, Naoki, and she was uh, brought her to keep her safe while these nice people help stitch her back up so don't attack them." Jackie said, feeling very nervous and knowing that half of those guns were probably fixed on her.

"Naoki. Let them free now or I will freeze your roots." Longwei came in, not seeming to notice the plant and thus just began speaking aloud while turning to Berg. "Berg, this is Naoki, a follower of Sabre. He is a Jubboko, and he is around in the vicinity so don't mind him." He turned around trying to locate the plant, taking a few extra looks before locating him again. "Now Naoki. Go with the hooman and the other charges. You will be called when you are needed. Your Heika is here and needs to rest." Longwei declared, huffing a cloud of icy air just to emphasize his point.

"Very well, I must ensure these vassals and subjects of the great Heika are of trust." Naoki spoke before becoming silent, fading into the background of the vegetation.

Sabre, Kroc and Jaska were left in living room to be treated while Berg's team placed the entire building under lockdown. As Jaska was being healed, he told Longwei what had happened and once he was all bandaged up and given the green light, Jaska walked over to Reza's room where he walked in, seeing Eztli, Reza and the host enjoying some sushi provided by Reza. The moment he was in the door, Jackie rushed over to him.

"JASKA!" Jackie shouted before hugging him, being careful of his wounds. "Jaska, are you alright? What happened? What happened to Sabre? Is she going to be alright? How did you get so hurt? Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do you want me to pet you?" Jackie asked, her mind spinning and trying to figure out what happened.

Jaska took a deep breath and hugged the host. "Some bullet wounds but da, I fine. Lodge got attacked by armed teams. Sabre tranqued by assailants. Da, she be fine. Da, wounds hurt and da, I want pets." Jaska stared at the host before hugging her tighter and purring. He took a seat, scooping the host up onto his lap as Jackie automatically began petting his neck and cheeks, trying to make him feel better.

"That's horrifying! Everyone must have been so scared." Jackie said, worried sick that her charges were all hurt so badly. "The second I'm able to I'll go get some delicious steak and season it just how everyone likes it, and of course I'll have to pet and groom everyone to help keep them calm," Jackie spoke, muttering to herself.

"Hmmm~ you smell like metal and salt and blood." Eztli purred as he draped himself over Jaska's shoulders and nuzzled against him before gently kitty licking his bandaged up wounds and tasting the blood.

Jaska took a seat and explained what happened, leaving the goriest details aside for the host's sake - her visible horror already spoke for itself. "This bad."

"Eh? No, Sabre is fine, well, not that much, but a wound in the shoulder isn't that bad, the one in the stomach was a tranquilizer, it probably hurt a lot but it wasn't deadly, and there are too the hits and a couple slashes but that's it, it isn't that bad unless you consider it was clearly an inside job that will have very bad an immediate political repercussions with the council." Reza shrugged while stirring some soup.

"Da, much bad." Jaska admitted while hugging Jackie, nuzzling against her. "Council be in frenzy after attack, especially since little people knew about royal." Jaska admitted.

Jackie quietly listened to all this, petting Jaska and hugging him tightly. "I'm just glad you're alright." Jackie said, hugging him as tightly as she could to reassure him that he was safe now.

"Da. Me too" Jaska hugged her back, rubbing his chin on her shoulder and enjoying the contact, loving the care and acceptance that he so desperately craved. He had f***ed up with Sabre before and since his brother was alive, he no longer had any romantic interests in her. But the host, on the other hand, still had the second part of the contract. Perhaps he should give it a try with the host to see how it turns out.

A small tug on her shirt made Jackie look back, seeing Reza looking up at her with a pouting expression. "Host, I'm here too and I want cuddles too, I never get as many cuddles as the other felines, maybe it's because I'm not fluffy but I'm handsome, right? I want more pets, at least as many as everyone else and now that I know how good they are I want compensation for missing out on so many." He pouted, raising his arms over to her for a hug as well.

Jackie just smiled before twisting around and hugging Reza from Jaska's lap, making the fish pause in his speech. He glanced down at her, staring at her before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her.

"Hmmm … you feel warm. And you are still squishy." Reza hummed in enjoyment before he let go and grinned. "Well, now that some of us are together, we might as well have sushi for the occasion." Reza grinned before crawling back into the water, catching some salmon before he began cutting them up for some sushi.

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Kroc sat in the corner of the room, staring at nothing in particular as the snowy owl picked around at the torn flesh on the side of his jaw. The problem wasn't that his jaw was gone - it was that the part that connected the metal jaw to his face was torn and cracked, causing him considerable agony. He knew that he'd have to go into surgery again through Smith to get his jaw fixed up but until then he was going to be living without a jaw. He was nervous about that, knowing that Antain or anyone might be scared of the way he looked at the moment and the saltwater crocodile couldn't blame him - even Kroc himself didn't want to look at himself in the mirror. He was pathetically weak to get beaten up so badly by that bloody hippo. After his jaw is fixed up he'd have to ask Jaska how to get into contact with Nikita to ask him to train him how to be an alpha. Kroc sighed, grabbing an unused kitchen towel to place over his upper jaw, letting the hanging fabric cover up his missing lower jaw for now. Trying to eat was going to be a pain in the a**. He would undoubtedly need help for that.

Sabre softly growled waking up, agitated and yowling, calling for her babies while looking around, confused and worried. Upon not seeing them but seeing armed and well equipped extra species made her snap. She roared and attacked the bear that had the scent of her cubs strongest among all the strangers.

"Oh dear oh dear." The bear Extraspecies muttered, leaning back and letting the feline bite down on her armored arm and clawed, trying to climb up to bite her neck as she grabbed the back of Sabre's neck in a gentle but firm way, being careful not to hurt her. "Oh dear, she's gone feral." She worriedly spoke, trying to be as gentle as possible with the royal as she viciously hissed at the bear and tried ripping her arm off but the bear's thick protective armor deterred any serious damage from her teeth and claws. "Maybe if we show her the basket of kittens she'll be alright?" Big mama suggested, keeping her gaze on the attacking young female that was trying to kill her.

A snow owl medic approached carrying the basket of kitten and placed it near, retreating while big mama did her best to turn Sabre to see the basket, and as soon as the bastet did so, she continued her attack but this time to get free. Big Mama let her go and Sabre jumped over the basket, checking it with just a glance before standing over it, roaring up at everyone.

The guards stood a good distance away from her, watching as Sabre hissed and kept casting anxious glances down at the basket, making sure the cubs were all alright. The guards bunkered down for a bit, preparing to wait for her feral state to naturally dissipate before Kroc glanced over, seeing how everyone was getting ready to wait it out. Kroc let out a messy sigh, looking around the room before potting a blanket the host used not too long ago. With a pained grunt he stood up, making all of the guards turn to him. Kroc slowly walked over to the blanket, pausing for a brief moment as Berg appeared in front of him within a split second and pointed her rifle at his forehead.

"My rifle can pierce your scales, so be careful about what your next actions will be." Berg kept her rifle steady, eyeing the crocodile.

Kroc stared her in the eyes before directing her gaze over to the blanket, gesturing towards the blanket before pointing towards Sabre, trying to get the point across to give Sabre the blanket.

Berg narrowed her eyes but caught on, taking the blanket and inspecting it, noticing the scent of the hooman on it before tossing it near the bastet.

Sabre roared and lunged for the blanket, hissing protectively before dragging the blanket back with her over to her kittens. The feline remained tense and angry, bundling the blanket up into a ball and hugging it, breathing in the scent through her mouth before she frowned, confused before she sniffed at the blanket. Picking up on the host's scent, Sabre sniffed the blanket more deeply, entrapped in the safe scent of the host before Sabre laid down and held the blanket over her head, taking in many deep breaths and calming herself down relatively quickly before Sabre jolted, sitting straight up in alarm and looking around the room to find that she was back in Jackie's house somehow. She blinked in confusion, staring at the guards and noticing the crest they wore on their uniforms along with their friendly Extraspecies scent mixed with a little bit of blood.

Sabre shook off her grogginess, still a little sleepy before hearing her kittens calling for her. She leaned over the side, looking inside and seeing all of her babies safe and sound, cuddling up to the blankets inside of the basket. She leaned down, sniffing and nuzzling them before looking up at the intimidating looking guards. "Who … are you? And where, where is Antain? And the other charges?" Sabre asked, trying to hold back her frightened confusion as she breathed hard and fast. While hugging the basket, she mildly wondered if she was captured but her fuzzy mind could not process the thought very well at the moment.

A quite melodious chirping voice caught her attention. "Thou are safe here, Amako Sabre." The woman spoke with quite the vicious grin, curious gaze and a respectful but forceful deep Russian tone. "We are team send by Nikita Sviet to evacuate thou and peers from previous compromised location. While chasing attackers thou taken down. Jaska Jeloudov protected thee and cubs until we arrive, along with one named Kroc and Reza. The pup call Antain currently with Nikita Sviet and come soon. No worry for pup, he is safe with Nikita Sviet." She explained in quite the polite tone.

Sabre let out a shaky and relieved sigh, feeling her shoulder aching with soreness. She frowned deeply, trying to figure out who could have attacked her. Her teeth clicked together. Could it have been the company? And if it was, she was going to be in a lot of trouble. "Do you have any idea who where the attackers?" She groaned, starting to feel more of her wounds. It seemed that Extraspecies healers had worried more about tending to the wounds than to consider the pain. But if what she had heard was right, she would heal faster than with hooman treatment.

"Nikita Sviet is investigating it now." One of the guards said. "Thou can be assured that this attack will receive severe countermeasures."

"Oh, hey! Sabre! Glad you're awake." Reza's voice spoke up from the corner of the living room, making all of the guards whip around and point their weapons at him to see the lionfish half out of the water tub with a plate full of covered sushi that he transported in a sealed plastic container. "I made you some sushi to help with your wound but I'm not sure how well sushi will help with the gunshot to the shoulder but anyway it will make you feel good because it tastes good; I would love to play with your kittens again, they were so super cute and made the cutest little squeaks depending on how you poked them. I was really surprised that Kroc let me watch the kittens so I made sure to take really good care of them and after the threats were all dead I went ahead and pet the kittens lots but they eventually started crying and I'm really not that good at taking care of things that cry but I eventually got them to stop crying after letting them suck on the ends of the butter knives but eventually they spat them out and kept crying so I tried petting them like the host does but they still wouldn't stop crying and it wasn't like I could feed them myself since I can't produce milk so I tapped some catnip brandy on their bottom lips and they went right to sleep so while they were sleeping I was able to really pet them again and eventually I just laid down with them on my belly and chest and they felt so soft and warm that I didn't want to move but then Jaska came and took the kittens away from me which was mean and then he carried the kittens and I to a safe room filled with bodies and you were all bloody and I was really wondering if you were going to die and then I started wondering who would take care of the babies and of course I would be happy volunteer myself but I don't know how to take good care of the babies so they'd likely go to Aleksey but he's still all hurt and stuff so would they go to Jaska or Nikita? I guess it really doesn't matter but since Jaska is closer related to Aleksey, would they go to Jaska naturally? Or would it go to Nikita who's older and stronger than they are? I suppose Nikita would be best but maybe not since it was the council that sent those assassins to you but then again if they were in Siberia with Nikita I doubt the council could get very close to them besides all the spies in Nikita's territory." Reza said, taking his first breathe since the rant before he paused in thought. "Oh, right, I came to ask you, can I pet your babies?" Reza asked, slowly pushing the sushi closer to Sabre to distract her as Reza eyed up the basket a guard was holding. "They are super soft, and now that I'm part of your court … does that make me your official chef? Oh well, I'm bringing you sushi as tribute too, and you can enjoy it while thinking who in the council could have sent assassins to kidnap the new super secret and not extinct bastet royal. I mean, they even had the guts to attack with Nikita and mei-lei around before your were official news, even though the mermaid queen probably told everyone already but I doubt anyone from outside the council or certain courts and royals would know yet … but I suppose they would have guts unless they are slimes or plants or something without guts, and there were hoomans among the attackers too, so little profesional." He shrugged, slowly getting closer to the basket of babies. "And more importantly, I added a new sauce, it's my own invention, it's not ponzu but I used that catnip liquor that was at the restaurant, cats like catnip, and its mango too, so its mango catnip liquor sauce."

Berg's radio turned on and Nikita's voice was heard. " _Code: Kikimora- 8945, I Nikita Sviet. I come in now."_

The guards moved aside and aimed at a portal that appeared in the room, and as soon as they saw it was indeed Nikita, they lowered their weapons. Berg began giving her report but a loud roar made them turn to the royal that had her eyes glued to the happy and giggling fox pup that Nikita was carrying was covered in blood.

"She's feral again!" The female bear guard jumped forward, grabbing the basket of kittens to protect them while Nikita swiftly tossed Antain towards Berg before he leapt forward and pinned Sabre down as she weakly struggled against him, angrily hissing and trying to attack him.

Nikita heavily sighed, holding the angry royal down as gently as he could to prevent her from hurting any of them or her cubs. "Take little kit and wash off blood so mother not go feral again." Nikita ordered as Berg handed the little giggling kit off to Big Mama who took the cub into the kitchen and began to give him a bath.

Without the operatives noticing, certain plant Extraspecies approached the feral bastet from behind and made a leafy branch appear over Sabre's face. A few moments later the leopardess yawned and dropped asleep, curling over in utter exhaustion on top of a blanket with the soft fabric draped over her nose.

While everyone was confused, Nikita looked stared at the anomaly, scanning the rest of the room before turning back towards the plant Extraspecies, staring rather hard before he noticed and growled at the plant. "You are plant Extraspecies, not part of security." Nikita growled, lashing his tail back and forth. "You the plant Longwei mentioned."

" … oh … you can see me?" Naoki asked with a blank expression on his face. "Hm … what is your name?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I be Nikita Sviet, uncle in law of Amako Sabre Neofelis Nebulosa." Nikita spoke calmly.

"Hm … I see, then you are welcome here." Naoki said with a small nod.

"You put feral kitty to sleep. Well done, but why?" Nikita asked to the plant that the others had to focus on noticing. "Why you join her?" He asked with some suspicion.

"I did so because she was not of her own mind. I decided to put her to sleep until she was no longer feral and did not pose a mistaken threat towards her own powerful offspring." Naoki spoke in a respectful tone. "I joined her because she spared my life and destroyed those who hurt me for immeasurable time." Naoki spoke with a small nod. "She is the most fierce warrior and most brutal overlord there I have known of, her skills and lack of compassion to her enemies know no boundaries, and thus, I not only are indebted to her, but as tradition and common sense dictates, I decided to join her reign of terror and power."

"Da. Fine." Nikita said with all due calm. "You plant that helps protect predator territory, so fine. Territory soon to expand."

"Yes. And I will lay my roots here to protect her great heika's territory." Naoki spoke with a short, brief nod. "Starting with this den here but the caretaker seems to be rather vocal about the likes and dislikes of her great heika." Naoki spoke with a frown.

Nikita nodded and then turned back to the team leader. "Berg. Where are nephews?" Nikita asked, wanting to see them and ensure their safety.

"Aleksey in safe room. He almost went feral when we arrived. Jaska received medical treatment and is with the other charges of this household. Longwei is with him in the merman's room, sir." Berg answered, standing firm and not looking at Nikita in the eyes. "We are happy that both Jaska and Aleksey are alive, sir."

"Perkins, go fetch Jaska." Nikita spoke before he perked up, hearing Jaska's footsteps trotting down the hallway. Nikita smiled and walked over to him, taking Jaska's head and nuzzling against him with a smile on his face. "How are wounds?" Nikita asked, looking over the bloody bandages around his body.

"Da, fine." Jaska curtly said, hesitating before giving Nikita a brief nuzzle back before he turned and looked to Sabre. "Did Sabre go feral when she wake up?" Jaska asked, observing her.

"Da." Berg answered.

"Hm. Then I get host for her." Jaska said, turning to return to the room but Nikita stopped him, staring at him with hard eyes.

"Why you go get human?" Nikita asked with rather cold eyes.

"Because that hooman can pet her into calmness faster than letting feral state pass." Jaska quickly answered to his uncle, deviating his gaze towards Sabre. "She need be calm for speaking and there important things she need know, right, uncle Nikita?"

"And you think that work?" Nikita asked with a raised eyebrow, still skeptic.

"We already saw that hooman pet her until she calmed once, so it might work again. This hooman's petting possesses … strange properties. So I validate the idea." Longwei added.

"I doubt but I'll allow. If human dies no problem, if it works it serves." Nikita stepped to the side. "But in any case, do not forget host is still a human and dangerous, so keep close eye on her. If she tries any harm, shoot. Plant, when hooman near Sabre, remove spores and wake her up." Nikita ordered without caring about looking for Naoki, knowing the plant was in the room.

Jaska nodded before he trotted down the hall, dipping into Reza's room before picking up Jackie and carrying her back out into the hallway. Jackie looked up at the rather terrifying looking Extraspecies, a little confused as to why they all looked like they wanted to rip her limb from limb and then spit over her corpse.

"Pet her out of feralness if you really can, hooman, and then leave slowly and with your hands where we can see them." Berg stated in a harsh and demanding tone with her hand on her rifle, sending a shiver down Jackie's spine.

"Y-Yeah, sure, no problem." Jackie said as Jaska set her down, letting her walk over to Sabre. The host glanced around at all of the armed Extraspecies, admittedly very nervous as she sat beside Sabre and gently began petting her, watching as Sabre mumbled in her sleep and turned towards her hand, sniffing at her skin before licking it. Jackie nervously smiled and moved closer, gently pulling Sabre onto her lap as the guards kept their hands on their guns and preparation to kill the host if necessary.

Naoki walked over to Sabre, placing a hand over her face before removing the spores and taking a few steps back to observe. Sabre's eyes shot open, her pupils tightened slits before she began growling, baring her fangs menacingly.

"Shh, shh it's alright, Sabre." Jackie gently hushed, petting her gently. "We're back home now, Sabre, so don't freak out. Everyone is fine and safe." Jackie smiled, kissing Sabre's forehead as Sabre turned against her, sniffing her scent as her claws slowly stretched out and retracted against her back multiple times, making Jackie nervous about being scratched. "Don't scratch me, that'll hurt." Jackie nervously said, gently petting Sabre's cheeks.

Nikita stayed in the room, observing carefully every single detail of the scene until his niece in law began calming down, purring in the host's lap. Not entirely feral but still not having returned entirely. Finally, after more minutes of non stop petting from the host, Sabre calmed down and looked around with some agitation and Nikita took a slow and careful step forward. "Sabre? You fine?"

The leopardess looked at Nikita, blinking a few times before answering. "Uncle Nikita? Wha-what happened?" She asked, still sounding rather drowsy before she leaned against Jackie's shoulder, nuzzling her with a soft purr as she slowly came to her senses.

"I go get Aleksey and then I explain." He turned around and followed his nephew's scent to the safe room.

Antain's laughter trilled in the air as the large bear Extraspecies gently cradled the giggling fox, drying his fur off after she had given him an emergency quick bath. The young kit flailed around in the bear's arms before he took off running into the living room, giggling and coming up beside the basket with the little kittens inside.

All the guards looked with sudden horror at the pup that had dared approach the royal mother bastet that had previously gone feral just by looking at him. If she decided to attack the little cub, they wouldn't be able to help the young fox. However, instead of her attacking the cubs, she raised him in a hug and gave him various joyful kisses and hugs before letting the small fox crawl inside the basket and accommodate besides the kittens.

Antain let out a small mew of comfort, leaning down and gently nuzzling the little babies as he cuddled up to his brothers and sisters. His tail laid over the little cubs as they squirmed a little bit, getting comfortable as they all cuddled together and went back to sleep.

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.

After leaving everything in the capable hands of his team, the old tiger knocked on the door of the safe room. "Aleksey? I come in. If you feral I beat you out of feral." Nikita stated as he opened and entered the room.

Aleksey stared at his uncle as his paws trembled, letting out a low hesitant growl towards the large feline before Aleksey turned away, barring his teeth in aggravation, managing to control himself. "I knew I no should leave Sabre, I knew I should have stay!" Aleksey hissed, angrily pacing back and forth in the safe room.

"To what? Be extra baggage?" Nikita asked with a raised brow. "You only have been in way if you there. Be glad brother and other charges there to protect her." Nikita said, walking closer before Aleksey glanced at him and hissed, earning a sharp glare from Nikita that shut Aleksey up quickly. "How you feel?"

" … I angry, uncle. I very angry I so physically weak, I so angry I not there to help when mate needed me." Aleksey hissed, running an angry paw through his head as he continued to angrily pace back and forth.

"But you here at right moment to ensure place secure. Now she here and safe and needing mate." Nikita looked at Aleksey and let out a sigh. "If you weak, it so simple, get strong, you get strong once you heal."

"I know. I frustrated because healing will take long time." Aleksey growled, staring down at his paw before clenching it into a fist. "And meanwhile I of little use. Dead weight to take care of."

Nikita didn't react for a moment until he crossed his arms and let out a huffing growl."I made captured attacker speak before dealing with. Big attack there to get your mate and cubs alive. They wanted to have human team capture family then torture and kill cubs in front of new royal before Extraspecies team came to 'rescue' her." He didn't care for sweet words. The situation was worse than it seemed. "Various assault teams, enough for small city combat. Human and Extras Species mercenaries. I still not know who send them." He growled.

Aleksey's expression of frightened horror became apparent before he loudly and angrily roared, his pupils shrinking for the briefest of seconds before he clenched his barred teeth, loudly snarling as he began pacing back and forth to calm himself down. A string of profanities poured from his lips as he paced forth and back, clearly very distressed over hearing this alarming news and equally making out growling calls for his mate in a instinctual display before he turned back to his uncle. "What about team that left traps before snow storm?"

"Those different team altogether. Loose operatives of some company. They not know Sabre pregnant, they followed photos and sightings. Also wanted to capture but they no idea of anything." Nikita exhaled. "Meaning 2 groups at least."

Slashing at the floor Aleksey roared. "I very angry. Infuriated." Aleksey spit out between his barred teeth, taking a moment to take a deep breath. "I do anything it take to protect mate and cubs. I burn world if needed." Aleksey spoke with a crazed look in his eye, struggling to hold in his deepest anxieties. "I … so worry, uncle, I worry for what happen to family. My mate, she is wonderful and innocent, cute and smart, and amazing, and great, and brilliant and so strong, and here I am, weak like another cub needing care." He hissed, breathing hard between his clenched teeth.

"Da. But healing will happen." Nikita took a step forward and gave his nephew a rare affectionate nuzzle.

" … da." Aleksey heavily sighed, relatively depressed. "So much rest drive me crazy, uncle. I want run around, I want move right, but body … body weak right now." Aleksey snarled. "That time when everything explode, I barely manage to hide in industrial fridge of stored corpses of bad experiments - barely hid behind dead large plated armadillo to protect self. I really thought I dead then." Aleksey heavily sighed. " I struggled alive thinking on Sabre, and when I rescued I no wanted to contact anyone until I knew I survive for sure."

Nikita eyed his nephew with serene calmness. "We try Extraspecies healers as soon as possible. Healing faster but not for much. And you remember that if body weak then mind not. There still more you can do. You expert in information and spying, so help mate as you can. Sabre new royal and she soon getting followers. I expect spies among followers, so maybe you supervise them. You have sharp mind Aleksey, use it." Nikita then took a step aside to let the way to the door free, although he didnt opened the door yet. "Do what you can."

"Heh. Maybe I can learn to play accordion like you for little cubs." Aleksey lightly chuckled, staring at nothing in particular before heavily sighing. "Sabre not know much about higher royal stuff. I worry they try to control her." He frowned.

"Many surely try, but she doing fine so far." Nikita lightly smiled. "Niece very clever."

"I very happy uncle approve." Aleksey crookedly grinned. "Sabre much smart, she think and act so fast you get vertigo, like when she tried to rush ahead but tail got stuck in door because she too busy looking forward."

Nikita chuckled, flicking his tail back and forth. "I very proud you found mate, Aleksey. Permanent mate hard to find but much worth it. I thought you too irresponsible and arrogant to ever find mate, even temporary one." He purred before his purring stopped and he stared over him seriously. "Why you not contact all this time? Both you and Jaska no contact. Make me much worry." He gruffly growled, baring his teeth to show his displeasure.

"I sorry for that, uncle. I busy trying to find Jaska after he disappear." Aleksey said leaning over and nuzzling his uncle's shoulder as an apology. "I not know what happened at time, but what I gather, Jaska made shady deals with hoomans, like with the motherland. For while, I thought brother betraying uncle and extra species. But I not bring up serious allegation without proof, I too unsure myself; so I go undercover to find proof. While at company I met Sabre and partner up with her. She very fun and beautiful and smart; she taught how to hack into hooman computers in smart, simple way and I taught some combat. Soon we more, but I worried about Jaska. Soon after I slip into basement facility and learn of all horrendous things they do to Jaska and many extra species and even to hoomans. I learn that Jaska made deals to protect and prosper us and uncle territory. I impressed with deals, they were to get support from the motherland and to keep hoomans away from me and him." Aleksey chuckled. "But hoomans betray and capture, he dealt with it alone to protect me." He growled. " And they keeping him at other facility and mix wolf DNA with him, which was death sentence since records show not one succeeding, become permanent feral instead." He heavily sighed. "I blow up documents of Jaska and all others, I destroyed progress records and experiments too, but system caught on and try to blow everything up. I stop transfer of documents but self destruct already initiated, so then I hid … and when I woke up, I find self in Smith care." Aleksey purred, nuzzling against Nikita's cheek. "No be mad at Smith - I ask her to no tell you what happen, since I not know if I live much longer. So I wait in healing, listening to Smith about Jaska recovering and soon about mate being with host … all while I recovering." Aleksey sighed before sitting back down and sheepishly smiling. "I sorry I not tell, but I not want anyone go through losing me twice. I make sure I live before coming see you." Aleksey grinned.

Nikita gave Aleksey a slap. "You rowdy cub." He then pet Aleksey's head. "You no ever go with no backup again or you deal with me." The older tiger then took a step back. "Also, I no interviewed nephew yet. I will do later and I will need nephew's complete testimony. But first I need nephew to help mate with Sabre's weird but clever plan." Nikita retained a serious yet affable expression and there was a glow in his eyes that held quite the edge. "She came up with something that may be bigger than what she expects, but it is something that may be very useful for Extraspecies aligned with her and very useful to me as council member. If she succeeds I can push plans to cut off hooman contact."

"Plans?" Aleksey questioned. "Hmmm … we not have time to talk. What about plans?" Aleksey asked, curious about what scheme his mate was making.

"I hate to put family so near humans here, but all she said about enclave is true and holds much potential." Nikita looked pensive, tapping his clawed finger over his crossed arms. "As this place more solid and attention here, council can reduce all other contacts with humans until they disappear, and then it only a matter of time to withdraw here too. All without humans noticing and while increasing our power and influence."

"Da. I agree." Aleksey nodded. "Of course, I will stay and support mate and family. More powerful territory bring more powerful guards. I much scared of what could happen to precious mate. And, uncle." Aleksey spoke, looking his uncle dead in the eyes.

"Da?" Nikita's eyebrow rose.

"When you find them, when you kill them, I want recording so I can fall asleep to screams at night." Aleksey purred, nuzzled against his uncle. "Or better, let me finish off them myself." He grinned. "I want personal meeting with those who hurt precious mate and threatened cubs." He spoke with a murderous smirk on his face. "What else you know about attackers?"

Nikita chuckled. "I taught you well." The older tiger then looked more calm, confident in his nephew. "Jaska called Berg's team. Most remain at lodge to help clean up and evacuate, I return soon too. Attackers very well equipped and coordinated. Casualties were minimum, charges protected hosts and created sealed rooms. Casualties only 12 humans." He then growled, showing quite the murderous scowl. "This attack came from high above and I going to rip apart whomever responsible. Only few knew about new royal's details. I must wait for official responses to attack to point out the other intentions of this attack and possible culprits. Ask Jaska, he'll give you more details."

Aleksey let out a deep growl while standing up, pissed about the circumstances.

"Da." Nikita agreed.

"Hmph. Strengthening mind … da, I do that and keep eye on things here." Aleksey said with a smirk. "Once body heal I make self strong again." Aleksey confidently grinned before looking over to Nikita with a sneaky smirk. "I become stronger alpha than you someday, you think?" Aleksey teased with a smirk.

"You think?" Nikita grinned. "You better prove self, cub." The older tiger then helped his nephew stand up. "But come first, mate needs support from mate. And you better hear so we prepare."

"Da." Aleksey said with a softer smile now before he followed his uncle into the hallway before they heard Sabre loudly snarl. They both picked up the pace, arriving in the living room to find Sabre tightly holding the host on her lap with one arm as the bear held the host's foot, trying to pull the hooman away from Sabre.

"I am sorry, my royal Amako Sabre, but the hooman has done her job. Don't ye want to let go?" She gently asked, making sure not to pull too hard in fear of hurting the royal feline.

"Mine!" Sabre growled, using her weight over the host to keep her from being taken from her. Sabre hissed, pawing at the bear's hand to try and make her let go of the host's leg.

"Sabre, Sabre it's alright." Jackie said in a strained voice. "Please be gentle, you're going to dislocate my leg." The host said, not putting up a fight at all considering the guards could easily rip her leg off if she struggled. So this is what it's come down to, having her leg pulled off by two greedy Extraspecies. To be honest it wasn't the way she thought she would go.

"Aleksey, go." Nikita ordered with a raised eyebrow at his niece in law's behavior. She wasn't feral but it seemed like she was still extremely distressed and wasn't back to clear mind yet, so much so as to cling to her toy in such desperate way.

"Da." Aleksey began approaching slowly as he began emitting soft calls to get Sabre's attention.

One of the guards stepped in front of him, blocking him from approaching his mate. "Do not approach any closer." He stated in a firm tone.

Aleksey growled before looking over to his mate, making chuffing noises of greeting and calling out to her, alerting her to his presence without drawing any closer. Sabre gasped, excited to see Aleksey there with her but her grip on the host did not relent in the least - in fact, it only tightened as she began emitting some yowling calls to entice her mate closer.

"Sabre, too tight, too tight!" Jackie rasped out, trying to weakly pry off her arm but Sabre's impossible strength held her steady.

Aleksey purred and let out a soft yearning yowl in response, calling Sabre over to him since the guard was not allowing him any closer.

"Mine too!" Sabre growled at the guards, pawing towards Aleksey and making them stand back and let the tiger get near. "´Leksey, _my_ mate!"

The guards appeared surprised and, not about to argue with a royal, they pulled back and allowed Aleksey to pass through.

Aleksey purred with a grin, nuzzling her and gently trying to push Jackie away towards the bear. "Come to me, my mate. Let the hooman go and let me hold you." Aleksey sweetly enticed, gently nibbling on her ear.

Sabre's eyes glowed, eager to spend time with Aleksey before she yanked Jackie out of the bear's grip. Sabre tackled Aleksey over while greedily keeping the host between them. Aleksey painfully groaned at the desperate cuddling but he eagerly hugged her back, purring while trying to subtly push the hooman out of the cuddlefest but Sabre's grip around Jackie's waist held strong.

Despite being suffocated by all the fluff, Jackie began to pet Aleksey as well to try and lessen his attempts to kick her out. Aleksey perked up, a little surprised before he began leaning into the petting and softly purring, holding both Sabre and Jackie close.

Aleksey let out a soft sigh, allowing the hooman to stay where she was and pet the both of them into bliss as they adoringly loved and cuddled one another, holding each other close with the hooman stuck in the middle of them both.

Very slowly Sabre woke up from her feral state, groaning in pain as Jackie pet her and kissed her forehead. "It's alright, Sabre, I'm right here, your kittens are here, Antain is safe and Aleksey is here too." Jackie said, tilting Sabre's head so she saw Aleksey all delirious off of all the pets.

"Sabre? You ready to speak?" Nikita asked while staying only so close as to ensure everything was alright. "You ready for cubs to be brought in?"

"Y-Yes! Yes, please, where are my cubs?" Sabre asked, popping up from the pile of fluff very quickly and intensely staring at Nikita. "Where is my mate?!"

"Right here." Aleksey purred, nuzzling her and holding both her and Jackie against his chest for the time being. "Calm, Sabre, we safe here." He assured her, rubbing her side gently.

The minx rushed to get the basket of cubs that she respectfully and with utter care placed the babies near Sabre before moving away, then rushed to get certain fox pup that had received a more proper bath recently, bringing him to Sabre as well.

"Mama!" Antain giggled and rushed out of the basket towards Sabre to hug her as she grabbed the basket, carefully smelling and checking that her cubs were alright while holding Antian and nuzzling him. Then she sat back with Aleksey, placing the basket over Jackie's lap as began grooming Antain's head.

Antain giggled and nuzzled against her eagerly, reaching up and purring adorably before he curled up on her lap and continued to sniff her scent fervently. Jackie smiled, finding the scene adorable but remained very conscious of the deadly arsenal directed towards her since the young royal kittens were in her lap.

"Niece in law, are you aware you put cubs so close to a human?" Nikita asked, trying to refrain from being taken as being rude to her. "You feeling well?"

"Hm? Yes?" Sabre answered, looking up and seeing the confusion on Nikita's face. "She's my nanny for my cubs." Sabre proudly purred.

Everyone in the room immediately gasped, mortified by the words a royal of all beings spoke. They could hardly believe a royal would let a human by her cubs. Even Nikita looked taken aback by her decree. Aleksey leaned over to Jackie, taking the basket from her and safely put the basket back over with Sabre.

"Amako Sabre, would you like a psychic to evaluate your mind? Maybe you bumped it in all of the confusion." The minx suggested, worriedly looking her over as she picked up her phone and typed in a code for the psychic to come anyway, just to be safe.

"What? Why would I need psychic? I was shot in the shoulder and the stomach and I fell in the soft snow." Sabre gruffed, staring up at the lot of them and seeing the doubt and judgement in their eyes. Sabre's ears lowered a tad, sensing a lot of hostile feelings towards Jackie, _her_ hooman. With a frown Sabre reached over, pawing at Jackie's leg before pulling her over and hugging her protectively while locking eyes with the guards in a show of dominance.

"Because thou are a new mother who allowed thee cubs to be near a hooman." The bear gently said, tilting her head curiously, making soft motions. "We're worried that perhaps thou are not thinking straight." She explained, worriedly looking over the cubs.

"This hooman is not the average hooman; I have examined her personally. She was there when my cubs were born and she is the designated nanny. She is weak and not too bright, but her pets can't be rivaled." Sabre puffed and grabbed onto Jackie even tighter.

"Her … pets?" The minx asked, now more baffled than ever.

"Are thou, Amako Sabre, trying to tell that this hooman's petting is so grand that thou allow her near thy newborn cubs?" Berg asked in proper speech, bewildered by Sabre's explanation. "Get the psychic, now." Berg ordered the minx as the medical officer nodded, already reaffirming that she had done so.

Sabre roared, not only angry, but also, by the way they were addressing her with deference that she was supposed to be a royal. "You question my words?!"

"Thou has been under severe duress. We do not mean to insult thou, Amako." Berg chirped. "We only want to make sure thou are in perfect condition before making decisions." Berg explained.

Sabre narrowed her eyes and growled again, looking at the firebird straight in the eyes while still holding onto Jackie like the host was her stress ball. "You can try her petting for yourself. If you resist her hands then I'll consider your suggestions."

" … Sabre, I don't think that's a good idea. They look like they're about ready to throw me out the window." Jackie heavily sighed, getting a little tired over these Extraspecies thinking that she was some evil human.

Sabre spilled Jackie onto the ground and stood up, puffing her fur and raising her chin. "Host, pet this firebird now. I command it."

Jackie stared up at Sabre, confused about how firm and forceful she sounded. The host stared at Sabre for a few moments, remaining tense. "Yeah, okay." Jackie said before looking over at Berg, not daring to approach the intimidating firebird but assumed the position and sitting down and ready for Berg to come to her.

Berg looked surprised at the hooman, automatically creating a fireball and almost tossing it at her. "You dare address a royal with such disrespect, hooman?" She hissed.

"You dare almost burn my hooman?" Sabre quickly stood besides Jackie, baring her fangs, and contrary to all logic, Berg's own team pointed their weapons at the firebird, all looking nervous and regretful.

Tense silence filled the room.

"Well, I don't uh, mean to be rude or anything." Jackie said, looking up at the firebird in confusion. "I just treat all of my charges like family." She explained, a little confused about what Berg said. Sabre is royalty? That's weird, but that was fine, Jackie supposed. Reza was a noble after all, so there wasn't much difference in her mind.

Gasps were heard from the assault team as they retreated a fast step, covering their mouths in shock at what the hooman had just said, but still, they held their guns pointed at their team leader. As per protocol, if a royal told them to shoot whoever insulted her then they would do so without question. They had to follow the orders of a royal, especially since this royal was Nikita's niece-in-law.

Sabre placed her hand over Jackie's head and pet her a couple times, not taking her eyes off of the firebird. "Your name is Berg, right?" The leopardess asked but did not wait for her answer. "Quench that fire and let yourself be pet by my host now." Sabre kept her gaze on Berg, well aware on how tense the other Extraspecies were. "And everyone, lower your guns now. I do not plan on harming your team leader, she'll be convinced by the truth herself just as Mengyao Longwei tested."

Jackie sat on the floor silently, feeling rather nervous at just how casually everyone was pointing guns at each other over this. Why was everything so intense? Jackie understood that Sabre had been shot and her other charges were hurt but why were they turning their guns on each other? Jackie wisely remained silent, deciding to let the Extraspecies talk for now.

Berg rose an eyebrow, looking over at Longwei as the dragon only casually shrugged.

"Berg." Nikita spoke for the first time during all this exchange. "Do let hooman pet. You trained operative, so you can resist and we see process."

Berg nodded and closed the distance with Jackie, very slowly getting in touching range.

" … please don't burn me." Jackie said as she sat up on her knees and gently touched the sides of Berg's neck, ignoring all the operatives glaring at her. Jackie was getting very annoyed at how they were treating her so she was going to pet Berg into complete and utter submission. As Jackie trailed her hands down Berg's waist she could feel just how tightly packed her muscles were, freaking her out a bit as the host felt a very slight twitch around Berg's ribs. Jackie pinpointed the weakness and went for it, rubbing her hands around the firebird's ribs before gently rubbing and massaging her waist and back, touching the base of Berg's wings and feeling the wings twitch ever so slightly.

Finding a better target, Jackie slipped around to Berg's back without her seeming to notice before the host began rubbing and petting the base of her wings while listening to her emit small little chirps at the sensations. Very slowly Berg began to lean back against Jackie with the firebird's wings spreading out and melted onto the ground as Jackie let her back rest on her chest while the host pet Berg's neck and head, supporting her surprisingly heavy body. Jackie gently trailed some fingers up and down Berg's neck, making her more loudly chirp and call out in pleasure as she turned her head slightly and nuzzled against Jackie's neck while her head rested on the host's shoulder. Jackie reached around, gently petting Berg's stomach as Berg loudly chirped and moaned, twisting around and hugging the host before taking the host to the ground as she nuzzled against her.

"Heavy, heavy-! She's so heavy!" Jackie gasped, petting her faster to try and make her loosen up but Berg only held onto her tighter while laying on top of the host like a pillow.

The entire squad was rendered silent in shock, mortified that their team leader had fallen so quickly to the hooman's petting. They had been watching closely and confirmed that there was no underhanded tricks; only the host's hands finding out and concentrating her petting at precise parts of the body to correctly set their team leader into submission.

"Who's next? Who wants to try out the truth about this hooman's petting?" Sabre asked, looking back over the crowd of guards who looked over their team leader in complete and utter dismay at her blatant disregard to the fact a hooman just pet her into submission.

"Big mama, give try." Nikita told the big bear, taking a step closer himself to get a better look, this time more focused on catching what the hooman would do.

"D-da" The big bear stepped forward, looking at Berg, slightly pushing the bird but Berg didn't respond, lost as she was in the aftermath of bliss, so Big mama grabbed Berg with care and placed her away before sitting in front of Jackie.

"Excuse me, then." Jackie said, going ahead and standing up to her knees again before she reached up and gently touched big mama's neck. The bear slightly tilted her head, staring down at Jackie uneasily as she began to very gently pet around her neck and jaws, making the bear emit a soft hum before Jackie leaned in and began scratching the base of her neck. Big mama leaned in a little bit, staring at the hooman as she moved her hands back up to her head, rubbing her jaws and concentrating her petting and scratching on the back of her head. Very soon the bear began leaning more and more of her weight forward, making Jackie very nervous before she moved to the side of the bear and hugged her, scratching at the base of her tail while keeping up the petting around big mama's jawline before big mama leaned forward, laying on the ground. Jackie saw her opportunity and pounced, scratching big mama's big belly as the bear stretched out her limbs and let out a pleasured growl of delight while Jackie remained cautious of her claws and scratched up her sternum, making the bear roll around a bit. Jackie dodged her rolling, just barely avoiding getting crushed before she circled to the other side of big mama and pet her waist, making big mama curl into a large ball of fluffy fur as she fell asleep.

Nikita narrowed his eyes before letting out a huff. "Longwei, take over observing human petting technique. I go back and check snow lodge." Nikita spoke, pressing a button on his phone before a portal immediately opened up for him. The large white tiger stepped through the portal before it vanished a moment later, leaving Jackie in awe at seeing just how fast that was.

Longwei huffed some icy mist. "Grigory." He stated, making the bison step forward. Sabre smirked as the dragon stepped right besides the action so he could inspect it with more detail.

The bison snorted, smirking. "She won't manage anything with me." He smirked, remaining standing so the host couldn't reach his neck, her immediate point of attack in the previous two operatives.

" … hm." Jackie said, her eyes darting around his very thick and coarse fur before narrowing in on the lighter portions of the fur, namely on his belly, chest and face.

Jackie stood up and began very gently and easily scratching at his belly before moving to his hips, rubbing the creases in his hips as the bison snorted, stomping his food for a moment and making Jackie jump a bit but she did not relent. The host knelt down, observing his huge hooves before she reached around and ran her finger up near the ligament of his heel, making his ankle buckle ever so slightly as she kept up the motion on both of his heels. The bison let out another snort, whipping his tail back and forth which caught the host's attention. She stared at it before she rubbed her hands up his legs, meeting on his belly again before she reached around and began rubbing the base of the bison's tail. The bison remained silent, flicking his tail back and forth as Jackie reached up, petting his belly again before the bison readjusted himself and turned his back to her rather stubbornly, swatting his tail back and forth. Jackie's hand reached out, catching his tail as she began scratching at the base, making the bison snort against but quieter this time around. Jackie leaned in closer, scratching up his back as he began leaning back against her, letting her scratch higher and higher up his back before she slid back down and began petting the back of his heels again. The bison's center of gravity shifted a little bit as he crossed his arms, frowning deeply with a face of intense concentration before the host stood back up and began scratching his lower back again. Longwei carefully watched Jackie's hand movements before she suddenly stopped, looking up at the still bison.

The minx medic then crossed her arms and smiled when she saw the hooman pulling back. "It seems that however good the hooman is at petting, she can't pet everyone well enough." She grinned triumphantly.

"He's sleeping?" Jackie questioned herself aloud in confusion before she circled to the front, looking up at him and saw him with his eyes closed, having fallen asleep while standing up. "Huh. Well, that's a first. I've never seen an Extraspecies fall asleep standing before." She noted aloud, finding it a little funny as she chuckled.

The minx approached to check her fallen teammates and revised their various states. All of them were perfectly well and were just in extreme relaxation, so she pulled up her sleeves and stood in a clear spot. "Very well, hooman. I'll detect what you are doing. If you are using pressure points you won't manage it against me." The minx smirked.

Sabre chuckled.

"Well lucky for me I don't use pressure points. I really don't know where they are." Jackie smiled as she sat down and patted her thighs for the minx to come over to her to be pet. Petting was becoming very therapeutic for her and she was already feeling better after petting them into submission.

"Maybe I should teach you how to use pressure points." Sabre pondered aloud, thinking on the possibilities and then discarding them upon realizing Jackie had no way of adding the great precise force needed to use those on Extraspecies. She however eyed how Longwei was examining every single little movement the host made.

"Nah, that's alright. I'm fine as I am." Jackie smiled as the minx walked over to her and took a seat.

"Do start hooman. Bring it on." The minx smiled.

"Sure." Jackie smiled before she reached forward, gently cupping the minx's jaws as she began to gently slide her hands back and forth over her jaws.

"Why are you starting at the jaw?" The minx narrowed her eyes, tensing up.

"Well, the neck and jaws seem to be a common point in most Extraspecies so I tend to start there automatically. Then I just get to searching." Jackie said, reaching up with one hand and rubbing the minx's ear as Jackie moved a little closer and pet her side, experimenting with different parts of her body. "In the case of the bison, his fur is too thick so he wouldn't have felt it and since he was standing I couldn't reach his face, so I started scratching his belly since more Extraspecies I've pet likes that. The tail is usually a pretty big weak spot too but it varies." Jackie explained, reaching around and rubbing the base of the minx's tail and watching as she flinched slightly.

"How many and what type of Extraspecies have you pet?" The mix asked, switching slightly, trying to tense herself more to not feel the nice massage, more so, she considered that keeping talking would help her focus.

"Well, there are my charges … and I haven't really pet much of anything else, although I've pet a bunny and a bat at some point." Jackie mentioned. "So, less than 12 different Extraspecies." Jackie said as she continued to pet away, oblivious to the information the minx was gathering from her. Jackie tried to move around to her back but the minx shifted around, keeping her front to Jackie. The minx had seen what happened when the hooman began petting from behind an Extraspecies. Jackie smiled, continuing to pet her jaws and waist instead.

"What experience do you have with Extraspecies besides your charges?" The minx questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, not much if any." Jackie admitted with a sigh, running her fingertips over the minx's whiskers and making the minx shiver with delight at the sensation.

"I find that hard to believe." The minx miffed before letting out a soft groan and pleasure, leaning in further against Jackie and her petting fingers. She then asked some more question in order to either try to focus or to get information out of the hooman that oh so surprisingly was managing to make her relax.

"Well it's the truth." Jackie said as she hugged the minx against her shoulder, petting the minx as she nuzzled into Jackie's neck and thrummed in pleasure at her dancing fingers. Not too long after the minx fell asleep while gently holding the hooman closer.

Jackie grinned, hugging the minx and her soft fur before looking at the other guards with her eyes shining, wanting to see if she could pet them into sleeping too. Everyone there was a different Extraspecies that she has not exactly encountered before and she was curious how long it would take to pet them all into falling asleep.

"Is my point clear or do you want to try your luck against my hooman?" Sabre puffed herself with praise at her host. "I said it, this host is _my_ hooman and her abilities are not to be trifled with, understand?" The leopardess purred, standing firm, unknowingly claiming her property to be the hooman in question.

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMMWMWMWMWMW**

Jackie pulled her hands away from the last guard, looking over the fallen guards with a grin on her face. "Does this mean I win?" Jackie asked with a grin towards Sabre.

Sabre looked at Longwei, whom was more angry than surprised, although he was that too. "They are all down for the count, Mr. Longwei." She smiled.

Sabre walked over to Jackie and hugged her from behind with a purr, now definitely more calm and looking quite smug as she hugged Jackie from behind, flinching slightly when she moves her injured arm. "You did a good job. Good host."

"Of course I did." Jackie smiled back, reaching over and gently petting Sabre's cheeks as she purred and leaned into the petting with a cheerful grin. "Did you think I wouldn't?" Jackie teased, petting Sabre into mush as Sabre melted against the host, leaning on her chest and legs to relax for a bit.

"Hooman passed test." Aleksey grinned and pulled both females onto his lap, hugging them firmly and Jackie, a little too tightly. "All calm now."

While Sabre nuzzled Aleksey he looked up, seeing Kroc's back. She perked up following his gaze and noticing the crocodile, surprised she had not noticed anyone or anything else around. "Hey Kroc, are you fine?" She called, but Kroc remained still and unmoving, worrying her. "Kroc?"

Without much warning Kroc stood, making the snowy owl stop his treatment before Kroc left to retreat to his room with his head pointed away from them. The snowy owl sighed, putting the medical supplies away before getting up to follow the stubborn crocodile. On the clothes the medical officer had was ample amounts of blood, assumingly Kroc's blood.

Sabre stared at the blood stain in alarm and suspicion before she darted in front of Kroc, blocking his way and seeing a small sheet over the top of his snout. "Why are you not saying anything, Kroc?" She nervously asked, her tail lashing anxiously behind her.

Kroc stared at her with slightly guilty eyes before he heavily sighed and lifted up the cloth, letting Sabre see how bad the wounds are. Not only was his metal jaw missing but the points of attachment were ripped and shattered - he would definitely need surgery to reconstruct not only the insertion points for the prosthetic jaws, but for his broken jaw beneath.

Sabre's eyes widened and next she hugged the big crocodile, flinching at the pain on her shoulder and arm but ignoring the pain to hug him, rubbing her chin on his chest and making small meows of worry. For a moment she pulled back, searching herself for her phone that thankfully was in the inner pockets of her clothes. She dialed a number and as soon as the call was answered she growled. "Smith! We are back in Jackie's house, Kroc needs a replacement jaw and surgery to get it on immediately, he was badly hurt!"

Sabre barely heard Smith gasp before the feline hung up to hug Kroc again, rubbing him all over as she kept emitting her worried calls, although this time she only managed to use her uninjured arm.

Kroc held still, not touching her back as he put the sheet back over his snout to cover himself up. He was embarrassed that she was so badly wounded because he was too slow to catch up to her.

"Thank you, Kroc, I have no idea how things went but I know you surely fought as hard as possible. I'll get you a whole duck, no, a whole goose, even better, a whole goat for yourself later, and … ," she looked at the sheet covering his jaw remains and gulped. "Mmhh … it will be chopped in small cubes and marinated in whatever liquor you want. And I'll get you a whole big electric sheet and we can go to to you know where to see everyone and you know what and win once you are better." She kept on making him promises, telling him how much of a good guy he was, and thanking him all over while Kroc just kinda soaked it all in.

Aleksey stared at them, hugging Jackie as he began sensing how close Sabre was to Kroc, making him uncomfortable enough to start using Sabre's hooman as a stress toy for himself. Admittedly he didn't know much about Sabre's relationship with the other charges but she trusted them so much that she had entrusted her cubs to them when needed, and if there was something that made him unsure and stressed, it was not knowing things. Lucky for him, the squishy stress toy caught on and began petting him.

"Do you need anything? Besides the obvious? I mean, Smith should have sent someone already to come get you for urgent surgery or whatever is needed, but … ," she stopped for a moment, hearing Kroc's stomach growl. "Of course. Let's go to Reza's room, I'll help you out." She quickly grabbed his hand and almost ran to Reza's room, kicking the door open and stepping in, looking at a sleeping Dumisa in some corner under a heat lamp with a striped rug behind him, Eztli pawing at the not so deep pool, and Reza was behind the bar. "Reza! Hurry up and cook lots of yummy food! And make it all into small pieces!" Sabre shouted at the merman that saluted her and began gathering ingredients. She then pulled Kroc towards the bar and gave him a couple nuzzles before she darted out of the room, noticing that certain other tiger wasn't there anymore, but at the moment she didn't care. She needed to get the host, so as soon as she located her in Aleksey's lap, Sabre pulled the host up and gave her mate a few nuzzles and licks before leaving him there and taking Jackie away in a rush, going back into Reza's room and pushing the host over Kroc's lap. "Host, you know what to do!"

Kroc looked around at the sheilas before letting out a heavy sigh and bunkered down for a bit to enjoy their undivided attention on him. The large crocodile hugged Jackie, enjoying her warmth as she pushed in all the right spots that made him pleasantly hum in response.

Sabre sat behind Kroc, hugging him with one arm and began purring, licking the blood around his back wounds and nuzzling him as she shared her fluffy warmth. Kroc glanced between the two sheila's, finding himself thrumming in enjoyment at their attention as he hugged Jackie and absorbed her warmth for a bit.

"Here you are! Lots of mega super sized fresh sushi; look, they still twitch when you put soy sauce on them!" Reza excitedly exclaimed, pouring some soy sauce over the flesh as the salmon flopped around a bit, twitching and proving their freshness to them all.

"Nuuu fishy … ," Eztli, still quite high, pawed at one fish's head and then began trying to give it mouth to mouth respiration before just licking and gnawing on it, going ahead to a corner to play with the pleasantly squishy remains.

Reza let the weird jaguar have that one fish, merely shrugging it off before he swam back to make more meals for the large crocodile.

Sabre quickly hopped over to the plate, grabbing it before turning around to see Kroc hugging the host against his chest and gently nuzzling her with his eyes closed. The feline blinked, observing the scene with interest before sensing that Kroc might really like the host just a little bit. She approved completely, after all, the host's second part of the contract was still ongoing and if she completed it, Jackie would be more protected too.

"Here, host, feed Kroc, okay?" Sabre grinned, trotting over and setting the plate by her leg. Without a word Jackie grabbed one of the large pieces of sushi, carefully holding it with her hands before she stood up and moved the piece of cloth on his face aside. Kroc lightly flushed in embarrassment, tilting his head back as Jackie pushed the meal directly into his gullet. Kroc flipped his head back a little bit, using his tongue to help the food slide down as he swallowed it with some difficulty before Kroc let out a satisfied sigh at finally being fed.

Sabre slowly blinked at the cute scene, delighted at the ambience around them. Despite everything that had happened with the pain and terror at that horrible snow lodge, they were finally back home and for a moment they could just take a break and enjoy just hanging around. It was nice for however long it would last.

Kroc swallowed the last of the food, giving what was almost a slight twitch of a smile as Kroc hugged the host once again before letting her go for the time being. He twitched slightly, turning towards the entrance to see Longwei entering the room.

Sabre too looked at the door, suspicious and worried as to what may be going on. The perfect scene had been so broken by Longwei sudden appearance that not even Reza spoke.

"I beg thee pardon, Amako Sabre, but Aleksey has requested that thou join him in the safe room." Longwei politely requested before Longwei turned to Kroc, watching as he covered up his wound with the thin sheet. "The operatives for the hooman programs have arrived and are taking Kroc in for an urgent surgery regarding his jaw." He said, definitely unamused by that. "The safe room and your family will be protected before we allow their team to come in and check on the charges and the host. Kroc will be escorted to their vehicle. I revised their credentials, and although they are genuine, I assure you we won't risk you in any way."

Sabre looked at Kroc with big worried eyes before she nodded. "Very well, I'll go to the safe room." She stood up and went to give Kroc another hug. "I'll be fine, Kroc."

Kroc slightly nodded before Sabre turned tail and left the room, retreating into the hallway. After he hear the safe room door shut he stood up, heading towards the hallway before Longwei stepped in front on Kroc to make him stop for a moment.

"Mr. Kroc, I also inform you that I will personally ensure that you receive a new prosthesis of the best possible quality. Please consider it a gift for aiding Amako Sabre and as an apology for me accidentally stepping over you earlier"

Kroc stared at the dragon before slightly nodding in agreement. After it was agreed upon, Kroc walked past him and into the hallway to join the agents to go have his jaw fixed up.

"And about you hooman, you are under house arrest for the time being and until further notice." After saying that, Longwei too abandoned the room.

"H-House arrest? Wait, how am I supposed to go out shopping and getting other things done then?!" Jackie demanded, running into the hallway after him. "Longwei, what in the world am I under house arrest for?"

"Your involvement for all the past events have not yet been clarified." He then looked her from the corner of his eyes as he kept walking. "You have also been recognized as a danger in information leaking. Your seemingly incapacity for maintaining sensible information as a secret is a clear danger."

Jackie stared at him with a frown forming on her face. Well she couldn't argue against that. "Then how about when I go out for groceries and meat for everyone here you could come with me and monitor me while I do so?" She suggested. "I'm running out of frozen meat for everyone and I'm assuming I'll have to feed the guards too, right?"

Longwei stopped for a moment, tilting his head and flicking his tail and he breath a small cloudy mist. "If it comes to that and I find myself in the vicinity I should consider it for the wellbeing of your charges."

"Thanks Longwei." Jackie let out a sighing grin before pausing. "Ah, I'll return to the room now." Jackie said, turning around and heading back into Reza's room. Well, this sucked but at least she'd be able to get meat for everyone still.

 _Note to self: Longwei was an a**hole but at least he was kind to other Extraspecies. As long as he treated her charges well then she would be able to get through this._

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Sabre reached the safe room, her tail lashing back and forth anxiously. She wanted to run away if there was any chance of the company coming back for her and her kittens but knew that she wouldn't get far with Aleksey - and she wasn't planning on losing him again.

Outside the safe room were the snow leopard operatives, the snow owl and the bison that had recently recovered from Jackie's super effective petting. When Sabre stepped by the door, the leopard's eyes widened and their tails nervously began lashing. They opened the door for her and stepped aside, lowering their heads somewhat to not look at her eyes as she stepped in the entrance and saw only Aleksey in inside waiting for her. She turned to look at Longwei as he approached her. "Mr. Longwei, where are my cubs?" She lightly growled and the guards stiffened.

"They are safe and well protected in the living room where our psychic can open an emergency portal to evacuate them if needed." The dragon answered with deference before looking at her with what appeared to be some hushed worry. "For there to be too many royals in the same place ... it's not safe."

Sabre looked at him, studying his reaction and then nodded before entering the safe room while Longwei closed the door so she could lock it from inside. She understood. It wasn't a good strategy to keep all their eggs in the same basket.

Longwei shut the door and locked the large heavy door up from outside, setting the 4 guards outside of the room before he traveled to the living room. Longwei entered, finding the little kittens meowing and softly crying as Big Mama quickly transferred them onto Jaska's lap, letting the kittens nuzzle against their uncle's soft fur. Their small cries slowly died down, slowly falling back to sleep thanks to Jaska's scent that was so similar to Aleksey's scent. All of the guards were in position, ready to strike at a moment's notice while Kroc stood in the hallway leading to the door.

The guards gave Kroc the signal, letting him walk on forward before he opened the door and stepped on outside to join Smith's agents before Kroc shut the door behind him. The guards all remained tense and ready to fire, having snipers trained on Smith's agents as they walked Kroc into a large storage truck, helping him into the back before they shut the door up and hurried to Smith's main building of operations where Kroc would undergo intensive surgery to hopefully reconstruct his prosthetic jaw insertion points.

The guards relaxed a bit, letting a firm huff before Berg lightly chirped in annoyance.

"I dislike that we are in the heart of hooman territory, more so in the heart of the USA. This country is full of war mongery hoomans, racists and hypocrites. Completely barbaric and intensively ignorant. Since Mexico is too far from this house, why don't we teleport the royals to a safe house up in Canada? They would be safer there and we would not have to have snipers on every filthy hooman that walks past this house." Berg chirped, feeling rather tense now that she had awoken from being incapacitated by that hooman host's dancing fingers, a fact that bothered her incessantly. She nor any others had never encountered a hooman that was able to pet them into complicancy so quickly.

Longwei crossed his arms and frowned. "I would like to but Canada might be compromised as was the lodge. They might be expecting us to head back to any of our safe houses. We don't know how many might be under surveillance and here, however dreadful it is, is the last place anyone would expect us to bring a royal." He then huffed a cloud of vapor in the air. "Besides … Amako Sabre is still a charge under the hooman contracts with all that such entails, at least for the time being."

Berg let out a heavy sigh and took a seat on the couch, frowning in annoyance and remaining ready for anything. " … I did not expect that hooman host to be able to humiliate me in such a way." Berg noted in annoyance, her pride obviously having been wounded by just how easily she fell.

"I did not expect that a hooman would be able to render down so many operatives so fast either." Longwei eyed Berg. The fire bird was even redder than normal and she looked ready to set ablaze the place to restore her pride - or at least the host herself.

"She did not use pressure points at all. Merely strategic petting on sensitive parts of the body." The minx added to the conversation, shifting and puffing her fur. "Perhaps we need to take this into account from now on. It would be tragic is one of us was captured and pet into such a relaxed disposition that they spill secrets to the enemy." The minx said with a deeper frown than before.

Longwei made a growl of acknowledgement and walked over to Jaska to sit besides the tiger. "How are you fairing, Jaska?"

"I fine." Jaska said, holding as still as was physically possible. Sabre told him never to touch the cubs but once they started crying and waking up, Big Mama just sat him down and quickly put them onto his lap. Since his scent was so close to Aleksey's scent they quieted down quickly and went back to sleep but he just couldn't stop being so tense. Sabre would assuredly smell his scent on them if she smelled them closely enough and there was nothing that would stop her from tearing him limb from limb save Longwei's excellent negotiation skills… maybe...hopefully.

Longwi poked Jaska's head in a very uncharacteristic move. "Are you feeling stable?" He asked with a cool set eyes over Jaska.

" … da. Stable enough not to go feral." Jaska admitted with a frown. "You may not like, but Smith had good program. Helped me think in unique way so I not go crazy with so many clashing instincts. Hate her if you want, but she safe life of Aleksey and I." Jaska said, avoiding eye contact with the dragon and knew that he would be displeased by that answer.

"Hmph. We shall see how well her program has helped her once we return to Russia after your contract is over." Longwei stated with a frown. "Is there nothing that I could say to convince you to come back to Russia earlier?" He asked looking very concerned into Jaska's eyes. "I worry for your mental well being while hoomans surround you at every corner." He admitted with a frown before the portal suddenly opened up.

Jaska was about to answer but a portal opened at the other end of the room. He tensed up, leaning over the kittens slightly protectively.

Everyone tensed up, pointing their weapons at the portal before a ghostly white hand poked through, making a secret gesture with his hand before he stepped on through. He was a tall and pale, with purplish black hair and pointy ears. Besides his professional if not outright aristocratic look, he looked quite humanoid but he had deep crimson eyes and fangs along with long claw-like nails.

"What took you so long, Smith?" Berg huffed with her wings stretching out a bit before gathering back up onto her back.

"My apologies, I was in Singapore dealing with some small matters that I had to finish up before coming here." Mr. smith apologized with a smile on his face before he perked up, noticing Jaska sitting against the wall with some cubs on his lap. "Jaska?" He asked, startled before a warm smile spread across his face. "I am glad you are alive, Jaska." He said before his mental influence gently washed over Jaska's mind like warm pooling waters, smothering Jaska's mind in a mesmerizing gentle warmth of affection and happiness. His face froze for a moment, however, before he slowly began to frown as he observed the mental state of the young tiger. "Well well, it appears you've been under a great deal of mental duress and stress." Mr. Smith said, walking over and gently cupping Jaska's cheeks as he spread his influence deeper into Jaska's mind, finding a great deal of scattered information within his broken mind. What was most troublesome, however, was the fact that there were many clashing unconscious streams of thoughts going through his mind - so much in fact that Mr. Smith's mind began lightly thrumming with a headache. "You have an awful lot of clashing thoughts, Jaska." Mr. Smith mentioned, sounding a tad worried for him.

Longwei took Mr. Smith's hand and thought as clearly as possible for the coordinator to read his mind. _Jaska was captured by company, experimented on and had DNA mixed with a wolf - they brainwashed him into fearing Nikita before Ms. Smith found and rehabilitated him. Aleksey is in the safe room room in back, deeply injured but stable enough._ Longwei briefly explained in his mind before flashing a smile. "These cubs here are Aleksey's cubs. He is mated to a royal." Longwei smiled rather proudly as Mr. Smith's eyes widened in enjoyment.

"Really? That is wonderful news!" Mr. Smith smiled as Jaska slowly began to purr, feeling his mind becoming mushy and fuzzy as Smith placed his hand back on Jaska's head to pet the tiger. Mr. Smith smiled, gently petting Jaska's cheeks. "And what was this about Ms. Smith?" Mr. Smith asked, unable to hide his smile from Longwei.

"What do you see in Jaska's mind?" Longwei asked, expecting Mr. Smith to find something more incriminating on Ms. Smith's part in regards to Jaska's mental wellbeing. Longwei knew that however much Mr. Smith appeared to care for Ms. Smith, Mr. Smith would never lie. He was a loyal Extraspecies and he cared for Jaska and other victims of hooman actions. Anything Mr. Smith, as the vampire called himself for the time being, found would be told directly to him.

Mr. Smith simply smiled and touched his forehead to Jaska's head, more deeply delving into the memories of Ms. Smith and her time with Jaska. He saw everything from Jaska's point of view; from the time that Ms. Smith found Jaska to reviewing everything she had done for the broken kitty to help his shattered and broken mind come back together, along with helping Jaska to cope with with the experiments pushed onto him by the company. Mr. Smith stopped when the memories reached his starting time as a charge. The vampire let out a sighing smile, gently petting Jaska's head as he addressed Longwei. "Ms. Smith chose to honor Jaska's request to keep him hidden while rehabilitating his fragile mind. I can see it." He then grabbed Longwei's hand to say the next part directly to the dragon's mind. _If Nikita had come for Jaska towards the beginning of his rehabilitation, he would have gone permanently feral, I am sure of it._ Mr. Smith smiled while gently petting Jaska's ears as he slowly tottered on the edge of sleep - a side effect of when Mr. Smith was inside someone's mind. _Jaska will be fine … eventually. I'll see the rest of his memories as a charge under the contracts later. For now he needs rest and we better take things slowly to avoid complications._

"That hooman coordinator still broke rules and regulations." Longwei frowned, slamming the tip of his tail on the floor and cracking the wooden planks. He glanced over the broken floor, huffing at the mishap.

"Better to bend the rules every now and then than to lose lives." Mr. Smith smiled, retreating completely from Jaska's mind and letting the tiger shake off his sudden spell of sleepiness.

"You aren't here for Jaska, Smith." Berg chirped. "You are here to observe a hooman and detect if she is a risk to her charges." She narrowed her eyes. "There's a royal among the charges which you might need to help. She was being quite possesive of the hooman."

Mr. Smith maliciously smiled. "Then please take me to the interrogation room"

Berg returned the smile and signaled the mix medic to go with Smith and supervise the interrogation

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Phew … you have no idea how many times we had to revise this monster XD _**10 REVIEWS**_ for this chapter for the next one :D

 **Chaos-dark-lord:** Because Jackie is oh such a dangerous hooman XD Is there anything about the Extraspecies world you'd like to know more about or more deeply? We've tackled much, but for a lot of stuff maybe we've been too subtle or superficial, so feel free to ask.

 **News on the game:** We expect that there will be options and routes that can lead to either Jackie or Sabre to end with any of the guys or to not at all depending on what happens or not in the story and choices the player makes. And for the moment we arent contemplating minigames, although if you have some mechanic you like that you'd played in some other game do tells us the cards game in JNKNA, the cross-examinations in Phoenix-Wright games, etc)

For Longwei..well, he is an ice dragon and he tends to suddenly make clouds of icy mist or fog and other small phenomena that more or less serve as punctuation for his mood. I'm not sure how Dumisa would react if his family came for a visit, any member. Aleksey loves his family a lot... on the extreme side maybe... I think that addresses most of the questions. Oh, on a personal note, I like world building.


	41. Chapter 41

Once the door of the safe room was closed behind her and the lock was set, Sabre turned around, crossing her arms and twisted her lips, her tail waving from side to side as she thought hard on things.

"Are you alright, Sabre?" Aleksey asked with a soft purr, reaching over to her and beckoning her closer with a small calling meow.

"I don't really know." Sabre gave him a one armed hug and nuzzled him, resting in his arms for a moment before she pulled back to look him in the eye. "But I can't stay idle, at least I know that." She exhaled, pinching the brick of her nose before walking towards a wall, placing her hands at the edges of a metal panel like any of the other dozens in the room but then she quite easily removed it to reveal a box of wires hidden in the wall.

"You added a secret connection here?" Aleksey chuckled and smirked. "My mate so smart, you may be better spy than I. Secret connection in isolated room, I would not have guessed."

"A safe room is well protected and completely isolated, so adding a way to communicate in here would only be useful. You would have totally guessed it in another couple days or so. You taught me about equipping your own dungeon stuff, after all." Sabre said with a light frown, connecting her phone to the cables then searching her contacts for a certain number. "I have to make a phone call."

"Phone call, hm?" Aleksey steps in close to give her a hug but then stopped, giving her space considering the injury on her shoulder, nuzzling the back of her head before taking a couple steps back. "To who?"

"I hope to some followers - or not, not yet at least. They are acquaintances but they can win a lot if they side with this and the faster we set things in motion the harder it will be for anyone else to interfere or try to stop it." Sabre said with a firm nod, finding the number she wanted to call. "I did not intended for this to escalate like this."

"It already out of control." Aleksey heavily sighed before sitting back down on the ground and lightly began grooming himself, trying to comb over his fur to cover up the patchy spots. "Under current circumstances bigger and more powerful we get the better. We need to be able to take on attacks, and followers or allies would be great help." He growled, groaning when one particular wound didn't let him bend more to groom himself further.

"I know that old strategy." She sighed and dedicated him a nervous smile. "So big that it can't fail." With somewhat renewed confidence but still quite a lot of anxiousness she pressed the call button. "Prime? Hello, it's me, hellcat." Sabre spoke with just the slightest of hesitation.

" _Hellcat? Are you safe?"_ Prime the gorilla asked, concerned. " _Didn't get to see you after everything that happened."_ He sighed, sounding a little relieved. " _Heh, I bet your fluffy a** was able to slip on out while the rest of us got swept up in everything. Great acting by the way, you 'poor and scared' kitty."_ Prime loudly laughed on the other end, sounding fine.

"Yes, well no, ok, more or less. I'm fine if you don't count … oh well, in any case, there's a lot going on and … is everyone there right now? Where are you? In New York?" Sabre half answered and half asked while connecting some more cables and placing her phone against the wall, laying down to aim the camera at herself but noticed that the video was broken on prime's end, his phone's camera probably had been damaged at the warehouse. "I heard from an anonymous tip that you were allowed to keep your stuff because Griffin was there as an operative from the government's contracts."

" _Huh? Hm well … not sure where we are to be honest. We're being held somewhere in a council's building. We may be 'innocent' because we went to help a poor kidnapped kitty but we are still illegal, and that includes Griffin."_ Prime sighed in annoyance. " _And everyone but Indra are here right now. No idea where that feathered idiot is."_ He huffed with a dry laugh." _But I bet he has not even noticed no one else is at the arena_."

"That peacock does not counts." Sabre said with a firm tone. "Ok, if you all are in a council building it makes things easier. Call everyone, this is important."

" _Yeah, sure. Griffin is speaking on his phone though."_ Prime said before she heard him set down the phone and let out a loud roar. After a couple minutes he picked the phone back up. " _Alright, you're on speaker now. What's up, hellcat?"_

" _Yeah, the f***? You abandon us in the warehouse and now you're calling us? The f*** is that about?"_ Logan the wolverine growled in annoyance.

"Shut up idiot! Stuff happened to me too, you know!" Sabre growled back and then she sighed and then turned serious. "But that's not the point. Now someone shut Logan up before I decide to not tell you the plan to get you out, make you legal, get you respectable jobs that will allow the arena to get on and be legal along with getting recognition and all that crap."

" _The hell are you talking about?"_ Logan growled while murmurs could be heard behind him.

"Yes, I found a loophole that bypasses the contracts and the council. It will sound strange and deranged but you have to believe me. Just trust me guys, I will get you out of there. My plans have never failed and you know it." At this moment she was kinda glad they could not see how serious she looked now.

" _What? Who on phone?"_ Someone asked, making Sabre perk up at Griffin's voice. He had ´probably finished his own call and had just come up with the others.

" _Hellcat, she's on the phone. She says she got a deal for us."_ Prime explained to Griffin.

" _Oh, right, that remind me about important news."_ Griffin laughed" _. I forgot to tell gossip. But as it turns out, Hellcat is a royal."_ He boasted quite loudly. " _I just got call._ _She was shot not that long ago, maybe a few hours go? Who knows. All I know is that Smith was looking for her at the lodge all worried about her and her kittens along with all the other hosts and charges that were there. Somehow they all lived."_ Griffin noted, sounding puzzled. " _You imagine, hellcat has cubs, and she is a royal. Funny huh?"_

Dead silence filled the other side of the line as Sabre facepalmed hard and frowned in annoyance. She was going to warm them up to that shocking reveal but it looks like Griffin ruined that. The silence continued however for some more seconds. "Guys?"

" _The f***! A f***ing royal?"_ Logan screamed. " _Like, a real one?! That piece of fluff!?"_

" _Weren't royal cats extinct?"_ Prime questioned, surprised.

" _Smith is the scary hooman coordinator, right?"_ Another voice spoke in the background, loud enough to travel over the shocked babbling of everyone gathered around the phone.

" _How? When? Is she alright?"_ Prime asked.

" _Da, she is. Smith says so. Council member found out not long ago. This secret."_ Griffin added. " _Even courts already recognized, even mermaids, so it secret that it's not really a secret anymore."_

The guys from the arena kept on talking between themselves almost as if they had forgotten that they were on speaker and that their hellcat was there listening.

"Calm down everyone!" Sabre called from the other side of the line and then lowered hr tone to a normal one. "Mmhh … yeah, that's the loophole, royals are kinda above the council in some things from what I know." The leopardess waited for a response but there was dead silence on the other line. She frowned, pulling the phone away to look at the caller ID and make sure the phone's signal was still there before pulling it back. "Mmhhhh … guys?"

" _How the hell have you been a royal and were able to hide it?!"_ Logan shouted angrily in the background. " _Why the f*** would a da** royal go to that illegal arena?!"_ He growled before continuing with angry ramblings that slowly devolved into angrier grunts and rabid growling.

"Yeah … I kinda … I went there for the same reason that all of you? Money?" Sabre said, not really sure how to answer to this. They weren't exactly behaving like she'd expected them to.

Silence.

" _WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"_ Someone shrieked in fright before a loud roar of frightened calls erupted through the room, only be to silenced by Prime letting out a deafening roar and silencing them all … except for Griffin who was laughing loudly in the background.

" _Hellcat … what were you planning on doing to us being a royal yourself?"_ Prime asked. " _You could easily execute all of us for getting in the ring with you. You planning to blackmail us?"_ He asked with a slight edge to his voice as everyone fell silent, clearly scared. " _And how did you hide your veil? Not even Indra can do that."_

"Why the heck would I do that, Prime?" Sabre asked with clear shock and confusion at the blackmail accusation. Why were they so suddenly that distrustful?

" _Awe s***, I actually managed to hit her once in sparing!"_ Someone in the background shouted in horror _. "I'm going to die first!"_

" _A f***ing royal … I … I can't believe that s***!"_ Logan kept on muttering. " _And she f***ing hid it! How the f*** did she manage that?!"_

"Look, I entered the arena for money. Heck, I had no idea I was a royal until a little while ago." Sabre facepalmed again. This wasn't going exactly as planned. "And I told you. I'm calling to get you out of there."

" _How do you not know if you're a royal or not?"_ Prime asked, astonished.

"Because … ," she hesitated again, but if she wanted them to get on with this she needed to share some of the truth because there was no lie that could wrap this up. "I wasn't raised by Extraspecies, ok? Also bastet royals were supposedly extinct, so who would have even guess? It was only because I got some blood tests done when I was feral and tranqued that it was confirmed. I was hiding too, so I wouldn't exactly go out to look for something I didn't have any idea about. You know how d*** paranoid I am about keeping a low profile."

" _But that can't be right, we would have sensed it!"_ Logan irritably hissed.

" _Sense what?"_ Sabre ask in confusion.

" _Well, how pure is it? Your blood, you piece of royal fluff."_ Logan demanded. " _I want to know if we'll be able to mock Indra forever about his blood being too diluted."_

"Wait, what? What does that matter?" Sabre grumbled in annoyance, wanting to get back to the topic at hand.

" _Because if we didn't sense your veil, either your blood is so diluted Indra will end up mocking you or it's too d*** pure for lowlifes like us to even feel it unless you wanted us to."_ Prime explained, clearly weary.

"My blood? Mmmhh… well… It's purer than Indra's." Sabre answered, nervously flicking her tail back and forth, not really understanding what they were referring to, but it was obvious that this information held a heavy significance for them and they were already very tense, so learning just how pure she was might give them a heart attack.

" _How pure? Give a percentage. If you got tests done then there's a number."_ Logan said, getting nervous and controlling most of his ramblings. " _How f***ing pure are we talking here?"_

"Mmhhh… does really matters that much?" Sabre evasively asked. After hearing their initial reaction she didn't think it was a good idea to tell them how pure her blood actually was. She could hardly believe her experimented body had such characteristic after all. She was planning to just be vague until Giffin began wildly laughing, making Sabre frown on the other line, knowing that he was going to say it. Smith had probably told him.

Griffin waited till his laugh made everyone shut up. " _You will have little heart attacks - she almost 100%."_ He guffawed.

" _We are definitely going to die!_ " Someone screamed before with loud whaling in cries at the background before Griffin growled, silencing the screaming with a loud audible smack.

" _This is so f***ed up!"_ Logan angrily snarled, sounding like he was hyperventilating a little bit.

" _Well, on the bright side, being executed by a royal is a hell of a way to go."_ A random voice said with a stiff laugh.

"Hey, calm down. I think it's just barely above 90." Sabre said, trying to calm the situation while they just kept on screeching, groaning, whaling and rambling. "Only a few initial tests were made, so ... so … that's not the important thing here, guys!... guys?…. GUYA!" She cut them off sharply, or tried to, she just spoke while they kept on panicking for some reason. She took a deep breath and then practically screamed. "The important thing is that I have a plan to get you out of there! Listen, I plan on establishing a territory in an economic zone out there in N.Y., and to make pressure and before the council can say no, I need to get it running asap. The information about me already leaked out and that's why I was targeted where previously was!" She explained quickly.

Silence.

" _And how does this involve us?"_ Prime asked, curious and cautious.

"That's the plan to get you out. You are in a council's building and there should be an official there." Sabre took a breath, this was going to be the harder to believe or to agree part. "You kinda need to go and declare you are joining me or the territory or whatever you do to declare alliance. I'll tell some council representative here that yep, you are going to be hired as some police equivalent for the territory." Sabre let out a stiff sigh. Now came the convincing. "If you accept, then the arena can get going if you want on your free time and else, and because it's a royal enclave, the royal makes the rules, and since the rules don't clash against anything the council says then there is no problem. Plus you get to be legals … more or less. "

Once again, there was a silent note on the other line as Sabre patiently waited for them to come to terms with what she was offering while grabbing her tail and fighting the urge to bite on the tip to much on her own fluff.

" _D*** … really?"_ Prime asked, shocked.

Sabre didn't know if she should slap her face in annoyance or in anxiousness. "Yes."

" _How the hell are we supposed to even believe this s***?"_ Logan hissed, clearly agitated.

"I know it sounds kinda … uhh … unrealistic." This was indeed the hard part. How could she prove them this was serious or that it was going to work? Heck, how could she even prove them this was real? "But hey, I do owe you for the help with Kroc, no? And yes, I know how this sounds, but if you don't believe me have Griffin call the hooman coordinator. Or better yet, you have nothing to lose. You can go to the council's official in the building to declare allegiance or whatever just to be preemptive. If I'm lying then there's nothing for you to lose, but if I'm honest, and I really am, then you'll be out soon … and you can also call everyone you know to tell every single other illegal Extraspecies you know in this d*** country about the new territory and that they can come. I'll recognize everyone."

Prime let out a hum of thought, seriously contemplating her words. "We will have to discuss this as a group before coming to a final decision." Prime assured.

"I know. I'll be waiting." Sabre hung up and took a moment to take a deep long breath before she disconnected her phone from the wires before hiding them again. She then grabbed her tail to munch on the fluff at the tip, trying to calm herself down as she felt the weight of everything that was going to happen from then on weighing on her shoulders. She had so much to do and everything was moving at such a fast pace that she was afraid she would lose something in the process.

"So, follower thing getting bigger. That good, da?" Aleksey approached and hugged her, careful about her shoulder. He gently licked her ear before munching on her hair. "You fine, so calm. We be fine."

Sabre turned around, looking at Aleksey with misty eyes. Aleksey smiled, kissing her forehead as she rested on him. "What wrong, mishka? Tell me." Aleksey purred as he held her in his arms and gave her a light squeeze, holding back a groan from the pressure on his injuries.

"I'm very worried, Aleksey." She whined, nuzzling against him as she slightly trembled, trying to control herself. "Everything is collapsing so fast and I have to move quickly if I want my plan to work. I'm so worried about everything, the cubs, Antain, you and just- everything!" Sabre cried, hugging Aleksey tightly and burying her face into his chest. "All it would take is one thing to go wrong and everything will go wrong!" She hissed, frightened.

"Why you worry? All set and in progress. Followers come soon, territory will be occupied and land will be bought, Wyld already producing that big order and you safe here with family. We fine, far better than when naked in cold mountain, da?" The tiger smiled, tightening his hug a bit before sucking the top of her fuzzy ear. "Next step is merely to keep going. Uncle Nikita will take care of council, so we take care of ourselves."

"Da." Sabre squeaked out, taking a deep breath and calming a bit. She needed to keep going and do the best she could in order to make a territory for herself and her cubs to grow up in. This was harder than when she was moving around with only Antian. Now she understood it. A territory was vital for her family's survival, but it wouldn't be easy. It couldn't be easy given her circumstances. She took a few more breaths and then caressed Aleksey's arm, assuring herself he was really here. "As long as you are with me, I'll be fine… I really missed you, it was devastating when you disappeared. " Sabre said with a soft smile, kissing Aleksey on the cheek before nuzzling against his chest, feeling happily safe against his all encompassing body. Feeling better just by knowing he was here.

"Sabre … you sure room safe? I checked, it look safe but I want speak about … you know what." Aleksey asked in a whisper in her ear, suddenly very serious while looking at the door to ensure it was locked from the inside and that no one could interrupt them.

"Yes, this place is secure." Sabre said, puzzled. "Talk about what?" Sabre asked, nuzzling against him.

He pulled away, holding her by the shoulder and taking a deep breath. "We no time to speak about this before but … ," he looked at her bright loving eyes and smiled. "I sorry I drag you into experiments, I thought small changes useful, never that full change would happen, so it my fault. Company had me fooled." Aleksey frowned and then licked his lips before continuing. "I no complain about full change you had. I didn't know you pretty until you change." He chuckled and then became completely serious again, dropping his ears flat to the side. "I really sorry."

"It's alright, Aleksey." Sabre sweetly smiled with a soft thrumming purr, placing her hand in front of her to examine to examine the soft fluff, her retracted claws or the padding. "I am fine with these changes; I was scared at first but... I am so happy that we can be together, no matter what." She sweetly smiled, moving her hand to his chin to direct him so she could kiss his cheek. "I … adapted I think." She chuckled and gave him a playful lick. "I can't even remember well how I used to look before the experiments, it's all blurry." She sighed, flicking her tail unconsciously. "I don't know if that is natural or if it was provoked, but it is, and I don't really mind it anymore. Even if i have no idea how I look by Extra species standards."

"You are beautiful, mishka." Aleksey gently purred contently while eyeing her up and down. "Your fur beautiful and glossy with a well defined pattern, and you very nimble and agile. Muscles hard under fluff and figure perfect for stealthy bastet. It not so bad. In fact it very good looking." He smiled, kissing her cheek and scratching her chin. "Beside, it better this way. Otherwise Nikita rip my throat out for loving you." He chuckled and laughed a bit. "One of reasons I did not contact uncle was because first I needed to gain company's trusts and then... because I no know how to tell uncle about me loving a non-Bastet or even non-Extra species, da?."

Sabre cuddled up to him, cowering herself and puffing up her fur, almost trembling more than purring. Both of them curling on the floor around each other. "When you disappeared at the company … I got so scared." She buried her face on his patchy fur. "I think I kept calling for you, I was almost delirious. Pacing around and sniffing for your scent, but you weren't there."

"Sabre … I was bad operative." Aleksey sighed and accomodated so he was covering her as much as he could to make her feel safe. "I fooled by company. I want to make sure you away from danger, but intentions made you like this." Aleksey's ears flattened as he looked at her form with a guilty frown, nuzzling against her a bit. "It my fault this happen, it my fault they experiment on body so much. It was epic fail on my part." He apologized. "It my fault you got scared and all else, but I won't let happen bad stuff again, da? I promised then that I stay with you. And I mean to follow. I sorry I disappeared. But I here now, and I'll be better operative."

"Aleksey." Sabre looked at him with big bright eyes full of confidence before she suddenly gave a fast but not too hard reprimanding bite to his ripped ear. He almost yelped in surprise, but before he could ask what was that had been for, she spoke first. "You are quite the manipulative, adorable b******, but you are not a bad operative. That bite was for almost breaking your promise." She then smiled and bumped noses with him. "In fact, you are quite the excellent spy and combatant, and of course the best of mates." She gave a small melodious laugh. "I may be very good with technology, but if you had not helped me with combat I doubt I would have even survived after you disappeared to destroy that place. And you should have seen the destruction and carnage, I wouldn't think I could cause such a massacre and complete destruction by myself if I hadn't done it."

"You too smart to fall for most, and you very conniving and smart too. You can cause as much destruction as it is possible when you decide it. I think that why I like you." He smiled, nuzzling her before smiling on a softer tone. "And about name… Sabre? You fine with me using that codename for rest of life? Company gave codename to you, and company leave bad taste in mouth," he huffed, grooming her cheek a bit. "If you want I call by real name, but it hard to pronounce because it so long." Aleksey teased, leaning into Sabre's ear and making her shiver. He began to say a name, a hooman name, but before he could get to the second syllable Sabre pulled him into a hooman style kiss, making Aleksey's eye widen before he responded the kiss, purring and cuddling against her happily.

Once they needed air, Sabre pulled back and grinned to him. "I'm fine with this name. Sabre Neofelis or Sabre Nebulosa… Sabre Neofelis Nebulosa … it's a Bastet name, right?" She closed her eyes in acceptance. "Although the company suggested it for our first mission together, it's the name you kept using as a pet name to tease me all the time, and it's the name that I woke up to after the experiments." She opened her eyes and purred, leaning against him. "That's also the name you called me once I was in the first feral state for the first time." She then grinned widely with amusement and want, eyeing him from the corner of her eyes while facing away. "It was also the name you used for calling me during that time in the snowy mountain." She chuckled. "You screamed that name quite loud during my first heat I may add."

"Da, because I much love you, Sabre." Aleksey softly smiled, leaning in and kissing her more deeply as he held her as tightly as he could against himself, caressing her body and moving his hands all over her until he reached her chest, leaning back and openly admiring her more ample chest, loving how better she looked without those big balloons attached to her front, although she used to be pretty happy about those for some hooman reason he didn't comprehend. "By way, how you adapting to mother swollen nips?" Aleksey lightly teased. "Much smaller now. Perhaps number make up for size?" He snickered.

Sabre pushed him away with mild horror and sat up fast, placing her arms as if to cover her chest, but since she didn't know if she should cover her breasts above or the nips bellow below, she kept on swinging her arms for a few seconds trying to figure out how to cover all up. "My boobs … th-they aren't that small now! Sure, they aren't as big as before the experiment but I'm not flat! And below its only extra itchy nips that are like small bulbs!" She pointed out. "Those are hardly there at all!"

Aleksey loudly laughed, grinning in enjoyment. "It okay, mishka. You still very sexy in Bastet eyes." He smirked, nuzzling against her happily while making a mental note on how to tease her. "Although … host has breast size closer to what you were, da?" Aleksey teased while grabbing Sabre's sides and gently bringing her in for a hug, sliding his hands over her chest and playfully squishing them. "Maybe if I hug host while thinking of you, I imagine back when you were hooman, da?"

"W-wut?!" Sabre mewled, jumping away from his embrace and looking at him with almost teary eyes, she then looked away and her shoulders dropped as much as her ears, making her look like a very sad kitty as she pressed her hands over her chest and looked down. "I … you prefer … ," she closed her eyes tightly and lightly sniffled, suddenly feeling very self conscious.

"Hm, it okay. I like tail more than chest." He teased with a grin, getting up too and gently tugging on her tail before sofly munching on it and grinning, looking over her adorably pouty face. "Not so funny now that you learned to not get tail hit with closing doors, but cute and fluffy all the same." Aleksey purred while munching on her long, fluffy and beautiful tail, knowing he was going to have to learn his boundaries again when teasing her - looks like he went a little too far this time but, that was alright. He got what he wanted, Sabre making that face he loved so much and a chance to comfort her and cuddle.

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Jackie's fingers gently combed through Eztli's soft fur as he laid on her lap, staring at the wall with his body conforming to the shape of Jackie's crossed legs. His incessant purring revved continuously without a pause as Jackie pet his belly and chest, watching as he lovingly stared off into space with enlarged pupils. He was really starting to calm down now; she hoped that he would come down from his high soon so she could make sure he was alright.

"This is quite nice for the moment." Reza commented, tugging on Eztli's toes and poking the jaguar's padding. He gently squished the jaguar's toes, watching as the claws shot out and retracted as he played with them.

"Yeah. Everything's been pretty crazy but I'm just glad everyone is alright." Jackie heavily sighed as she leaned back a bit, honestly very worried about how everything was going to affect them. "Reza, are you sure you're alright?" Jackie asked. Being a fish it must have been hard trying to find safety in the snow lodge considering the only water source was the hot springs. "Do you want me to pet you for a bit? You're not stressed out, are you? I could maybe pet you while you eat if you want." Jackie anxiously offered the lionfish. He didn't complain much about anything so she was never sure how he was exactly feeling.

Reza flickered his ears and then jumped over Eztli, hugging the fluffy relaxed cat. Jackie huffed, her legs trembling from the extra weight. "I'd like you to pet me while I grab the fluffy kitty, he isn't the most fluffy of the cats but he is fluffy enough and the softness of the fur makes up for a lack of fluff. I've never been pet outside of water while hugging a plush furry thing, so it would be interesting."

"H-Here, lay on your side, you're crushing Eztli, and by extension, me." Jackie said, struggling to push them off but failed to do so.

Reza smiled and flopped onto his side while hugging the black feline in relaxed liquid form. Jackie let out a relieved sigh, stretching her legs out a bit before she sat by Eztli's side, reaching over and gently petting Reza's jaw.

"So this is how you control your charges?" Mr. Smith entered the room without making any sound, looking at Jackie with his sharp crimson eyes. "No matter, I will figure it out right now. Jacqueline Penske, host of Amako Sabre Neofelis, Nebulosa, **Baako** Reza of Sereci under the Nebulosa court, Jaska Jeloudov, Eztli Balam, Kroc from Australia, Dumisa of the clan Ebele: I, as coordinator for the council of Extraspecies, will interrogate you now to ensure you have not violated any of the regulations that ensure the safety of your charges." He explained with a kind smile.

"Oh." Jackie said, still trying to wrap her mind around all those names and titles. "Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?" Jackie said, looking up at him as she pet Reza.

"Everything." Longwei came in, narrowing his eyes at the relaxed charges while crossing his arms and emitting a cloud of chilly fog from his nostrils. "I will supervise the interrogation."

"Then I shall start immediately." Mr Smith approached, with steps so light he could have been levitating towards her instead.

"Well, ask away." Jackie said with an annoyed frown at seeing Longwei there as she continued to pet Reza's side with a little more vigor than intended.

"I will." He stepped beside Jackie and gazed into her eyes before he placed his cold hand over her head. "Now, think on all your experiences as a host."

"Uh, okay?" Jackie said, puzzled. "Where should I start?" She asked, looking Smith back in the eyes with a steady gaze.

"Start on how and why you signed your contract to become a host and go from there on." Smith said, or more likely ordered.

"Sure." Jackie said as she began thinking about when she got a letter in the mail about becoming a host. She thought it was a joke with how much money they were offering so she went ahead and filled it out while being in her empty, cold house. She felt almost emotionless at the time and nearly threw it out but went ahead and submitted it and before she knew it, Ms. Smith had called her in to interview her in person. Jackie went ahead and recounted how confused and uneasy but oddly excited to have someone else living in the house with her, along with having already used her portion of the money to pay off countless bills and such along with a few new tools. As Jackie thought about these things she felt oddly sleepy, feeling herself wavering slightly sleepily before Mr. Smith gently gripped her head, keeping her upright.

Mr. Smith began poking in Jackie's mind, examining her thoughts regarding all events and her charges, asking questions to prompt her to think on concrete on certain aspects in question about particular events. Her emotions were often so strong that he was getting a headache from the wave of emotions that came with her simple but random mind. After he had probed and seen every single details he could, he removed his hand from the host and massaged his temples before looking at the expecting dragon who had not moved at all during this time.

"I need an aspirin, Longwei." He groaned. "Overly emotional hoomans are the worst. So irrational and illogical, ughh." Mr. Smith heavily sighed.

"What is your verdict?" Longwei exhaled a cloud of mist this time, quite eager to get done with this hooman … permanently.

"You won't like it." Mr. Smith sighed and at the first sign of a frown from Longwei he continued. "She is clean."

"What?!" Longwei uncrossed his arms and huffed a small flame of ice.

"It seems so. Most of what has happened has not been her direct fault and every single incident I can't say she can be legally blamed for." Mr. Smith frowned.

"Wow, what a surprise, Longwei being disappointed I'm actually a good human." Jackie sarcastically said before turning back to Reza and went back to the petting, only to find he wasn't there and instead, there was a plate of sushi in his place, confusing Jackie as she looked around for him.

"Since you are here Smith, you should interview the jaguar too." Longwei said as calmly as he could while still fuming a bit.

"Oh, yes of course." Mr. Smith smiled before he reached over to Eztli and gently held his wrist. After barely a few seconds of touching the purring jaguar, Mr. Smith's eyes rolled into the back of his head before he dropped on top of Eztli, out cold.

Jackie stiffened up and held completely still, worried that if she moved Longwei would accuse her of something else ridiculous.

"Smith!" Longwei was immediately by his side picking up Smith and checking the vampire fast and picking him up while sneering at the hooman. "What did you do, hooman?"

"Nothing, I was just sitting here!" Jackie snapped at Longwei, worried about what had happened to Mr. Smith and why he had fainted.

"Uggghhh … ," Smith stirred, placing a hand over his eyes and rubbing them while dizzily trying to get up but slumped back into Longwei's arms. "Longwei … you should have warned me the jaguar is high. I thought you didn't like pranks."

"So the jaguar is still high?" Longwei twisted his lips and stepped back.

"Wait, what happened? Mr. Smith, are you alright?" Jacki asked, concerned for him. "Want me to pet you better?" She offered as an automatic offer before pausing. But Mr. Smith was … something, but definitely not human. She wasn't sure how to pet him since he was so human-like.

Both Longwei and Mr. Smith looked at each other and then the dragon put down the vampire.

Mr. Smith Placed his hand over Longwei's arm to communicate telepathically. " _Perhaps it will be interesting that she tries to pet me. I want to see what techniques she has or if she is doing something else_." He then sat besides Jackie while Longwei nodded.

"A-Ah, sorry, automatic response." Jackie sheepishly apologized, waving off the thought.

"Very well, let's try your petting." Mr. Smith kindly smiled.

" … really?" Jackie asked, surprised that he agreed at all.

"Of course, I'm the program coordinator for the council, so I must ensure your qualifications are up to standards." Mr. Smith grinned.

"The council has a program?" Jackie asked, sounding a little surprised. "Is it different from Smith's program?" She questioned, referring to Ms. Smith.

"Of course we have our own programs, in fact we are the ones who started them." Mr. Smith looked at her with an inquisitive look. "We merely allow contracts directly with the hooman governments to ensure a mutual number of programs and interests. Didn't your hooman coordinator tell you? As a potential host you could have applied to be sponsored by the council instead of by the hooman government."

"No, I didn't know that. The videos she sent me might have said something but I was more concerned with learning how to take care of potential charges." Jackie explained, finding it eerie how most videos were about fish, cats and reptiles. Especially since the last few videos were of bears, she wondered if Ms. Smith were planning to give her more charges on top of the ones she already had. While she did have some more room for them even Jackie was unsure if she would be able to handle anymore.

"I see, so she didn't tell you more, eh?" Mr. Smith crossed his legs and relaxed his posture, patiently smiling. "Well. Do you any experience petting … more humanoid looking Extraspecies?

"Not really." Jackie answered, hesitating before she began petting him around the neck and jaws. It was weird to pet something so human-like but she soon got into the motion of it, feeling the way he leaned into her hand ever so slightly, encouraging her to continue rubbing his jaws as she concentrated on his subtle movements, responding in turn according to what he liked. It didn't take long before Mr. Smith leaned in and hugged her as she pet his back.

"Mmhh … it seems that she taught you how to pet, am I right?" Mr. Smith hummed in delight.

"Well, not really. I taught myself for the most part." Jackie smiled a bit, getting into the petting as she saw his side twitch before she reached down and rubbed his side. "I know that petting can be relaxing for Extraspecies and they like it - it's therapeutic for me too. It helps clear my mind while keeping my hands busy."

"And you are doing it quite well. With a bit more practice you might even surpass her." Mr. Smith looked at her straight in the eyes, keeping his hypnotic gaze on her while his eyes glowed a small bit. "So tell me more about your technique."

"Well, a lot of it is just experimenting on the first go. I usually pet the neck and jaws first since most Extraspecies seem to like that before trying different parts of their bodies to find a sweet spot for them, and usually when I pet it, they twitch so I know they can really feel it. And then I just massage and rub the sweet spot until they eventually either fall asleep or leave once they decide they're done getting pet." Jackie explained with ease and a smile on her face. "Sometimes I feed them snacks so they relax a little faster if they've had a stressful day and I'm always ready to pet an Extraspecies on a moment's notice, hence all the brushes I have hidden around the house." Jackie lightly laughed, a little sheepish about how well prepared she was for her charges.

Mr. Smith kept on asking her questions about her techniques, subtly interrogating her about anything even slightly suspicious in case she used something in those 'relaxing snacks' or anything inappropriate in her touches and finally everything he could have her talk about Ms. Smith herself. Once all information had been said, he had her stop when Longwei slammed his tail on the wooden floor and broke the planks before the dragon sneezed a cloud of vapor before storming away.

"Oh my, it seems we can't get the information we'd like out of you." Mr. Smith stood up. "It looks like Longwei is not satisfied with this session or its results."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Jackie asked, confused before freezing. "Agh! Where you interrogating me?" Jackie gasped, thinking over the conversation they just had.

"Nothing, just that I need to have a talk with Longwei." Mr. Smith began taking his leave. "You continue caring for your charges."

"Y-Yeah, of course." Jackie said, a little glum. Wow, she was _really_ bad at realizing when she's being interrogated. She needed to be more on top of that but she seemed to be doing alright so far, right?

.

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.

In the safe room Sabre purred against Aleksey's chest, taking this moment to cuddle with him after being apart for so long.

After speaking out all they needed to say to each other Aleksey grinned, leaning over her and hugging her tightly while he hovered over her with a loving smile as their tails intertwined. "I love you, mishka." He purred, leaning down before twitching with a hardly audible growl.

Sabre paused, sniffing fresh blood before looking at Aleksey's side and seeing bright blood bleeding into the bandages. "´Leksey! You opened your wounds." She pointed out with a frown before nuzzling him. "Go get patched up, Aleksey. I need to make some more phone calls." Sabre purred, kissing him on the lips. "I'll start checking how to organize the economic zone and all. So take it easy and let them check all of your wounds." She kissed him in the check and then gave a small and soft bite to his ear. "ALL of your wounds. Don't play tough."

"Niet." Aleksey stubbornly huffed, kissing her back and leaning over her, pinning her against the ground. "I want mate badly." He mewled before grunting in pain, resting his weight on his arm and almost falling over her in pain. " … d*** it." Aleksey pouted, lowering his ears and barring his teeth in annoyance at his own body's current weakness. He had reached his limit.

"This is a new interesting side of you, Aleksey." She teased, nuzzling against him happily as he sat back, holding his side. "You are adorably vulnerable and I'll take advantage of it later." She purred in his ear. "I'll tie you down and personally check every single scar you have … but if you don't go get healed, I'll merely tie you down so you take it easy."

Aleksey heavily sighed before kissing her cheek. "Once I better, we spend much nights together to make up for missed moments." Aleksey sexily purred, making Sabre happily blush.

"Si, now go." Sabre smiled, helping him up before she unlocked the door from inside and knocked. After a few moments the door opened up, revealing a large bison who stepped aside respectfully.

Aleksey sighed and walked into the living room while holding his side, going up to the medical staff headed by a snowy owl at the moment before Aleksey paused, spotting Jaska sitting near the side of the room with the little babies resting peacefully on his lap. Aleksey stared, surprised that Jaska was anywhere near the cubs after having been warned by Sabre to keep away from them. "Bratja? Why you holding cubs?" He looked worried at his brother and carefully began nearing, trying to show confidence in his steps despite his wounds.

"Big mama worry about little ones being surrounded by too many weird scents, she say my scent much close to you and little babies relax better with it." Jaska explained, referring to the large bear code named 'big mama'. "No worry, I not touching them - only letting sleep." Jaska said with his paws at his sides, nowhere near the little sleeping cubs.

"I admit I feel worry even if I no reason to worry. Guess being parent makes this things, da?" He smiled and went to sit down, removing his bandages so the snow owl could check him.

Jaska chuckled at Aleksey's response, finding his unease to be amusing. "I figure I be one with cubs before you." He teased. "I more mature and handsome, more so now." Jaska laughed.

"I smarter. That why I spy, and you, combat." Aleksey grinned back towards his brother. "I charming and funny, da? You merely more fluffy."

"You both look identical. The only way to distinguish between you two are by the tips of your tails." The snow owl complained. "And now the scars too." He noted, staring at the scars Aleksey had. "I think you have more than Nikita now." He said, tilting his head curiously.

"Ha. And not nearly as many battles. Most done in same battle." Jaska snickered, making sure to keep very still for the sleepy kittens buried in the fur on his legs, sleeping soundly, while resisting the urge to pass his white tipped tail over them but remember they were 'not' his cubs. With a digh Jaska looked up at his little brother. "You want to hold cubs? I understand if you no want me to hold."

Aleksey looked at his brother and at the little sleeping cubs. However much he loved his older brother he could not deny that Jaska's presence near the cubs was unsettling to him not only because of Jaska's unstable and damaged mind, but also due to his own instincts. "Da, I place them in basket."

Jaska nodded, holding still and letting Aleksey carefully pick up the sleeping cubs one by one and place them in the basket, hearing them slowly begin to wake up and call out weakly for their mother. Jaska softly smiled, looking over his new nieces and nephews. They were all adorable and he looked forward to being a good uncle to them at the very least.

Once the kittens were tucked out,Aleksey sat near his brother, placing himself between the other tiger and his kittens. "Bratja, you fine? I heard attack bad at snow lodge."

Jaska heavily sighed."Da, much bad. Much death and dying but I, Reza, Dumisa and Kroc protect little kittens and mate from bad men. Extraspecies with them too, so it one big international mess."

Aleksey imitated his brother's sigh and crossed his arms. "Good thing it happened in Canada and that snow lodge affiliated with council. That at least give us time." He carefully let his black tipped tail pass above the cubs to distract them a bit. It still wasn't their feeding time, so they probably would go back to sleep soon, however, he noticed something amiss. "Where other cub? Where Antian?" Aleksey suddenly perked and let out a calling roar, noticing his other cub wasn't around so he called for him to come again.

"Most likely with Reza. Little cub won't come when called unless mother calls." Jaska lightly chuckled, surprised at his brother's reaction. "What, you worry for little fox cub that not yours?" He teased.

Aleksey growled at Jaska before grinning in a cunning way. "But cub mine now, and mother too." Aleksey purred, flicking his ears. "Little fox need to learn when to come when father calls."

"Heh, I wish luck." Jaska grinned and relaxed in his seat. "He bad little cub. Once he make a pinata out of important papers. He too brave and confident. No knows fear. " He chuckled, "Antain troublemaker. Sabre taught cub to stalk and he learning to use knives from certain annoying fish and soon be able to use them. You may have to watch tail as to not become target practice." Jaska teased.

"If he no learns good, I teach him like uncle taught us." Aleksey then shuddered a bit. "Maybe not that bad. But do tell more about cub. Sabre loves little fox-kitten lots."

"Da, much love. She treat like he her own cub, much protective as well. She attacked many times to protect cub if she thought Antian in danger. And he mischievous. He once locked host out in middle of storm outside. That fun." Jaska chuckled, not daring to mention that Kroc went feral from that incident. "And fearless too. He hold apple while Reza use apple as target practice." Jaska sighed, remembering almost having a heart attack from seeing that knife cut the apple in two.

Aleksey looked at Jaska with wide eyes. "I no know if I want to know all stories, but I must." He then smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I no know if I should worry or not."

"You should worry." Jaska chuckled. "Little Antain remind of when you little kitten." Jaska grinned.

"I no that bad when I young. I adorable little ball of fluff." Aleksey puffed himself as he could with his patchy fur, which wasn't exactly impressive.

"You small ball of trouble." Jaska countered. "I have stories about troublesome small bratja too. I remember when you kept slipping over ice puddle and cried when you couldn't get back to snow."Jaska miffed with a smirk. "I had to drag you over to snow."

"Da, and get stuck yourself on ice." Aleksey chuckled in amusement.

"Only to come after you." Jaska countered.

For a while they kept telling stories and blaming each other for who started the trouble while the medic patched them up until they heard someone heavy approach the room.

With heavy footsteps the bison came down the hallway. Aleksey quickly stood up. "Something happen? Sabre fine?" He asked, knowing that the bison was guarding the safe room with Sabre inside.

The Bison blinked and nodded. "All fine. Amako Sabre summons the presence of Jaska Jeloudov."

Jaska frowned before his ears lowered. She was probably angry at him for touching the cubs. She must have had some kind of 6th sense to know he was holding the cubs and letting them sleep with his scent. "Take care, little bratja." Jaska then sighed, petting Aleksey's head before heading down the hall towards the safe room already resignated to whatever may happen. He knocked on the door, announcing his presence. "Da, I here." Jaska said before stepping back, expecting her to speak to him through the crevice of the door.

Jaska waited a few moments and then the door opened entirely and he was graced with a flowery scent that made him scowl before he thought he saw some vines or leafs in the periphery of his vision.

"Come inside and close the door." Sabre called, waiting for him in the back of the room.

Jaska blinked, surprised at the invite to occupy the same room as her before he stepped inside, leaving the door open and moving away for her to escape if she wanted to.

"Close the door." Sabre said, flipping her tail around with a small scowl on her face.

Jaska stared at her, perplexed before he shut the door. "What wrong?" Jaska asked with his ears lowered, half expecting her to lunge at him for one reason or another.

"You did saw Naoki … the plant guy, get out just now, right?" Sabre asked, looking towards the door. She noticed that Jaska had not react to the plant eExtraspecie's presence at all.

"Who?" Jaska asked, confused.

"The plant-guy that opened the door? Green guy with red hair and purple eyes?" She pointed at the door, looking uneasy.

" … niet, I no see anyone." Jaska answered, perplexed at her strange response while looking around but seeing no one else nearby. "There no one in guards who fit description." He said. "Who you talking about?" Jaska asked, slightly worried about her mental state.

"I'm talking about my gardener apparently … ," she twitched and then averted her gaze. "Anyways … I … ummmhh … I … ," she took a deep breath while holding one arm with other. "Thank you for saving Antain and the cubs and … there's a plate of sushi at your right, it has mango sausage. A peace offering, si?"

Jaska stared at her, unblinking for a few moments before registered what she said. "I not in trouble for touching them?" He asked in confusion as his tail wrung around a bit.

"If you hadn't gotten to them they might have been captured." She said while biting her lip, still not looking at him.

"Da." Jaska said, twitching his tail back and forth. "I follow rules as much as can, but I touch Antain, breaking rules." He noted with a frown. "I understand if you angry."

"Hey, menace … mmhhh ... Jaska." She gulped down and held her elbow with her other hand. "Maybe some of those rules are a bit ridiculous and too hard to follow."

" … Sabre, you set rules, and I break. You not drugged?" Jaska asked, wondering if she was drugged. "Ah, maybe you drugged up on medicine?" He suggested, not sure what to make of this.

"I'm trying to get along here!" She growled, her tail suddenly lashing a lot as her ears flattened back against her skull. "Look, I'm trying to get over the fact that I know I'm a bit scared of you and I'm very angry in general because I know I shouldn't be and I'm trying not to be horrible, ok?"

"Why sudden change? Sabre, I know you hate." Jaska asked, still not believing that these were her own words she was speaking. "You not need to pretend for bratja's sake. I already know I spared because of uncle pleading. Do not make more embarrassing for me." He said, turning his gaze towards the ground in displeasure.

"Nikita asked me to exile you and the only thing I promised Aleksey is that I would try to get along. It was my idea to send you to train and then come back." She growled, her fur puffed. "I'm not pretending, cat … and some of those rules are really too much."

"Sabre," Jaska spoke, looking unsure. "I agree to ridiculous rules and I intend to follow through because I not want to be enemies. We … well, we family now, and I sorry for attack. I not blame mixed up head, I attack because I insecure about many things regarding idea of mates. I know you see me as monster, and that fine. I know you do. And nothing will change that." Jaska said, frowning deeply. "I do as you say, Sabre, because I care and not want to take advantage of you. You understand what I saying?" Jaska asked with just the smallest hint of hope at reconciliation.

"You're not a monster, you are just a mentally unstable imbecile." Sabre growled while taking a step back, pressing her back against the wall. "I get it, you … you are not as horrible, and that's why it hurt so much, si? I believed you were really nice once we made peace and all that, I began trusting you, heck … I…" She looked at him, gulped, and then turned her gaze away. "… I did liked you … a bit. And you have no idea how much it hurt … how much it still hurts. I was comforted by the fact you were also an experiment. It made me feel more comfortable in my own skin seeing how you held yourself despite the experiments. You do remind me of Aleksey, a lot and because of that I was considering talking about a more formal relationship once my head ended. But I thought you made it clear you were only helping and was not interested in more so I didn't say anything. I had no idea you already considered us as more and attacked me." She growled, nervously twitching her tail back and forth.

"Never let bratja hear you say that." Jaska said with a bit of a strained smile. "I too like you, which was why I hurt by thinking you slept with crocodile. Which you didn't. But, bratja is alive … Sabre, do you love Aleksey still? More than I?" Jaska asked, suddenly troubled. If she was in love with him then he would have to run away somewhere she wouldn't be able to find him. He could never bear knowing that he took his little brother's love away from him.

Sabre rose her shaky hand in the air and pointed up with her index finger. "I'm not ready to speak about the incident. And Aleksey … I love Aleksey like I can't even describe, I don't know if it's natural or if it is so because of the experiments. I have no words to even say how much I love him or how much I can't live without him. It's scary how powerful it is as a sensation, it's stronger than the heat, I think."

Jaska let out a relieved sigh. "It fine; that is what permanent mate is about. My parents permanent mates, which is why mother let self die when father died. She die of heartache, and I not want you or Aleksey to experience that. If you love Aleksey then stay and keep him happy. I only want to be good uncle and not worry you or Aleksey." Jaska explained.

"I know." Sabre emitted some grunts and took a minute to gather herself. "Your punishment still stands, but … once your training finishes you can stay with Nikita if you want … or if you want to come, well, you can join the territory, court or whatever it is supposed to be."

Jaska lightly chuckled. "Da, I know. I not trying to get out of punishment. Training with uncle good for me, and protecting little bratja is what I want to do. It strange and irritating, but protecting family give sense of fulfillment … from 'pack mentality' give to me by experiments." He huffed in annoyance. "It give comfort knowing I give strength to you and Aleksey." He smiled. "Once training with uncle complete, I come back and protect you and little bratja and cubs, if you let me be selfish." He smiled.

"You aren't the only one messed up by experiments. That d*** company wanted the best genes and made me into whatever they wanted me to be. And I had not found anything about royals in any of their files on anything; which means they had no idea what they were creating. They just extracted and combined the best genes for their successful experiment. They wanted to created the best bastet they could and apparently they succeeded." Sabre snorted, growling her discomfort on the subject as her long tail swayed over the floor. "I'm a royal now and I have to deal with all this responsibilities that goes along with being a royal. Which I have no idea what those are or what it entrails. It's pretty crazy. But I have no choice." Sabre heavily sighed, exhausted just by thinking about it.

"Da, I sure it very difficult. But knowing you, you will use to advantage." Jaska chuckled. "Royals are hope and progress, represent what common Extraspecies strive to be, perfect evolutionary mix. Much powerful and important. They hold together Extraspecies society and common Extraspecies drawn to royals because of blood. The royal presence indicates riches and success. They trust royals do right to protect and grow society with common Extraspecies. They look to you for direction and power." Jaska said with a small nod, seeing Sabre's eyes worriedly twirling around in her frightened orbs.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen." She hid her face under her hand, unsure of what expression to make, "you know I have no idea how Extraspecies would go about these royal things or establishing territories and all that, but I actually have a bunch of hooman studies and my plan is just to make things as big and good as I can no matter how weird because I know weird won't be expected by either hoomans or the council."

"Da. As long as you unpredictable, council and program cannot control you." Jaska agreed.

"What I do know is that now I'm even more of a target and I will need help. Also somehow there are already a bunch of people depending on me and on this new court." Sabre crossed her arms and exhaled.

"That is what happen when you royal - others cling. Royal stronger than normal alpha and many seek that strength." Jaska said, casually taking a piece and sushi and munching on it. "I help when needed, if you need." He offered.

"Th-Thanks" She shacked, then puffed. " But don't think we are completely fine, understand? I can barely resist your presence in the same room without shaking and your scent near my cubs almost makes me go feral. So please keep some distance and never block the entrance, also never stand at my back, I don't think I can handle that, and if Antain wants to play with you … well, only if someone else is around, ok?" She then took another moment and smiled. "The thing about the host's pets still stands, I want her pets first."

"Hmph, fine, but you no take host from me when she with me," Jaska said with a soft smile, already making plans on monopolizing the host whenever possible.

"Deal" Saber half smiled, feeling better, she slowly approached with her hand extended, but as she drew close, her hand began to shake, making her stops in place before she gained the courage to take another step forward, only for the thing to happen again and again.

Jaska snickered and then he started laughing, making Sabre leap back and hiss at him in warning. "You no need to force self." He said with a cheerful smile. "No need to be embarrassed." He tacked on before pausing, suddenly looking concerned. " … no tell Aleksey of embarrassing stories, da?" He asked, sounding almost anxious all of a sudden.

Sabre looked up with terror in her face. "Aleksey has been alone with the host. You think she told him any stories?" She asked before freezing. "OH NO! OF COURSE SHE DID!"

Jaska's face twisted in horror before he dashed out of the room, followed by Sabre, and sprinted into Reza's room where the host was busy eating a lot of sushi while chatting with the happy gossiping fish as Kroc and Eztli were lying on the ground in a food coma.

"Oh, hey guys." Jackie said, popping some salmon and rice into her mouth.

Both felines rushed to the host, Jaska holding her by the shoulders and Sabre desperately looking her in the eyes.

"What have you told Aleksey, host? Did he ask you to tell him stories? Especially embarrassing ones?" Sabre asked with some fear in her voice.

"What? What do you mean?" Jackie asked, continuing to munch on the sushi before pausing.

"Da, did bratja asked you to tell him embarrassing stories? Did you told him anything? He look nice and told some maybe to open you up for speaking?"

Jackie stared at them, briefly thinking over everything she told Aleksey before she snorted, grinning before laughing out loud and clutching her stomach as she realized what had happened; Aleksey used her to get embarrassing stories on Jaska and Sabre to use against them. "You're s-s-s-so screwed-!" Jackie laughed, leaning against the counter for support.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Sabre screamed and paled, taking a couple steps back and dropping her shoulders at the prospect of doom. "She told him everything-!"

"Host, what have you done?!" Jaska shouted, mortified.

Reza suddenly perked up before he grabbed the host, making her jolt before he yanked Jackie behind the sushi bar and into the water, leaning over her to keep her mostly hidden.

"No, Reza stop! I can't breathe underwater!" Jackie cried out, struggling to get out from underneath the surprisingly heavy fish before he leaned his weight over her, submerging her under the water 'safely' while he leaned on the sushi counter and smiled in a friendly way towards the door just as it was kicked open. The moment they charged in they took aim, precisely hitting the threats in the chests with tranquilizer darts - namely the black mamba since the noble already had his hands up as per protocol.

"D-D*** it … ," Dumisa grumbled before dropping onto the floor with various tranquilizer darts in his chest right before a roar of warning announced Aleksey rushing into the room.

"What happened?" The tiger growled, pistol in hand and enduring his wounds while looking around.

"That's what we want to know." Berg chirped, her feathers were almost about to be set ablaze as the firebird stared at both Jaska and Sabre having borderline heart attacks.

Sabre groaned, and as soon as she saw her mate she began to emit really sad and pathetic meows of distress, almost crying right there. At the same time, Jaska slumped himself on the floor, resting his back against the sushi bar as he held his head in his hands and kept on mumbling and repeating in an almost psychotic way 'she told everything … she told everything … '.

"Where is the host?" Berg asked with a suspicious snarl, darting her eyes around the area.

"Oh, no need to worry about her, I have taken the liberty of neutralizing her myself." Reza smiled. "And the kitties are all shocked like this because Jackie told Aleksey some very funny and embarrassing stories, mostly of Jaska and Sabre." Reza smiled before pausing, moving his body a bit as Jackie burst out of the water, achingly coughing and trying to breathe again after being forcibly submerged. "There there host, you're just fine." Reza grinned as he rubbed her back to make her feel better before pushing a small plate of 'apology' sushi in front of her to eat once she had gotten her breath back.

"Oh?" Aleksey put his gun away and smiled in a very amused way, standing firm and looking at his mate's and his brother's distress. He flickered his ears and relaxed his posture, playfully swinging his tail and curling it's tip. "I happy to see mate getting along with brother again, like when they hit heads while playing with big ball of colorful yarn and tripped on each other's tails."

Berg screeched and every present guard gasped. The fire's bird flames snuffed as she looked at the direction of the host. "Hooman! You have no idea what you've done!" She shouted, looking mortified for Jaska's and Sabre's sake while the royal bastet began sniffing and tearing up while the distressed tiger began rocking himself in place, making himself a ball of striped fur.

Jackie rubbed her neck, still dizzy from hacking up a lung. "All I did was tell Aleksey some stories about Jaska and Sabre. We were bonding." She rasped out before heavily coughing, making Reza chuckle as he kept rubbing her back, under the impression that he was helping.

The security team looked between themselves and became extremely solemn as they stared at Jaska and at Sabre. One by one, they gave the felines their most sincere condolences.

Aleksey proudly smiled, purring in satisfaction. "Host said she'd tell me all her other stories later too … not that you can stop it … ," he toothy grinned with a threatening air about him. "Much interesting, da?"

"I do understand their dread." Mr. Smith came in and looked with a frown at Aleksey before he approached slowly the noble bastet that was mourning at the other side of the room. He stood a few steps away and performed a small bow. "Greetings, Amako Sabre Neofelis Nebulosa. I am the coordinator for the council's programs under the name Mr. Smith. It is a honor and pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand for a handshake that would allow him to enter in her mind. "I understand you are not used to formal greetings yet, so perhaps a simple handshake will serve."

Sabre sighed, unsure on what the council's coordinator wanted, but she grabbed his hand for a shake anyway and then froze with a spine tingling up her spine. She felts a strange present trying to crawl into her mind, an invasion of the kind she had never felt. And she snapped. The royal bastet roared while her eyes became hazy. She stood firm and shook internally to toss away the presence, using all the force of her will to repulse the presence. She wasn't even moving but the next second everyone around, except the host, felt to the floor by the strength of her unleashed veil and presence.

Everyone in the room immediately staggered back, startled by the sudden attack from the royal as they crumbled onto the ground, succumbing to the effects of a royal roaring to life and demanding their attention.

"Sabre, your veil, your veil! Turn it off!" Reza shouted in distress, quickly diving under the water again as he put off his own veil to try and lessen the suffocating power of a royal's veil but in vain, it was too powerful, and he wasn't the only one affected.

Everyone in the room was trembling on shaky legs, struggling to breathe as they looked at Sabre with their eyes wide in alarm and caution. Even the room suffered the embate. The windows vibrated as much as the ceramic dishes for sushi, some of them breaking up while the surface water in Reza's pool and tanks was disrupted as if a woffer had been turn over the liquid, making th fish scatter around confused, hitting th plexiglass or walls of the tank while trying to escape. The plants around began to crawl and dust feel from the ceiling as the structure vibrated. None of the extraspecies moved or said a word even as Berg's communicator sounded, letting it ring.

"Hey! what's going on!" Jackie exclaimed, unable to feel anything of whatever was affecting everyone and everything.

The phone stopped ringing and a portal appeared in the middle of the room, but unlike last time when Mr. Smith carefully crossed, Nikita moved like in a streak of color, jumping forward and rolling on the floor to evade possible attacks. In one hand he had a semiautomatic gun and in his other arm he carried a portable fish tank with Baba in it, which he dropped upon being hit by the dominating strength of a royal's veil.

Baba's tank opened upon the impact and the fat, bulbous fish was tossed right towards Sabre's face, hitting her in the face and getting stuck tail first in her mouth, causing her to come out of her trance as she slapped the fish indirectly into Reza's pool where the fish rolled to swim sideways in circles.

Sabre stumbled back, dazed against Jackie before hearing Antain crying, perking up in alarm before Antain ran into the room and leapt into her arms, hiding his face against her shoulder and crying in fright.

"That a royal aura … ," Nikita stood up, placing his gun at his back by its holster as he looked around to examine the scene, spotting the crying kit. After making sure he was not hurt, he huffed. "Aura much strong. Pup surely felt and now scared."

"A royal's veil is truly powerful … I believe that is the first time I've felt such a potent one." Mr. Smith noted, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. "I apologize, it must have been my unintentional intrusion into her mind. Half the island must have felt something that powerful." Mr. Smith shakily sighed. "It is a good think hooman senses are much too dull to be affected." He said, readjusting his glasses.

"W-What was that?" Sabre asked, nervously shivering as she tightly hugged Antain against her chest and nuzzled him, trying to reassure him that everything was alright.

"Berg, was veil reason why you no answer? Why did niece use veil?" Nikita eyed the firebird who was still breathing relatively hard and trying to recover. "You no ever felt royal or high noble veil, so you need seek one and ask for training." Nikita noted with a frown.

"D-Da." Berg bristled. "Me or team only ever felt noble veil of reckoning...never a true royal veil of force. We train if we find someone to help." She gulped, embarrassed at how effective this attack had been.

"Well, I have to say it's strong, it'll be scary if she learns to use ti." Reza noted as he wildly tapped away on his phone, "I mean, I'm just saying that royals of the merfolk kingdom are strong enough to paralyze even brainless fish into stopping their breathing which has caused a problem before in the kingdom that time the princess awoke it. The queen had to use her's to overpower it and all the fish died from the queen using her veil but somehow Baba still lived, no idea how but I could have sworn its heart stopped beating, not that I care but it was still very interesting to see Baba living after a veil piercing flare like that." Reza rambled, texting away quickly. "It will be a dligthfull tragedy if someone died around here, too bad hoomans are ttoo primitively evolve to feel it. I think it was felt in a wide area, maybe some pidgeons died..are there pigeons int his freexing weather?"

Nikita looked around the room before seeing Reza tapping furiously on his phone. "Fish, what you typing?" Nikita asked as Reza's fingers froze, looking up to Nikita and locking eyes with him.

Reza's tail flipped around in thought before clicking send and tossing his phone to the side as a sacrifice before diving under the water to protect himself against the scary alpha.

Nikita frowned, walking over and glancing at the phone before hearing a ping from his own phone, checking on it before seeing a picture of Sabre all hurt and bloody and there being a very lengthy explanation as to what happened there along with a photo of all the guards forced into submission by the powerful veil. Nikita narrowed his eyes, seeing that the fish sent the news to his mother - who must have sent it to the queen, who then shared the information with the entire council. So now the entire council knew what happened at the lodge, and by extention, the entire extraspecies world knew about it now. Quite displeased he growled, showing his fangs. Even he was surprised by how fast the queen forwarded the message to everyone.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Nikita?" Mr. Smith asked, seeing the very visible displeasure in Nikita's expression, something that in the well trained tiger was a sign of internal raging anger.

Nikita regained his controlled posture and then looked at Sabre while the leopardess was grabbing unto the host. "Niece. Bad news. Information of snow lodge disclosed. Your existence has been revealed." Nikita said, glancing at the fish hiding under the water.

"No! It's too soon!" Sabre's eyes widened as she stood up, shocked and horrified at this turn in events.

"Yikes." Jackie said with a frown, reaching over and tightly hugging Sabre to help comfort the poor kitty. She didn't really understand what was going on so she was just rolling with it for the time being.

Aleksey, breathing hard, came by Sabre's side and hugged her, licking the side of her face to help her calm down, but instead of hugging him back, Sabre yanked Jackie and held the hooman tight with her good arm while she struggled to hold Antain with the her other arm, focusing on giving the pup as much comfort as possible while she nuzzled against Jackie's shoulder and tried to comfort herself against the host who was nearing suffocation with Sabre's overly tight hug. All the while Aleksey tried to encompass her from behind but failing, so he instead began to pace around, asking Nikita for more information.

Aleksey frowned. _Note to self; keep host away when little Sabre troubled, so Sabre hugged him instead of host._

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM**

I'm sleepy … night … _**10 REVIEWS**_ for the next chapter … night / w /

HELLO! **Chaos-dark-lord** here with the longer messages because peeko is too sleepy to exist at the moment.

1- We are still making the game (it's a visual novel). Programming and game structure are steady, but we lack in the art and music department, so we cant start a blog for it yet.

2- We will release a book with our material, obviously adjusted to be a full property with more content (not just musume, we are also using Wonderful Wonderfiul Science and we'll see what more)

3- Soul Nomad And The World Eaters… it's been a while, isnt it? I still love the game, specially the demon path XD

4- Baba is back … and he is awesome, he saved many at the lodge.

5- Weird note about language spanish is so specific that there is a verb for being in a place or situation (estar) and being something (ser), and one from take to (llevar) and take from (traer) unlike english or french … also all vowels are always pronounced the same … ok, that was random. Tell me something weird about your language :D (I need sleep too)

Enjoy.


	42. Chapter 42

Jackie let out a loud yawn, stretching and checking the clock to see it was 4:39am. She let out an annoyed huff, feeling thirsty so she got up out of bed and headed down the hallway to the kitchen. The moment she entered the living room she became suddenly aware of all the shiny eyes glinting in the darkness, listening to the loud purring happening in the living room that reverberated across the room over the wood panels of the floor. In the pale street lights through the window, she could see that ALL the cats were cuddling with one another, even the snow leopard guards were resting at the far end of the room near the window, and all cats were nuzzling and all purring while they all quietly and unsettlingly stared at the hooman in silence.

Nikita barely paid her any attention, remaining over the polar bear rug with the kittens in the corner of the room while the other felines were all tangled up with each other, with Jaska being on the bottom, Eztli hugging Jaska from the side and Aleksey laying over Jaska with Sabre draped over all three of them, fully content but looking a bit tense.

Jackie stared back at them, feeling very uncomfortable about what she just stumbled upon. Without a word she turned around, heading back towards her room as if she never say anything. Or so was her plan, to get away slowly, but one of the kittens, the little leopard girl noticed her and mewed loudly, which immediately made Sabre turn to look the at the host before jumping towards her and tackling her before dragging her back towards the couch to join the cuddling.

"Wait, wait Sabre, just let me go back to sleep!" Jackie weakly said, trying to crawl away but was dragged away anyway.

"Hello Jackie!" Eztli purred. "We are helping Sabre get used to Jaska's scent close again."

"Da." Jaska confirmed while staying very, very still in his place.

"Da, yesterday very stressful day." Aleksey helped Sabre accommodate the host in whatever way wasn't in his way to hug Sabre, and then he continued to groom Sabre's head and like her ears, occasionally munching on her hair.

" … and how's that going?" Jackie asked, reaching up and immediately petting Sabre to help put her at ease. She stared into Sabre's pupils, seeing them enlarged with adoration towards her - not exactly feral but not in her right mind entirely either. Which meant he was extremely tense, but after last day she didn't blame the kitty.

Nikita growled but Aleksey made a small meow sound. "Tense but better. Better than when Jaska caught at the ship sleeping and humping pillow." He chuckled. "But all emergency conferences and calls of yesterday very tiring."

Of course jackie had not been allowed to be present for many of those but after Reza had sent those images everyone had gone into an uproar. Sabre had apparently been dragged to call some courts, business and who knows who else, Nikita had been summoned back the council via a portal, Longwei and Mr. Smith had been on their phones non-stop, the guards had gone on red alert, and even Ms. Smith had tried to call her but Mr. Smith had taken that call … it was very crazy.

"Yeah, I bet they were." Jackie sighed, just accepting the cuddling bunches of fur rolling over on top of her and squishing her. Maybe she could try to slip out of the pile and army crawl to freedom.

Eztli then crawled out of the heap and boldly began approaching Nikita with his big and bright green eyes looking at the old tiger with adoration, clearly planning on trying to drag the old cat into this love fest as well. Jaska saw this and quickly tackled Eztli, pulling the jaguar back towards the pile while Eztli purred.

"Hey, uncle Nikita." Eztli called, getting the white tiger to glance over at him. "Can you please teach me to be a big strong kitty like you?" He asked with his pupils wide with adoration, purring deeply in content and kneading his claws over Jaska.

Nikita studied the jaguar with a cryptic eye before he turned back to the cubs, not answering immediately. He did, however, allow himself a small smile at the thought. Nikita reached over to the little kittens, petting the white tiger's belly as he purred and turned away, nuzzling against his sisters before Nikita's phone faintly jingled. Nikita picked up the phone and glanced at the messages before he let out a small growling call, clicking the phone off as the snow leopards guards dropped from the ceiling and stood at attention. "I need leave for small while. Tashi, Tenshin, watch little cubs and royal." He ordered before he walked into the hallway. He pressed a button on his phone, waiting a few moments before a portal opened before him. He stepped on through, vanishing through the portal.

Tenshin and Tashi went ahead and took a seat, looking over the little royal kittens. This was a great duty, responsibility and even honor. They were of course surprised to know about 1 royal of their race still existing, but having confirmed it and being so close made them nervous. Tashi looked up at the cuddle pile, watching as the family of felines reaffirmed one another of their affection. He softly smiled in adorement before pausing, spotting the insufferable hooman caught up in an otherwise adoring moment of strengthening bonds.

"What is that hooman doing in there?" Tashi asked with a darkened expression and harsh growl, making Tenshin look over and see her amongst the cuddling fur. "Why does she, a filthy hooman, get the privilege to cuddle with amako Sabre?" He hissed.

"Perhaps she is trying to infuse her scent with amako Sabre's scent in order to better fool the others." Tenshin hissed in annoyance, his tail swaying angrily.

"Hooman." Tashi called out, walking around the cuddle pile to find the best angle to pull her out.

Jackie looked up, startled to see a very angry feline face glaring down at her. "W-What?" She said, hesitant.

"What are you doing, hooman?" He asked, narrowing his eyes accusingly at her.

"H-Hey, don't look at me like that. They're the ones that pulled me in." Jackie said with a huff. "I need to get back to bed, can you help me out of the pile?" Jackie asked, trying to wiggled her hips out of Jaska's grasp while Sabre nibbled on her leg with her eyes closed, practically half asleep herself.

Tashi stared down at the hooman with a firm frown, glancing at Amako Sabre before he nodded. "Fine, hooman." He spoke.

The snow leopard grabbed Jackie's arm, yanking her out of the pile but before she could get her footing, Sabre's claws reached out, grabbing Jackie's butt. Jackie jolted, holding onto the snow leopard's arm to prevent from being pulled back into the pile as Sabre leaned forward and bit her pants, skimming her teeth dangerously close to Jackie's skin. "Sabre, no, let go!" Jackie cried, trying to get free of Sabre's claws. "Ouch, ow! Sabre stop biting that!" Jackie said, reaching back and petting Sabre's head to try and make her let go.

"Don't try anything violent, hooman." Tenshin carefully said, looking at the hooman's negative reaction to the playfulness of the royal.

Tashi growls in acknowledgement and agreement, moving to a more sideways position, reading to act.

"Sabre, I said stop," Jackie growled, turning around and squishing Sabre's face as she rubbed and pet her cheeks to try and make her get her claws out of her butt. Sabre purred along, turning her head and gently licking the host's inner wrist.

"Don't speak to the amako so rudely." Tenshin hissed, grabbing Jackie's arm and pulling it back with a tight grip.

"What are you talking about? Her claws hurt! Should I not tell her if she's hurting me?" Jackie snapped back at him.

"The amako is only playful. She could rip you apart in one move but instead she is being gentle to you!" Tashi hissed.

"And? She is being playful yeah but when something hurts I'm going to speak up about it." Jackie retaliated in annoyance at the both of them. "Are you saying I shouldn't? Do I not even have a right to speak up when I'm getting hurt in my own house?"

Sabre's purring became louder as she grabbed Jackie's waist, leaning in and nibbling on her shirt before pulling on it, putting holes in it.

"Sabre, come on, don't put holes in my shirt," Jackie growled, pushing Sabre's face away as her grip remained firm on her legs.

"Stop you assault hooman!" Tenshi jumped, aiming his gun at the same time as Tashi did.

Jackie froze, startled to see their guns fixed on her before she angrily clicked her teeth together. She leaned back a bit away from the guns, narrowing her eyes in annoyance while Sabre hugged her and nuzzled her head into the host's waist while being too lost in the cuddling bliss to catch onto what was happening. "Oh, don't bother pointing your guns at the _human_ , you've already picked my d*** house clean of anything dangerous, including the kitchen knives! Why the hell do you act like I could actually do anything to hurt you? You act like I'm such a horrible human who is somehow going to pull a weapon out of thin air and attack you but I won't, so would you just stop harassing me in my own d*** house, you a**holes?!" Jackie angrily snapped at them. "Just because I was born a human doesn't mean I'm planning to hurt any of you and all this d*** criticism in my own d*** house is pretty f***ing exhausting!"

"It is only a precaution, hooman. You could try something at any moment, or other hoomans could try things through you. We must remain vigilant at all times." The minx, Lea, informed her.

"And all the accusing remarks? 'Hey, are you trying to poison the charges? Hey, are you hiding a knife in that laundry basket?' And many, _many_ other ridiculous notions! You've already hidden anything and everything even remotely dangerous or poisonous, and I had to fight just to keep my d*** laundry detergent! It's ridiculous how you guards are constantly accusing me of trying to hurt someone! It's me who has to be careful here, one wrong move and you're going to shoot me and pretend to say it was in 'self defense' or some s*** like that!" Jackie angrily snapped at them.

"Don't you know anything, hooman? There are plenty of dangerous chemicals in most hooman nests and many more ways for hoomans to manipulate Extraspecies into harming themselves. There are plenty of cases of hosts poisoning their charges, both intentional and unintentional which resulted in the death of the charge or permanent damages. When they were caught or even were captured while in those sorry states. Not to mention there are easily accessible guns in this country. You could hide even broken glass or even leave stuff so that a curious Extraspecies can harm themselves." Tenshin growled angrily. "Do you think we don't know of all those cases? The poisonings, the traps, the mistakes, the poisonous food ingestion. The accidents with tools or vehicles, the dangerous materials and substances, the hidden guns or knives. We know all of them!" The feline growled, his pupils large as he showed his fangs.

"And those people are awful humans, but I am not one of them! What the hell do I have to do to convince you I'm not like that?" Jackie asked almost desperately. She was beginning to buckle underneath all of these ridiculous accusations.

"Not all hosts or hoomans have direct intention to damage Extraspecies but it happens. And that is not counting all the ways hoomans _do_ hurt Extraspecies." Leah answered.

"What's the worst I can do? Everyone here is not only extremely durable but could also kill me with more than extreme ease. You're acting like I'm the scariest thing here in the apartment when in reality every single one of you could easily kill me. If I do a single thing even remotely suspicious to you, you'd kill me on the spot, no questions asked. How the hell do you think I feel in this situation, getting horribly ostracized in my own f***ing house, my own territory?" Jackie said, completely exasperated.

"Silence yourself, hooman. You are being a stupid and selfish hooman. Did you not hear what we just said?" Berg demanded, glaring so angrily at Jackie it looked like the firebird wanted to rip Jackie's throat out. "We just explained that even if you do not intend to hurt us, you are still capable of hurting Extraspecies."

"Personal feelings do not matter since it is not rational. Only proven information counts." The minx retorts.

Jackie heavily sighed, staring at the ground in annoyance before glancing at the guards who had their weapons fixed on her. "You done aiming your stupid weapons at me? I don't have anything! Oh, unless you want to check under my clothes for, for, oh hell I don't even know what." Jackie frowned in annoyance before leaning back as Sabre nuzzled her face.

"I see there is tension around host." Aleksey calmly came in, carefully eyeing all the present Extraspecies and then looking at the host, placing his claws over her head to give her a couple pats. "I'll take the hooman for a talk. If she suspicious of something new I find out, da?" He maintained a polite smile before turning around. "Host, come with me, I want some … petting."

"Y-Yeah." Jackie said, eager to get away from the jerks all accusing her of being so terrible.

Aleksey led Jackie into Sabre's lushy attic apartment and closed the trap door behind him once Jackie was inside. He then went to a minibar to take something for himself. "Want a drink host? We have good variety. Do take a seat at hammock-bed and tell what was up with guards."

"That's alright. I'm too upset." Jackie heavily growled, running a tired hand through her hair. She hadn't been getting much sleep since even in her room they posted a guard to watch her as she slept. It was pretty freaky just how convinced they were that she was a bad person.

"You upset because of security?" Aleksey pulled out a bottle of vodka and then went to the lowest den where Antian hid his juice boxes to get a couple for Jackie.

"I'm more upset with how they treat me." Jackie frowned, her eyes almost becoming watery before she pinched the bridge of her nose, reigning in the tears of frustration.

"You mean with extreme care?"

"Hardly. I have so many bruises I stopped bothering to count. They keep accusing me of ridiculous things no matter what it is that I'm doing. I've done everything I could for my charges to keep them safe and happy and now I'm being treated like a criminal because of things that are happening outside of my control. I really feel like I'm starting to lose it." Jackie said, biting her inner lip. Aleksey was probably the last person she should be talking to about this. He was manipulative and clearly held the same disposition towards her like everyone else which made her very angry. But if she didn't talk to someone she felt like she'd tip over the edge.

"Host? You stressed. You want pet me? I notice it relax you." He offered with a grin.

Jackie glared at the ground, feeling very grumpy before took a deep breath to calm herself. "Yeah. Can you go grab the grooming kit? I'll give you a full grooming session with what's left of your fur." Jackie sourly said before seeing his eyes tighten slightly. " … sorry. I'm just really upset." Jackie admitted, pinching the bridge of her nose again to hold back her tears with slightly more difficulty now.

He goes to a nook on the tree and gets the kit before bringing it in. "I noticed you hid grooming kits all over house. Convenient, da?"

" … to be honest I shouldn't be surprised you found them. You've all probably searched every inch of my house." She huffed in annoyance, reaching over for the kit with greedy hands before laying out the brushes in order of usage. "Oh, hey, you have a cream for your burns and other wounds, don't you? If you get that I can work that into your wounds." Jackie offered, now going into her 'host grooming' mode.

"Da, that why I know you no have hidden weapons." He accommodated himself in the low hammock. "You proved you not that bad of hooman and deserve chance. Sabre thinks so and I agree."

" … really, you agree." Jackie stated in a clearly unconvinced tone as she fiddled with the brush and pulled off Sabre's leftover fur in it.

"Da, but that not mean you can't cause trouble or damage." He groaned in a purr, stretching himself.

"Apparently my best isn't enough." Jackie said, with her lips sealing together tightly before she pinched the bridge of her nose again, really struggling to hold it all back as she went ahead and started brushing him, getting rid of loose hair from his inner coat with the long toothed brush.

"You good host, but that no mean anything." He stretching his hand to reach for his glass of vodka.

Jackie frowned, taking a deep breath before continuing to pet through his patchy fur, taking care to be gentle around his injuries. "I guess not to any of you. I can't even imagine what kind of humans you all have run into if you react this aggressively towards a regular human." She admitted, sympathetic as she gently combed her fingers through his fur to pick up loose pieces her brush missed.

"And what other kind of hoomans you have met?" He grinned, taking another sip of his vodka and left his glass on the floor

Jackie frowned, put off by the question. " … I think you've met worse. Probably." Jackie said, trying to get her thoughts away from her mother at the moment. Jackie was going to be in financial trouble for the next 30 years just to pay off her upped treatment.

"Da, but you no answer question. What kind of hoomans have you met? Because I know you have much bad experience too. That Jake guy? Luigi and mafia? Selfish brother and mother? I have you file. You hardly met single not horrible hooman." He lazily watched his claws stretch as he tilted his head to let her groom him behind the ears.

Jackie's eyes widened, startled before she heavily frowned. "Yeah." She said with a shaky tone, struggling to breathe consistently now as she pet and groomed his ears. "I guess so." She whispered, wiping her eyes off as she tried to concentrate on just working on his fur.

"And that far more. You heard Berg and Lea name cases, recent cases. You also know of Eztli's past." He yawned and then leaned his head down for her to pet his shoulders. "I can't find a neutral word for that scum." He shifted his shoulders. "Where was I? Oh, da. There all those Extraspecies trapped at the smuggler's den, there also many hurt ones at Smith's programs. And I sure you seen hooman react violently to Extraspecies only because of different look in this country, da?" He dryly chuckled. "But what can be expect of hoomans? They treat own species just as worse. They consume and destroy, self predate and waste. Extraspecies have never have slaves, but hoomans not only did, they do, and they destroy all planet without care even for self survival. You may be exception … maybe, but you no excuse for entire history or species." He said quite seriously. "Want to argue hooman no bad? Bring me a dodo, a thylacine, a carrier pigeon, any ... that will speak in favor of hoomans. Not even zombie hoomans or hooman hybrids will speak well about hoomans, out of experience at that." He grabbed the bottle of vodka and served himself another glass. "You see now?"

"I never once said that humans weren't bad." Jackie admitted, petting his neck, the only part of him that was relatively uninjured. "There are the good and the bad with everything and everyone. Take the old couple, the Johnsons, from down the street. They're a very sweet older couple who own a small bakery. They are probably the nicest humans I've ever met." She said with a soft sighing smile, running the brush through his fur.

"You hooman. You speak self and you speak of hoomanity. One human different, but that nothing. Hoomanity part of you because you are hooman. You get it maybe. This country in particular lacks self responsibility and have no connection to self past. Pathetic." He drank from his glass. "You are your county, your ancestor and your species. You hold their deeds as yours. Responsibility for horrors and actions lies on you, da?"

"D*** I hope not." Jackie stated seriously. "Does that mean I put all these scars on my body myself?" She sarcastically said with a humorless laugh.

"You mother did. I know that, but you let such dangerous hooman live besides she harming you and harming other people. She your responsibility, and she responsibility of country. She representative of hoomanity." Aleksey vaguely said, curiously watching at Jackie not comprehending what he was telling her.

"I was young. I thought it was normal for a mother to beat you unconscious for not doing the dishes or for simply existing at the wrong time, wrong place." Jackie admitted. "I kept quiet because she threatened to hurt not only myself but my father too, or get Luigi's goons to come after me. I honestly did not think I was worth anything as a human being." Jackie admitted with a frown. "And yes, I am taking responsibility now. I can only hope she is able to get better and if not, then I will be taking care of her until the day she dies." She said, petting Aleksey's leg very gently. The mere thought of taking care of her mother for that long made her shiver in dread.

"You idiot. That hooman too dangerous and damaged. Only mercy and penalty she needs is death." Aleksey yawned again, curling slightly.

"Murder, that's called murder, Aleksey." Jackie sighed. "And I can't do that. I … I'm trying my best to be a responsible adult. I am paying for her treatment like a good citizen and I will continue to do so until she … well, until she dies of either a natural cause or kills herself, at this point it's a coin toss."

"It's called justice, it called revenge, it called responsibility." He smiled. "And you wish for her to kill self. That can be arranged, easy. And you wish she dead, but you too coward to face it. Hiding behind citizenship to a country that despises its own citizens, making them suffer and not providing care for those who have alleged themselves to it."

"And if she was caught, that nurse would be arrested for murder, along with me who gave her the green light. Aleksey, the human legal system is different than an Extraspecies. I can't just kill someone when they're an inconvenience to me."

Aleksey laughed. "Hoomans do that all the time."

"I'm not talking about humans. I'm talking about _me_." Jackie said, moving around to Aleksey's front and leaning down, meeting him eye to eye. "I do not want to kill my mother, Aleksey." She honestly stated, letting him look her in the eyes and see her sincerity.

"And you a hooman. Get it yet? Ignore mother and come back to issue."

"Which issue?" Jackie asked with a frown, noticing a tuft of fur out of place on his face before she tried brushing it aside, only for it to flip back up again.

"Why you upset before?" He rolled his eye. "Curious, but with one eye I see more than you. Even if you only have one eye too and for longer."

"Yeah, but even blind in one eye I can still see just fine." Jackie said, tapping her finger against her left pale blue eye. "And yes, I am upset. But no matter how much I complain it's not going to get any better. I was very frustrated so I needed to vent earlier." Jackie sighed, trying to push off her problems and bury them in the back of her mind. There were more important things at hand like taking care of the charges.

"That not the point. " Aleksey rolled a bit so she could go for his belly. "Discomfort latent, and guards nervous because they no seen a real good hooman before."

"Really?" Jackie asked, surprised. "Not a single one?" She asked in disbelief.

"You a host. You are merely the eyes from which hoomans see the Extraspecies and how their stories develop while during their time in the contracts, with the consequences that such has for other Extraspecies." He stretched and then curled up again.

"Their eyes, huh?" Jackie quietly noted, thinking about his words.

"Extraspecies under contract learn about hooman cities and social organization. Most come from the wild and not courts, the best some have heard of hooman is how terrible they are or how fascinating their trinkets can be."

"Yeah, that's true." Jackie admitted with a frown. "I never really think of Extraspecies being as wild but it's true that they don't really have a centralized government; at least not ones as big as humans have." She said, brushing the tiger's tail.

Aleksey laughed in a very mockingly way. "That what you think?" He laughed some more until he coughed, letting out an aching groan. "You think council no exist for nothing. Our courts exist even before you learned to cross oceans. "

"Wait, I thought the council was more recent to connect all the various Extraspecies uh, tribes." Jackie said, confused.

"Up to some years ago you thought we no exist, that only hoomans sentient creatures in this planet." He chuckled. "Council may be officially new but only its newer iteration. Now even commoners can become members of council."

"I didn't know that." Jackie admitted. "The most I really knew about Extraspecies is that they view prey Extraspecies as regular prey and hunt them regardless of sentience." Jackie admitted. "I don't know a whole lot about the council or royales or other stuff like that."

"And not about normal Extraspecies either. Even prey have their place. But hoomans hunt hoomans too, and worse, hoomans destroy hoomans and seek to destroy many other hoomans in search for wealth and control.

"Okay I get it, humans are the plague of the earth." Jackie heavily sighed. "Enough bashing the human race, I want to know more about the council and royals and stuff like that." Jackie said, setting the brushes aside and began petting him.

"I not bashing hoomans. I explaining why Extraspecies so defensive. You have suffered from hoomans too. All Extraspecies you've meet have suffered too. You understand why we cautious? Why guards so confused at one good hooman and why need to check stuff that other hoomans may tampered with? Even you in danger to other hoomans too, da?"

"I always figured it was because I was just a big evil suspicious human and that they had run into many bad humans before but I didn't realize just how bad it was." Jackie admitted with a frown. "And, yeah, I am. Especially when Longwei leaves me to some people who are obviously very aggressive." Jackie huffed, still pissed at Longwei for that.

"Longwei's story with hooman even worse than you can imagine. He cares too much for other Extraspecies. Now you must convince him you good hooman too"

"Is that why his horn is missing? And his arm?" Jackie asked, a little nervous to hear his answer.

"His entire family, in little pieces. You'll have to ask him yourself if you want know. Jaska dared me to ask him about arm when we cubs. I could not sleep for week after he told."

"I'm sure he'd sooner cut my head off than tell me anything." Jackie said, disturbed with what she was hearing. What in the world happened to Longwei that was so terrible? To be honest, she didn't want to know.

"Maybe if you ask nicely. Show him you no bad hooman. He sees actions and actions speak louder than words. If he deems host needs to know he'll tell."

"What the hell more can I do? I've been helping and petting everyone I can. Hell, I feel like I'm being a d*** servant to those guys by trying to make them special food, petting them and doing whatever they want, all the while they insult me at every chance they get. I can only take so much, d***it." Jackie heavily sighed in depression.

"You no need to host them, you perhaps too nice and looking suspicious, just treat normal, but you doing fine. Don't try too hard, that bad and making you look unstable."

"But if I just ignore them, what does that do? Ugh! I'm just being normal, d***it! When I see them in my house I automatically want to groom and feed them. Something's wrong with me, Aleksey." Jackie groaned. "I just automatically want to host them and make them comfortable, I'm not trying to go way out of my way in doing so, I'm just doing what I would normally do to any charge!" She complained, burying her face into a patch of fur and groaning.

Aleksey stiffened and then began laughing.

"Stop laughing." Jackie pouted against his fur. "I'm seriously going crazy over here."

After some more laughing that turned painful, Aleksey stopped. "You nice, but guards no charges. They no need to relax. You focus on charges, if you want do more, ask Longwei."

" … ugh." Jackie huffed in annoyance, fixing the fur she just messed up. "You've seen the way he looks at me, right? He would murder me with a d*** smile on his face if he gets any shred of evidence that I'm 'evil'." Jackie huffed. "Even if I do ask he'll just start questioning me, thinking I have darker intentions … I'm just totally and utterly exhausted." Jackie huffed. "How can I not be? Wouldn't you be upset if a bunch of armed humans suddenly came into your house and had their weapons at their ready the moment you breathe?" Jackie asked, sounding desperate. "I'm acting normal by getting upset, aren't I? Answer me, I feel like I'm going crazy." Jackie pleaded with him, petting the tip of his tail.

Aleksey suddenly growled. "You think I no know what to face squad of hooman hunters?" He then calmed down and in the blink of an eye his smile returned. "You acting normal for a hooman, but some Extraspecies no know or care about what normal for a hooman."

Jackie remained silent, staring at him. " … that's what I wanted to hear but I still feel crappy." Jackie grunted in annoyance.

"Guards won't be here for much time. At least not like right now. This sudden and extreme mission for them. Sabre will get self guard and that will settle it, or guards will set to post near and not inside house. It may be soon or it may be not. Things too tense at the moment and not just for hooman host. But there nothing to do." Aleksey opened his arms for a hug while puffing his fur just for coziness.

Jackie smiled and hugged him back. This was a good conversation. Sh smiled, trying to pull back but paused, realizing he wasn't letting her go. She looked up at him, seeing a terrifying glare looking back down at her.

"I no need to say I love mate too much and I would rather burn world that have her cry because she hurt by some foolish action of a hooman host she likes, da?" Aleksey's smile didn't show happiness or friendliness, it only showed very long and very sharp fangs. "Host might want to think how important to bastet race and Extraspecies world is the sudden appearance of new powerful royal that already has descendants and big support by some courts, territories and council member. Too big of a target."

"R-Right." Jackie said, feeling his hug becoming uncomfortably tight.

"All charges friends mean nothing to those seeking harm to beautiful and fluffy Sabre, so guards job is hard. Threats everywhere, intentional or not, hidden or obvious. I no take nice if Sabre gets hurt or if even one hair of her fluff gets damaged because someone, like let say, a too trusting hooman host, did something stupid, da? Something stupid that may cause anger to reach host and charges." Aleksey's eye had not blinked at all. "Extraspecies predators normally kill fast as show of respect and thank for prey, but there no policy for terrible hoomans that may damage, directly or indirectly, a beloved one. I can rip out limb by limb, pull out skin, and make life very painful for quite some time, and I no mind doing same for what hooman may love to get even. Clear, da?"

"R-Right." Jackie squeaked out, looking up at the terrifying tiger.

"Nice you understand." Aleksey purred and released the host, a happy kitty once more. "I do like brushing and petting too. Good host."

"Th-thank you." Jackie said with her pale face of terror. Aleksey was a reeeally scary kitty.

 **MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMWMWMWM**

They all cuddle for a little while and ended up sleeping together until the sun rose. The phone rang loudly, waking everyone up before Jackie twitched awake, hearing the phone. "Ugh, hold on, hold on … ow! Let go, come on I have to answer the phone." Jackie said, shaking off Sabe's sleepy grip before Sabre melted onto the ground with a soft purr. Mr. Smith said last night that it was fine to answer the phone, and so she did.

"Hello?" Jackie answered the phone, lightly laughing and glancing back at the fur pile as Sabre needily grasped at the air for her to come back and join them. The moment the woman on the other line began talking Jackie's face slowly fell. Her heartbeat began beating faster and the air became drenched in the scent of fear. Jackie turned away from the pile of fluff, trying to control her breathing and keep calm as she listened to the woman on the other line. "Okay. Okay. I see." Jackie said, trying not to give anything away at all.

Eztli tilted his head in confusion, noticing the sudden change in the host's voice. She sounded scared and smelled like it too. Jaska and Aleksey perked up, listening closely to her and hearing the slight tremors in her voice. Everyone else in the room noticed the sudden change in the host with the guards focusing on her rather intensely while Nikita appeared to ignore her but kept his ear twisted in her direction to listen. Sabre laid on the floor in a fuzzy mess of purrs, enjoying Aleksey hugging her.

"Yes, I can be there in about 5 hours. Thank you for letting me know." She said before she hung up, turning around towards her room but ran into Nikita's furry chest, making her jolt back in fright at the sudden silent appearance. Jackie's eyes darted over the room, seeing all of the guard's eyes trained on her suspiciously. "W-What?" Jackie asked, darting her eyes back and forth from Nikita to the guards staring, along with all of her charges who were pointedly staring at her.

Berg appeared by the door behind Nikita, ready to act if needed. "You are under lockdown, hooman." She chirped. "It would be a high risk if you go outside, more so alone."

Her eyes widened, suddenly very worried. "Look, I wouldn't be gone for that long, nine hours at most, and 4 of that is driving." She said, trying to wave it off like no big deal.

Berg stepped right in front of the door blocking the way, leaning back and crossing her feathered arms. "You are a danger. In case of capture you easily leak information."

From his spot, Aleksey briefly raised his head with a smile, throwing his brother a smug smile. "Da! Host not stay quiet, she happy to tell even where charges hide fuzzy socks." At which comment Jaska let his face hit the floor.

"L-Look, this is a family emergency. I won't say anything about my charges at all." Jackie said, her hands visibly shaking. "Please, I have to go to this a-and I won't go anywhere else."

"Family?" Sabre asked, more recovered and focused. She then took a deep breath and faked calmness, but in reality she was unsettled because she knew about Jackie's family… or what was left to it, and it definitely couldn't be considered family except on a biological statement.

"Yeah. Look, I won't be talking about my charges or any of you at all. I just need to go and take care of my uh, my family, alright?" She asked, nervously waving her hand like it was no big deal.

"Where exactly is destination and what reason for sudden call?" Nikita was serious, but it didn't look like was even considering letting her go.

Sabre stood up and placed her hands over Jackie's shoulders, giving a small squish. "It's alright. A family matter is a family matter and if she needs to go she should go."

Longwei appeared in the living room besides Berg. "Amako, Sabre … this hooman can't be trusted to not tell everyone details about the amako and her bloodline. She has proven to be incapable of remaining quiet about charge's information. And her sudden wish of departing to an unknown location seems suspicious."

"Look, I _have_ to go to this personally. The moment I'm done I'll come right back here and not leave the house unless it's to get food for the charges." Jackie pleaded, visibly getting more desperate.

"Of course you will, Jackie. After all, as a host under the government's program the council can't exactly prevent you from going if one of your charges vouches for you. " Sabre grabbed the host's hand and began heading out of the living room and towards the host's room. "I'll help you get ready."

"At least a guard should go with her." Longwei insisted, knowing that all the regulation and variations basically were impossible to apply because the one vouching for the hooman was a royal - a royal that also happened to be a charge under such a hooman.

"Niece." Nikita said, making Sabre stop in her steps. "Let a guard keep eye on hooman. Berg can fly and observe from distance."

"Uncle." Sabre spoke softly, licking her lips and trying to sound neutral. "A firebird Extraspecies would be even more easy to spot in this city than any of the guards and any of the guards would be incredibly easy to notice because supposedly Extraspecies need a host to go around, and even so some stupid cop might decide to stop the host to ask for the appropriate papers." She growled as if she despised the possibility. "Also the host already said she was on her way and if she doesn't show up at the promised time then that could draw some attention because she is a well known host. And maybe all Extraspecies already know about me, but hoomans do not and the last proceedings regarding the paperwork with hooman program are still ongoing."

Nikita barely flickered an ear as longwei breathed a small cloud from his nostrils, knowing all that was true; but not because it was true did it meant it was safe to let the hooman go out alone.

"Look, this is a very private family matter. I'll be back as soon as I deal with this, this situation." Jackie explained before Sabre pushed the host into her room and shut the door to prevent her from speaking anymore since anything she said was only making her more suspicious.

Sabre let out a sigh and then went to the wardrobe to take clothes that she put over the bed before quickly trying to take off jackie's pajamas. "C'mon host, before they find a way to keep you here."

"L-Look, Sabre I can dress myself." Jackie said, taking off her shirt and looking for a halfway decent shirt that wouldn't be grabbed easily.

"Host … I know about your mother." Sabre admitted, suddenly hugging Jackie.

"W-What?" Jackie asked, startled and looking rather scared. "How?"

"I just know. The rest don't know … yet." Sabre began putting an outfit together, Jackie's lower lip trembled as she did her best to keep herself together. "But I'm sure they will find out out. Any of the guards or even Longwei are probably already looking into it, so you better go before they try to stop you again, and then come back." Of course, she didn't mention that she knew for sure Longwei already knew.

Jackie remained silent, thinking about how they would react to how horrendous her mother was. What would they think of her after seeing how her mother was? That would basically be the nail in her coffin. Would they be able to take her charges away from her if they find out about her mother?

"I'll see what I can do so that we can go out together later. Maybe some shopping? Host? ... Jackie … ?" Sabre said, turning around before her fur puffed out in surprise at seeing the host shakily breathing with tears beading up in her eyes. Jackie bit her lower lip, struggling to remain calm as Sabre stared at her, contemplating on what to do before Sabre trotted over to Jackie and hugged her. Jackie hesitated before hugging the feline back, shakily breathing before getting a hold of herself.

"It will be fine, host. You have nothing to do with that woman, ok?" Sabre said. "Why are you crying?"

"Y-Yeah." Jackie choked out, barely holding herself together as she physically trembled in fright, tightly holding onto Sabre. "I really, really love you all, you know that? I … I-I really do think of you as the family I never had." Jackie whispered, tightly hugging Sabre as the host shakily breathed, covering her eyes and wiping away the tears as she struggled to calm herself down.

After a moment of confusion and tightening her hug on Jackie, Sabre bit down not too hard on Jackie's ear. "Of course we know!" She huffed, puffing her fur. "Don't even think for a second we don't love you too. I'll bite you harder next time, then tie you down and let Reza play with your toes if you think otherwise."

"Oh no, not my toes." Jackie dryly mumbled before lightly laughing, "thank you, Sabre. Now, I really do need to go take care of this. I'll be back soon." She smiled.

Sabre gave Jackie a new hug and then placed the outfit on the host's arms. "Don't take long … unless you want to pass to the butchery and get some tasty meat." Sabre grinned. "And don't worry, it might be better if everyone learns about your family situation. That secret will be one less thing they can hold against you."

"If I did, they'd yell at me." Jackie chuckled, quickly getting dressed and grabbing her car keys. "I … I don't want them to know. I don't want them to be concerned about me. I don't deserve that kind of worry from them, and they all have their own problems and stuff to deal with. My problems shouldn't get in the way of them learning about human culture; my family really isn't a good example." Jackie sheepishly smiled.

"You are tempting me to bite you harder, host. We will worry regardless and you deserve all that worry. As you said, we are like family. A real one." Sabre huffed with all seriousness and then smiled warmly. "I'll find a way to drag you to get another girl's day out, coffee, chocolate and shopping soon. So whatever happens you'll have something nice to expect." Sabre then took a step back and looked up at Jackie with big eyes. "And Jackie … I'm sorry I have to look so tough and bossy and uncaring. I didn't like ordering you to pet those guards. Frankly I don't like this royal blood thing at all. But if I don't pretend I'll too be under suspicion and that will only make things worse for everyone."

"Oh, is that what you were doing? I just thought you were in a bad mood." Jackie said, staring at Sabre with eerily empty eyes. "Yeah, I understand. Afterall, I'm just a really evil hooman." Jackie said with her eyes glazing over. Sabre's tail flickered back and forth, not liking the look in the host's eyes. "Well, I should head off now then." Jackie lightly laughed. "Now, please. Keep this a secret for me. Please?" Jackie pleaded with Sabre.

"I can't do that, Jackie." Sabre frowned. "I promise I won't say anything aloud, but trust me, they will know. I can't stop that. At best I can try to show how it is out of your control once they know."

Jackie heavily sighed. "Well, I should have known it would affect me one way or another. She's just finding all kinds of ways to f*** me over." Jackie sighed before offering Sabre an empty smile. "Goodbye, Sabre. I'll be back soon." She said before heading out of her room.

Sabre accompanied Jackie to the door without saying anything and the moment the door shut and Jackie's car was out of sight, Sabre walked to the hallway heading back to her room to get something before heading to the living room where she hooked up some equipment to the tv and put up a four way split screen of the 4 cameras Sabre put on Jackie. Three around the host's clothes and one in her car.

"You bugged host?" Jaska asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"I see now why niece let host go." Nikita apparently approved.

"Now we see what really happens, and if the hooman betrays her contracts then we are witnesses and can act." Longwei crossed his arms and stared at the screen, preparing his camera to record the moment he could already foresee.

"Obviously." Sabre nodded without any deep emotion in her voice. "If a guard went with her then she wouldn't be able to do what she wants to." Sabre said, actually mostly concerned for the host's wellbeing. "This way we'll be able to see everything." The leopardess of course was very concerned deep down and felt very dirty for showing this to everyone but if she didn't, then their suspicious of the host would only get worse. She wasn't breaking her promise, but she still felt bad about this and promised that she'd somehow would make it up for the host in some special way later.

After Sabre connected the audio, then went to sit in the middle between aleksey and Antian, and with her cubs over the rug and in her field of vision while the other charges took their seats. Eztli came to rest besides Jaska, Reza came out of one of the tubes, and Dumisa, still groggy, laid his long body all over the floor to keep on napping.

Nikita and Longwei remained standing, observing every detail the video was showing with a criticizing eye. While the guards were dispatched along the house. Berg and the snow owl were already on the roof hiding around the structures and waiting for orders.

"Well this is boring." Reza heavily sighed, turning around to go work on making some sushi for everyone. "I'm going to go make some sushi for myself."

"Hey Rez!" Sabre called, making Reza stop for a second. "Can you check if someone from the mermaids want to invest in a recycle plant to start cleaning up the ocean near this place? I'm sure we can get in an agreement of some kind."

"Well I might as well. This video is going to be boring because the host is innocent." Reza shrugged in boredom before he dipped into his water pool and swam back to his room.

"Isn't the fish interested in the gossip?" Dumisa asked with mild surprise.

"What gossip? Jackie is innocent, it's just going to be a long boring drive." Eztli said with complete confidence as he rolled on his back and began playing with Antain chasing a colorful ball of yarn.

Everyone got settled in, preparing to wait the four hours it would take for the host to reach her destination. Which involved more feline cuddling as Sabre kept on texting on her phone, Jaska reading a book, Dumisa taking a nap, Aleksey watching over the cubs along with Nikita and Eztli playing with Antian and trying to play with the cubs but Aleksey pushed him away each time. After exactly four hours of listening to incredibly awful hooman music, they all watched her drive up a hill with a very large sign reading 'Gerald's Asylum for the Chronically Insane'. This made everyone pause, making them think of why the host needed to be there.

"An insane asylum." Dumisa perked up. "Isn't that a sort of hooman jail for their permanently feral hoomans? Why is the host there?"

"But Jackie isn't feral." Eztli said, staring at the screen and tilting his head in confusion.

"I wonder what the host is doing here? Awfully suspicious." Longwei said as his eyes narrowed.

"Host's only living family in that place." Aleksey growled, accommodating beside Sabre and knowing full well what was going on.

Sabre remained quiet, but she picked up Antian to cuddle him and leaned against Aleksey, carefully eyeing her cubs which were safe around Nikita as she settled in place for this. It wasn't nice that everyone would see what was about to happen but it was needed.

"I shall record this interaction then." Longwei pointed his camera at the screen, taking a few photos as evidence and then preparing it to record some video.

Nikita quietly watched, flipping his tail back and forth in thought.

"I'll bring the popcorn." Eztli said and headed to the kitchen for the bowl he had prepared early during the long wait.

They all got popcorn, getting really into the movie of their host as they intently watched Jackie parking and pausing, taking some deep shaky breaths to calm herself as they heard Jackie slowly choking up and breathing a little harder. "Come on … just … do this." Jackie quietly whispered to herself before getting out of the car and walking into the doors to see the receptionist.

"Hey, Doris. What room is she in now?" Jackie asked, taking a shaky breath to calm her nerves.

"Room 305 now. Sorry for calling you in so early but for an episode like this…," she started but Jackie held up a hand.

"Yeah, it's fine, I know the procedure. I am so sorry for what happened to Melanie." Jackie apologized.

"It's fine, really. It happens with a job like this. Let's go on up to see her." She said as Jackie stared down the halls and passed through locked gate after locked gate, confusing her charges as they stared and discussed about what it could be.

"Who is this 'her'?" Dumisa asked with narrowed eyes, approaching the television and trying to see more clearly.

Sabre heavily sighed, leaning heavily onto Aleksey.

"It is abuser." Aleksey said, hugging Sabre. "I searched for host profile. Family background pretty bad."

Jaska remained tense, narrowing his eyes. Is this 'her' the one who gave the host so many scars? She must have been. He bunkered down, staring intently at the screen.

"Abuser?" Eztli curled up in a ball, crawling under Dumisa's coils with only his glowing eyes peering out from under the serpent's body to see the screen. "Hoomans abuse hoomans too, right? Is the host alright?"

Antain quietly sat in the corner of the room, munching on Baba's head. The fish did not struggle, simply submitting to the worthy predator before Antain licked the fish's head and stuck it back into the water, watching as Baba slowly came back to life and swam in endless circles.

Jackie walked up some white stairs, eroded and old, before reachin the third floor and walked down the hallway before coming up to 305 where everyone could hear the ramblings of a mad woman inside. Jackie reached up, hesitating before opening the metal sliding panel, peeking inside of the room where the charges saw a woman in a jumpsuit with a long tangled red haired mess spinning around in circles, wildly laughing to herself and screaming while grinning, gripping her head with tears streaking her face.

"So mean, so mean, they're so mean! I'm crazy, they say? I am the most sane!" The woman madly rambled to herself, cackling between every other word, "they're so nice, just like Tom, I liked Tom, where is Tom? Or the other men? They were so nice, so so nice, nice and soft, soft enough to bite, not like those other c***s, they're so mean, every last one-!" She loudly laughed, looking up at the ceiling with crazily wide eyes.

Jackie cleared her throat, lowering her pitch. "Hey, mom. How are you?" Jackie asked, her tone sounding lower in pitch. "Mom? Don't you recognize your little blue Jay?" Jackie asked, watching as the mother turned around, staring at her face.

The mother's face melted in an adoring manner, tearing up again. "Oh, Jay … Jay, my little blue Jay." She whispered, walking over to the door and reaching a hand out, gently cupping Jackie's cheek. "Little blue Jay … blue Jay … you've come back, my little blue Jay … tweet tweet." She lightly laughed, looking at Jackie with loving eyes.

"Mom, you need to take your medicine. Th-They're trying to make you better, mom." Jackie spoke in a slightly raspy voice, gently holding the mother's wrist and rubbing her hand to help calm her down.

"But I'm not sick, little blue Jay, I really am not." Her mother spoke, tilting her head and warmly smiling. "Please let me out of this cage, my little blue Jay."

"Mom, why did you attack Mel? That wasn't nice." Jackie spoke disapprovingly. "You can't come home until you get better. You hurt people otherwise."

"I don't like this place, little blue Jay. The women are hideous and the men won't touch me." She pouted with a whimper. "My little blue Jay, won't you touch me?" The mother asked, creepily looking Jackie over before the mother's expression suddenly twisted in anger. "YOU DISGUSTING WRETCH!" The mother suddenly shrieked before grabbing Jackie's hair and yanking her against the door, slamming her head against the metal bars.

"OW! D*** it, mom!" Jackie shouted as the mother tried to claw at Jackie's face. Her arm shot up to protect herself after getting some scratches on her face before receiving a multiple scratches as the mother's fingernails drove into Jackie's skin.

"You're not him, you're not my blue Jay, who are you?" She screamed before gasping, her eyes becoming more fierce. "Jackie, JACKIE YOU UGLY LITTLE WHORE! Where is my blue Jay, what did you do to him?! Why isn't my baby coming back home?!" She angrily wailed, repeatedly slamming Jackie's head and arm against the door as Jackie struggled to fight against her almost impossible strength.

"Mom, mom stop it! You need to calm down!" Jackie shouted, struggling against her grip as a drop of blood landed on the screen of a camera.

"That be host mother?" Jaska asked with mild surprise.

"That can't be right. That hooman doesn't look like the host, and mammal mothers are supposed to care for their young." Dumisa hissed. "That wench is so horrible that she could be an ugly lamia."

Eztli buried himself deeper under under Dumisa's coils while trying to algo get besides Jaska's side. "That hooman ... is s-scary."

Sabre only gulped, holding Antain tighter and emitting a couple anxious calls towards her other cubs while Aleksey hugged her tighter before retrieving the meowing cubs in their basket from his uncle and bringing them back to Sabre.

The click of a camera went off as Longwei took a photo. Neither he or Nikita said anything but their stern expressions showed how much they disliked hoomans and how used they were to seeing dangerous hoomans like the one in the screen. Even the guards around couldn't help but to let out a growl or two.

"Ms. Penske, stop this this instant!" Doris shouted, trying to grab her arm and stick her with the needle but she only continued to slam Jackie's head against the metal frame with only her arm to mildly protect her. Jackie reached up, managing to break a finger but her mother only shrieked in anger and tried to rip her hair up from the roots before Jackie grabbed her arm and yanked back with all her strength, pulling her arm out enough for the nurse to stick her with the drug.

The nurse held onto Jackie's head and the mother's arm, managing to pry her off as Jackie staggered back against the wall, gripping her aching head as Doris shoved the arm back inside and shut the small hatch. While Ms. Penske screamed inside of the room, Doris let out a heavy sigh.

"I am so sorry for that darling, are you alright?" Doris asked, hurrying over and helping Jackie to her feet as Jackie staggered and leaned against the nurse for support.

"Ugh … I'm dizzy." Jackie dryly spoke, clutching her aching head.

"Oh dear, let me get some ice. Sit right here and don't move." She said, sitting Jackie down on the ground as Doris hurried off.

Jackie stared at the door, listening to her mother shrieking on the other side of the door with a wild array of insults aimed at her, demanding to know where her 'little blue Jay was'. Jackie knew very well where blue Jay was, but he was no longer around. Jackie hiccuped with tears before she broke down crying, curling into a ball and struggling to contain herself.

Doris returned, coming to Jackie's side and hugging her as Jackie sobbed against her shoulder.

"I am so sorry but the medicine is not the new needed dosis. The dean would have none of it since you missed the payment by an hour." Doris apologized, gently rubbing Jackie's back. Jackie just keeps crying before Doris helped her and into the medical ward, giving her some tissues to blow her nose on as she struggled to stop crying. Doris in the meantime checked over the nasty large bump forming on her head, getting an ice pack to set over the bump. "I know this is hard, especially since you had to do an advance payment and were not expecting to pay more for at least the a year. One option would be to sign her up for experimental treatment. The charges of that are subsidized by the government towards pharmaceutical institutions for research on new drugs."

"She's not some lab rat! She, she's just … she's just broken. Very, very broken." Jackie cried as Doris hugged her again, rubbing her back as Jackie sobbed. "What kind of daughter am I if I can't even take care of the last surviving member of my family?!" Jackie cried out in sobs, coughing as she cried hard and struggled to stop. She knew that it was impossible to keep up payments for her mother at this rate. She would have to sign her up for the experimental program.

"This is something beyond your control." The nurse spoke, taking Jackie's hands and holding them to make Jackie look at her. "It's alright, Jackie. You have done so much more than many other families have done for their loved ones here. But this is out of our hands now." Doris spoke as Jackie's grip tightened a bit, and she shakily breathed. "Here, sweetheart. Just sign these papers." Doris said, setting the papers onto her lap. "Or if you prefer … it's a hard decision, but when the patient is beyond hope.. Sometimes they have fatal accidents or react bad to the new medication. It's not anybody's fault, but sometimes such free the patients families from, pain and debt. You could only insinuate so and … "

"DORIS!" Jackie shouted suddenly, making the woman jolt in surprise. Jackie turned her way with a rather hard expression on her face. "You will _never_ say anything like that again to me, Doris." Jackie said in a harsh voice.

The nurse sighed. "Alright dear, I am just saying it. You know it is impossible for this patient to recover and she can not be reintegrated to society either." The woman said, looking sadly at Jackie. "Just know it is an option, and it's a hard decision, but please, otherwise sign the paperwork. I'll send you a copy by mail."

Jackie's hand trembled before she took the pen, shakily signing the papers handing her mother over to the government for 5 years of no contact and signs off the last bill. Sabre's eyes bulge at how much money it was and understanding why Jackie lived in the neighborhood she did.

After Jackie's head is iced and she is checked out, Jackie goes out into her car and just cries her heart out over this, berating herself over how pathetic she was for being unable to care for her mother. Jackie cried for a solid hour before she began her drive back, pulling over twice to cry some more and just let it all out before she stiffened up her lip and drove off back home.

Sabre and the other charges all sat in silence, watching their host make the long drive home while whimpering to herself, struggling to hold in her tears as she headed back to the apartment.

The one whom actually broke the silence first was none other than Aleksey. "I did not think it a that bad."

"Hoomans indeed are terrible and dangerous even to their kind and kin" Longwei assessed, looking out the window towards the hooman settlements. His tail flickering to show how uncomfortable he was in this place.

"Da." Nikita crossed his arms and didn't say any more.

"Can't we do anything?" Eztli asked with a small mew.

"Niet." Jaska sighed. "It not our business. Host didn't tell, so she no want us to even know."

"B-But when we have a problem, she helps us, even if it's personal. J-Just like when Olivia came." Eztli said, whining a bit as his tail curled around his legs.

"And what do you suggest thn, kitty? We can't interfere in hooman stuff. It's in the contract. " Dumisa twisted his lips. "Even if the host asked us for help, what do you think we could do?"

"We my not be able to do anything about her situation…" Sabre began, although she was already thinking on alternatives. "But we at the very last can help her forget this little incident today once she comes back."

Dumisa stared at the screen, perking up a bit. "Hey, she's pulling over." Dumisa pointed out as everyone immediately redirected their attention to the screen to observe what the hooman would do.

Jackie readjusted a mirror, looking at the red scratches on her face from her mother's nails, some which broke through the skin. "Awe crap." Jackie whined, touching the wounds and sucking in a small breath. "I need to cover this up. I don't need the charges seeing this." Jackie muttered before pausing. "Oh!" She said, sounding excited before reaching into the back and pulling out a small make up bag. "Thank goodness I never took this out." Jackie lightly laughed before taking out some concealer and began applying it over her face to cover up her wounds. She then paused, reaching back and grabbing a knitted hat before putting it on to cover up the bump before she continued gently putting the concealer over her face.

"What is she doing?" Eztli asked, lowering his ears. "Why is she putting makeup on? I don't like makeup." Eztli pouted, twisting his tail around.

"She is trying to cover up the scratches so we don't notice them." Sabre didn't care that Jackie had never taken out the makeup she gave the host when they went out shopping but she was torn between understanding the situation and being bothered at the fact that the host, despite saying they were like a family, was not willing to let them even to to help with he situation.

"Hmm … well, I'll go get the pillow." Dumisa sighed before he left, slithering down the hall into his room to gather up his ample amount of soft pillows.

"I'll go check the ice cream, I think we still have vanilla." Sabre went over to the kitchen to get the stash of hooman ice cream from the fridge along with some spoons plus cookies and other sugary treats. "Hm … I may have to go grab some chocolate peanut butter ones, and pretzels too." Sabre noted in thought.

"Which terrible move she like best? Lavalantula? Or Piranhaconda?" Jaska asked in general, pulling out the movie cases as he looked between the two awful B rated horror movies that Jackie, for some reason, found entertaining.

"Do you think we can pet the host to make her feel better?" Eztli asked, hugging Jaska and nuzzling his head against the large tiger's side for comfort. "Maybe I can pull her into the little hole above the kitchen again and nuzzle her but I don't know if she liked that last time." Eztli pouted worriedly. "How do you pet a hooman?" Eztli asked, looking up with big eyes at Jaska.

"Again?" Jaska questioned, puzzled. "And niet, I not know how to pet hooman." Jaska admitted. He knew how to pet them sexually but not in the kind of soothing and calming way the host was able to do to them.

"Why is this uproar happening?" Longwei looked around at how all the charges were coordinating in this endeavour and he could not understand why it was happening.

Sabre passed by the dragon and accommodated the coffee table all the sweet stuff, making sure all the snacks were ready to go. "According to the contract we as charges do have some reciprocal responsibility to our hosts too. At the very least we should ensure her mental and emotional stability allows her to take care of our needs."

Nikita was uninterested in what was happening, speaking in Russian on the phone in a rather calm manner.

The guards remained on guard but move aside to observe how the living room was slowly being filled with ample amounts of pillows, blankets and even a mattress or two. Anything that was soft was thrown onto the living room floor creating one large bed for the charges as they all began fretting over which part needed more softness.

After a few hours of waiting the garage opened from below, making everyone perk up at the host's return from her hellish visit. Everyone got into position, anxiously waiting for the host to come through the door.

"Hmmmm oh! We're having a movie night?" Reza asked, poking his head up in the corner of the living room where he observed the soft bedding that was placed in the main room for everyone. "Or did something happen?" Reza asked, looking around and sensing the tension in the room. Reza quivered in excitement, sensing something serious had happened. "Hey, hey Eztli, what happened?" Reza asked, hoping for something deliciously tragic to have happened.

"Oh, well, Jackie's mom is super mean and hurt her when she went to go see her. Jackie cried a lot." Eztli frowned and pulled his ears back sadly. "Jackie looked so sad that we're going to cheer her up when she gets back." Eztli smiled.

Reza froze, staring at the jaguar in stunned silence. The host? Her awful mother? The beatings? The horrible past-?! "WHAT?!" Reza loudly screamed, gasping. "How could I have missed such a delicious tragedy?! What happened, tell me everything!" Reza shouted, leaping out of the water and onto the jaguar as he grabbed the feline by the scruff of the neck, startling everyone as he pinned Eztli to the ground and used his weight to hold down the bastet. "Jaguar, tell me everything! What happened?! What did I miss exactly? What's up with this mother? Is there a long time tragedy that extends to the host's entire family? Has it gone on for many years? Maybe even generations? Do you have a recording of it? I have to know!" Reza desperately shouted, his spines all perked and ruffling. "How could I have missed such a wonderful tragedy?! I had no idea the host was holding out on such a delightful tale of horror and tragedy-! How long has this been going on for? Why didn't she tell me so?! I thought she was a very boring hooman. How long have all of you known this and not told me?!" Reza shouted at everyone in betrayal before looking back down at the jaguar rather aggressively, making Eztli shrink back a little bit at the suddenly active lionfish. "Did she cry? How hard did she cry and to what degree? Maybe it was some steady crumbling that led to a heart wrenching wail of distress and then a full out flip of despair? Or maybe she hiccuped and then quietly sobbed? What did her face look like? Did she looked lost, sad, was smiling but with complete lack of any kind of hope or joy? Was she horrified or heartbroken? Or so heartbroken that she couldn't even be horrified? Or was she stunned or did she scream? What did her scream sound like, what did her beautiful face look like when twisted in the anguish of such a wretched tragedy?! Did she attack back? Did she kill her in a scene of gory fury?" Reza gasped in excitement with stars shining in his eyes, not letting the jaguar get in a peep as he ranted on. "Maybe she killed her in self defense and then broke down at what she had done? Killing her own horrible abusive mother, dropping to her knees and having a blackout of inner despair? Perhaps she took some dramatic steps back and smiled while laughing in a madenned frenzy at having finally murdered an abusive woman? TELL ME!" He shouted, heavily breathing with his eyes glowing.

"W-Well-," Eztli started to say but the crazed expression on the fish's face made the jaguar's lips seal up in fright.

Reza's knife slammed down next to the jaguar's head, making Eztli tremble a bit in the face of the surprisingly scary fish. "NO! No talking, wait, no, talk now! TELL ME EVERYTHING!" Reza demanded as he tightened his hold on the jaguar with insanity swirling around in his pupils.

"Reza, you're scary!" Eztli cried, shrinking back from the terrifying fish. "Jaska help! Dumisaaaaaaa!" Eztli cried with lowered ears, too scared to move away from the terrifying fish.

"Scary? No, no no NO!" Reza laughed, disjointed while fluctuating in pitch. "SCARY is what's going to happen to you if you don't tell me what happened to my dear host and her shockingly tragic past! I thought the host was some boring hooman but you're telling me her past is full of tragedy?! How could I have missed this?!" Reza cried in a confused state. "I already checked that hooman out, she was as boring as boring could be without even so much as a hint of something remotely tragic happening in her life! I am usually so good with these kinds of things, h-how could I have missed it?!"

"What happened to the fish?" Dumisa asked, backing up a bit. "He looks crazier than usual." Dumisa frowned in alarm.

"Merfolk love tragedy, Reza too upset he missed a great tragedy so nearby." Jaska answered, stepping besides the closest couch in case he needed to toss it over the fish.

"Help, help! Reza is so scaryyy!" Eztli cried, curling his tail around his legs in frightened apprehension while Reza held his grip over the jaguar's scruff.

"Mmhh … shouldn't we toss Reza to the safe room?" Sabre asked with a bit of a worried frown as she stepped besides Nikita, grabbing her basket of kittens and looking for a way to escape, ready to do so at a moment's notice if needed.

Nikita leaned over to Sabre, gently nuzzling her. "Fish fine, Longwei take care. Noble or not, he about to go feral, which gives us right to stop him." Nikita explained, glancing over to Longwei who was already on the move.

"Hmph … borderline feral over a tragedy? It seems even ex-royal guards have no control over it." Longwei sighed before he picked up Reza, startling the fish as he flailed around in the air and shouted incoherently before Longwei slipped Reza into the large entrance of the tube and shut the lid to prevent him from escaping. In a flash Jaska sprinted down the hall, locking the fish's room's door as Sabre locked the entrance in the kitchen, effectively locking the crazy fish inside of the tubes.

Reza swam into the hallway, madly screaming in the tubes and punching the plastic shells to get free while darting back and forth furiously while visibly rambling to himself, his face being extremely expressive in his excitement. Luckily, however, the tubes were soundproof except for his thumping.

The handle to the door turned, making everyone jump as they scrambled into position before Jackie walked into the house with her head down and her eyes remaining lifeless. Her charges sat in the living room smiling, waiting for her to notice them but she walked past them and set the keys down before walking over to a closet and pulling out some cleaning supplies.

"Hey!" Dumisa shouted in annoyance, slithering over to her before taking the cleaning supplies right out of her hands, startling her as she was broken out of her trance.

"H-Huh? What? Dumisa, what do you need?" Jackie asked, startled as she looked around, seeing the living room all set up with soft blankets. "What's going on?" She asked, confused.

"J-JACKIEEE!" Eztli loudly cried as he darted over to Jackie and grabbed hold of her, quickly hiding his face against her shoulder. "Th-the fish is scary!" He cried, holding onto her tightly as he shed a few frightened tears while his tail curled around his legs.

"Fish? What's wrong with Reza?" Jackie asked, hugging Eztli back and petting his ears before she heard tapping on the glass. The host looked over to the hallway and saw Reza's unusually bright eyes staring back at her in excitement as he squished his face against the tube's side. Jackie stared back, a little unsettled about Reza's creepily intensive staring. "What happened? Is Reza feral?" Jackie asked, looking around as her hosting instincts began taking over her previous depression.

"Come here, host! I prepared a bunch of sweet stuff. Here's also a stupid low budget B-horror movie." Sabre dashed to grab Jackie and practically carried her towards the couch, making her seat and rest while pulling the table with snacks and passing her a spoon for the ice-cream. "C'mon, let's enjoy."

"Um, what's the occasion?" Jackie asked, stiffly chuckling in confusion as she poked at the peanut butter chocolate ice cream and pretzels. "You guys don't normally like my kind of moves." She said with a smile, seeing a great B rated movie up on the screen. She looked over at Jaska, shocked to see him sitting on the couch ready to enjoy the movie as well. "Jaska, are you alright with this movie? You don't usually want to be around when they're playing." She noted curiously.

"I no try full movie of this type before, so I can try to watch full and see if I like or not." He shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the far edge single coach. "I try to crack joke, but I no sure how to. So, it funny situation, da?"

Jaska stared at her, waiting for her to at least crack a smile but the host just stared at him with rather lifeless eyes, not seeming amused in the slightest - not even his attempt made her smile. " … okay." Jackie said, continuing to stare at him without any hint of amusement.

"Well, we all thought it would be nice since you were crying-HMPH!" Eztli cried as Dumisa shoved his tail into Eztli's mouth, forcing the jaguar to stop talking as he blinked in confusion and began sucking on Dumisa's tail before the snake pulled his tail out in annoyance at the black jaguar's mistake.

Jackie tensed up a bit, unintentionally reaching up and touching her puffy eyes. Awe crap, they saw through her make up there. " … oh, uh, don't worry about that, I'm fine, really." Jackie said with a nervous smile, now on guard a bit as she wondered just how puffy her eyes were. She had put cover up on them but apparently that wasn't enough.

Berg meanwhile observed this strange phenomenon and made a signal to the other guards, all whom moved around to take positions to be able to aim at the hooman but all the charges, the royal included, glared back at the firebird and the guards while staying very close to Jackie to protect them with their bodies.

Sabre opened the icecream and gave Jackie a spoon. "We thought we all could use a movie night to relax." She smiled, practically grabbing the human's hand to make her take a spoonful of ice cream. "After all that has happened lately we need some relaxing."

"Oh … well, I was actually going to try and get some cleaning done but you're all more than welcome to relax together in the living room." Jackie smiled while still tense and awkward, sheepishly trying to back away and get her cleaning supplies. If she's too close to them they might notice the blood smell if they hadn't already.

"Don't you dare waste our good effort to spend time with you." Dumisa huffed, picking the host right up and setting her on his coils to relax for a bit. He wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from getting up. "If you want to service us then hurry up and pet me." Dumisa said, taking her hand and placing it on his cheek as he smiled in a teasing way. "Unless you want me to further service you personally?" He asked with a teasing smile, flickering his tongue against her cheek.

"Pfffft." Jackie genuinely laughed, trying to brush his face away. "Alright, alright fine! I'll relax for a movie or two but then after that I really do need to clean." She smiled, making the other charges relax a little bit at the first sign of a genuine smile.

As the terrible movie started playing everyone began to slowly relax but Dumisa remained tense, ready to gab Jackie at a moment's notice should she try to leave for any reason. Unconsciously, he began tightening his coils around her, slowly and surely, up until the point the host tried to move and adjust herself but Dumisa made a sudden constriction, cracking most of the bones in Jackie's back.

Everyone in the room tensed up, startled by the sudden cracking as Jackie slouched forward with a slightly pained groan from the painful constriction. Dumisa loosened up his coils, gently laying Jackie down on the soft bedding as he nervously laid down at her level, staring at her face and seeing her face contorted in slight pain.

"Is … is anything broken?" Dumisa nervously asked, lightly poking her on the nose as she refused to move.

"No … I'm fine." Jackie said with a rather empty gaze staring at nothing in particular.

Dumisa frowned, annoyed that he failed to help her relax before he looked at Sabre, seeing her waving him off to make room for someone else to try and comfort her. Dumisa huffed in annoyance before backing off a bit, letting the jaguar crawl in over her before he laid on top of her back and deeply purred while nuzzling her.

"Hey, Jackie? Can I pet you?" Eztli asked, nervously prancing his fingers over her back since last time she freaked out a bit and got scared. "I promise to be careful. Now, _who's a good hooman_?" Eztli cooed as he sat on her legs and began petting her back while nuzzling his head against her shoulders. "Coochi coochi coo!" Eztli laughed, purring against her back. "Who's the best hooman ever? Who is?" Eztli asked while nuzzling against her and trying to pet her cheeks and squishing them together.

"Where did Eztli learned to speak like that?" Sabre started, watching scene in a mix of confusion and other emotions she couldn't even place.

"He probably picked it from from listening to someone." Dumisa stared too. "I haven't heard something like that on the TV or any other media, so he probably got from someone." Dumisa tasted the air with his tongue while focusing on the host, the prime suspect.

"Like who?" Jaska questioned in confusion before pausing, looking down at Jackie and wondering if she talked to him like that and that was where he learned it.

"It does not matter." Longwei too stared in confusion, not even breathing any ice and not comprehending the change in tone and dialect te jaguar was using but the dragon assumed it was due to the feline's severe trauma. "But he shouldn't try approach a clearly unstable hooman."

Of course, no charge did anything to interrupt.

"Come on Jackie, who's a good hooman?!" Eztli giggled excitedly, clearly planning to keep this up until she answered.

Jackie remained silent before softly huffing. "I am." She mumbled into the sheets.

"You arrre!" Eztli loudly cried before tightly hugging her and rolling around a bit on the soft blankets while nuzzling her and moving all around her to pet her at different angles.

Jackie did not bother saying anything, only letting out a small grunt or two from Eztli's claws poking into her every now and then.

Stopping for a moment, Eztli turned to look at the other charges. "I think I'm doing something wrong. She isn't cooing or purring or anything." The jaguar dropped his ears a bit before perking. "I know! Grooming!" Ignoring any comment, Eztli practically laid over Jackie and thought about how Aleksey or Jaska had groomed Sabre. Thinking about those same techniques, he began licking Jackie's head and munching on her hair while passing his hands along the host's body.

"Eztli, stop." Jackie frowned, trying to push his head back but Eztli only purred, nuzzling against her before catching her hand and suckling on her finger while his tail flickered around happily.

"Hey, Eztli." Dumisa whispered, waving a piece of cloth in the air. Eztli's pupils enlarged before he lunged at the toy, easily distracted as he began climbing all over Dumisa to reach the rag while he distracted the jaguar from the host.

"Ugh," Jackie heavily sighed, laying like a lump on the soft blankets as she closed her eyes to rest a little bit but was too tense to rest at all.

"Host." Jaska called, sitting by her side and staring down at her. "Give me grooming." He ordered, making sure his back was to Nikita. He patiently waited for Jackie to get up before she turned her head over and stared at his fur. She quietly sat up before he handed her the brush, watching he get to her knees and pet him silently. Her fingers were stiff and her expression remained neutral for the most part, not deviating in the last as she pet him rather crudely. Jaska frowned, flicking his tail around before looking back at the others who saw her lack of enthusiasm. This was pretty bad. The others whispered to each other, trying to think of different ways to cheer their host up.

While the charges tossed the host around to each other to try and cheer her up, Aleksey walked over and sat beside Sabre before he leaned over and nuzzled her. "Sabre, let us get alone time, hm?" Aleksey sexily purred, gently licking her cheek.

"'Leksey … I need to take care of my nanny." Sabre bumped her chin on his shoulder to push him off and then she joined the charges in tackling Jackie over before laying on top of the hooman.

"Amako Sabre … please don't touch that hooman. She is unworthy for you to be giving her this sort of affection." One of the snow leopards sighed, looking annoyed - not at her in particular, but at the hooman.

"Listen up everyone!" Sabre growled menacingly, her fur puffed and her tail swinging around as she laid over Jackie. "This is MY hooman. Mine, mine, mine!"

Jackie laid motionless on the ground, keeping her face against the blankets. Everyone was trying pretty hard to make her happy - hell, they must have known before she left that she was going to be a mess when she got back. She couldn't even try to play along with their happiness. She was just so sad. Her mother was going to be gone, out of her reach until she was better. But deep down, Jackie knew that she would never get better. Her mind kept swirling around her mother no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on her charges at the moment. No matter what happened, no matter how hard Jackie tried, she knew her mother would never recover from her insanity. Jackie tensed up a bit, biting her lip as she began to softly cry while hiding her face.

Sabre stopped her growling when she heard the first sniffles. Quickly she nuzzled Jackie but the host didn't respond so she pulled Jackie's head up to see the host's eyes all red. And by the looks of it she was just about to burst out sobbing. Sabre looked around and noticed the other charges distress, plus the guards quite unsure on what to do; almost without thinking she jumped to the side and grabbed Jackie swiftly before running towards the front door. "She's my hooman so I'm taking her now." She said while grabbing the car keys. "I'll come back later. All is fine."

"Amako Sabre, I believe that is a poor choice. Please, take some guards with you." Berg chirped, following after her.

"It's my choice." She said while tossing Jackie inside the car haphazardly and dropping the keys on the host's lap. "If I get guards around I'll only call unneeded attention, also the presence of any guard would cause unneeded trouble for the council." She told Berg while jumping over the car to get to the other side and climb on the copilot's seat. "I'll be back in a few hours. Tell Aleksey and uncle Nikita that I left some bottles for the babies in the kitchen."

"Bottles?" Berg asked, blinking as Jackie pulled out of the garage and headed down the street. Hardly 2 blocks away Jackie pulled over, parking the car before she burst out in tears, crying do hard could barely breathe.

"Jackie!" Sabre meowed, nervous on how to handle this that was beyond the emotional level she had seen in the host, however she had a plan to make all better. "Mmhh… Can you drive south?"

"I-I, I'm just-!" Jackie barely gasped out but, not wanting to talk about her mother, she turned to Sabre, "i-t, your ears!" Jackie cried. "They're ju-j-justt so fluffy-!" She wildly cried before leaning onto the steering wheel and cried even harder.

"Fluffy?" Sabre blinked, flickering her soft, velvety and fuzzy ears.

"THEY'RE SO FLUFFYYY!" Jackie wailed, crying into her elbow and trying to soften her sobbing. "THEY ARE THE FLUFFYYYESTTT!"

Sabre's phone suddenly rang. The leopardess was about to turn it off when she noticed it was Aleksey, so instead she answered while looking at the host.

"Da, I agree. My mate has the fluffiest ears, soft and cute. " Aleksey purred in the phone.

Sabre gasped, realizing she hadn't blocked the cameras signal yet. She looked at the phone and then around the car before looking at the host sideways. "I'll be back later Aleksey, the bottles are in the kitchen and Antain needs to take a nap in around 2 hrs. Given him his blankie and read him a story. Eztli might join to hear the story too, in that case let Eztli sleep in the small den at the top of the tree. I need some private girly time and I'm making the host come. It'll be fine." With that she ended the call and then connected some small device to her phone, cutting off the connection.

"I-I just, I don't want to talk a-a-about it," Jackie sobbed. "I-I-I re-really don't-!" Jackie cried, trying to calm herself down.

Sabre gave Jackie a tight hug while seeking out the bug cameras she had set on the host, removing them in a careful and unnoticed way. "It's alright Jackie. Cry a bit. I'll drive if you want. We are going to get some pampering and calm down. I'm here for when you are ready to talk."

"B-Bu-But I don't want to cry. I've got so much to do other than crying, I-I-I have to clean, a-a-a-an-and cook and take care of everyone. I don't deserve to have time to myself like this, be-cause when I do, I think of my mother-!" She sobbed. "She's always there, always when I-I'm alone and thinking, I hate it-! I hate her, and I hate myself!" Jackie sobbed.

Sabre huffed, then sighed, and then she let go of Jackie before getting out of the car.

"W-wha-what are you doing?" Jackie asked as Sabre opened the side door. The feline the jumped back over the car and landed swiftly ebside's Jackie. She opened the driver's side, unbuckling Jackie's seatbelt before picking Jackie up with her super strength and tossed the sobbing hooman into the back seat before Sabre herself sat in the driver's seat and began heading south.

"W-wh-where are we going?" Jackie asked, sniffling. "Wa-wait, I sh-should drive." Jackie said, sitting up and wiping off her tears. "I-I don't think Extraspecies are allowed to drive in New York. Do you know how to drive?" Jackie said, trying to remember it from her lessons.

"You are in no condition to drive. So I'll drive." Sabre said while adjusting the back mirror. "You curl back there and cry all you need and I'll tell you when we arrive."

" … okay." Jackie sadly huffed before laying down in the back seats.

"So easy?!" Sabre almost took a wrong turn. Usually Jackie was a stickler for rules and one would think having an Extraspecies drive would put a hooman nervous at least. "Mhh … err ... Jackie … are you fine?"

" … no, I'm not," Jackie whined, wiping off her tears.

"Right … ," Sabre nervously smiled, speeding up a bit. "Well, you'll be fine. I promise."

.

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.

Not too long after, both girls were at a very exclusive spa and had already passed through some aromatherapy, massages, saunas and right now they were in a room with some big and fancy marble bathtubs. Jackie's tube was filled with warm mud and Sabre's with a mix of water and flower petals while soft and relaxing music played in the bathroom, a scent diffuser was turn on and the room smelled quite nicely at sandalwood and spices.

Sabre stretched, purring and relaxing but keeping an eye on the host. When she noticed Jackie sliding down and sinking deeper and deeper into the mud bath, the leopardess stood up from her own bath to step besides Jackie's tube, twisting her lips, crossing her arms and tapping the floor with her foot.

Jackie barely kept herself above the mud bath as she stared at nothing in particular, trapped in her own thoughts about her mother. Maybe it was her host senses tingling what alert her to the silence in the room except for a quiet but noticeable tapping on the tiles. No kitty purring anymore. " … Sabre, what's wrong?" Jackie asked, noticing the bastet fidgeting right besides her though uncomfortable.

Sabre took a deep breath and then stepped inside Jackie's mud bath, causing some of it to spill around as the leopardess forced the host to sit so they could share the space.

"Sabre, come on, it's already cramped in here." Jackie sighed, forcing herself to sit up more and make some room for Sabre as their legs tangled up in each other's legs.

Sabre huffed and looked up and away with her nose up.

" … fine." Jackie sighed, leaning back in the tub and closing her eyes, trying to relax and unwind a bit. All that crying earlie made her very dizzy. Jackie frowned, bothered by Sabre's silence. " … what? Sabre, what? Why are you upset now?" Jackie asked all huffy.

Sabre didn't respond. Nor a single word, mew, purr, huff or noise. Nothing. She just remained looking away from Jackie in disapproving silence.

"Ugh, look, Sabre, I'm sorry for being moody earlier but seriously, come on! Can't I be selfish every now and then?" Jackie demanded with a scowl.

Sabre remained in silence, closing her eyes.

"Okay, okay fine!" Jackie paused, taking a deep breath before she slumped over, defeated by Sabre's silence. "I … I went to go see my mother in the insane asylum. Money's been tight and she wasn't given strong enough pills. She was getting way out of hand and I … I … ," Jackie barely choked out, gritting her teeth. "I just signed a contract giving her to some facility that runs experimental treatments since nothing was working and I can't afford anything else. She's just been getting worse and worse, and I know that the experiments don't matter because she's gone, my mother is long gone! She is nothing but a crazy and dangerous psycho!" Jackie cried, gritting her teeth and struggling to breathe steady. "There's nothing that I can do to help her, there never was anything I could do to help. No matter how good a person I am, no matter how hard I try, something just goes ahead and f***s me over out of my money and my family." Jackie cried harder, hugging herself.

Still without speaking, Sabre grabbed Jackie into tight hug and nuzzled her a bit, letting the host cry out while hugging her back.

Jackie sniffled, resting her head against the crook of her neck as she cried it out. The host hiccuped, softly crying out her pain against Sabre's fur.

"Jackie … do you know what happens to an Extraspecis that goes permanently feral? Once there is no change of coming back?" Sabre carefully asked.

"N-No." Jackie shakily breathed, sucking in a quick breath as she tried to stop crying. "W-Wh-What happens?" Jackie asked as she grabbed a small towel and wiped her eyes off, managing to get mud across her face.

"If they are in the wild the they will be easy prey to be killed, if they have families then it's the duty of their family to terminate them for their own good and that of everyone else." Sabre took a small breath. "There are facilities to keep them too for research purposes I suppose, but once they're gone, they're gone. Do you understand this and why?"

"B-But isn't there a way to bring them back?" Jackie asked, sniffling and looking Sabre in the eyes.

"Is there a way to 'bring back' your mother?" Sabre swallowed a snort.

Jackie remained silent, looking down at the mud while her lips trembled. " … chances are, no. She's a danger to everyone around her … b-b-but how can I just abandon her?" Jackie whispered, wiping off the excess mud and tears from her eyes.

"Jackie, what are you really clinging to? You know your mother is long gone. She's been dead for many years and only a sort of feral madness remains in that body. You know she is a danger and far more than a liability. You know that she only exists now to hurt others, especially you." Sabre tightened her hug. "You need to let go and move on."

"I … I guess I'm clinging to the idea that she could change back … back to before she was literally and clinically insane." Jackie frowned, gritting her teeth. "But … now at least high licensed psychiatrists are trying to help her now." Jackie said with a shaky sigh. "I won't be seeing her for 5 years … hopefully something changes for the better in that time." Jackie said. And it sure did help that she was no longer paying for her mother's medicine for the time being.

Sabre let go of Jackie and pushed her back in the mud. "Stop being an idiot. You know they aren't, they are incapable of helping her because there's nothing left to help. They are going to study the case to gather data, at best. And after 5 years you'll only have to deal with more useless and uncalled for remorse, more money problems, and some horrible consequences."

"Th-There's always a small chance!" Jackie snapped back at her, throwing mud at her and hitting her in the shoulder. "Or at least now they can take what they learn about my mother and help others that get to be as insane as she is now!"

Sabre threw mud back to her, blinding the host. "There isn't and you know it! I read the damn file. Who knows what drugs she took and all, you know that brain damage is permanent! Her case is a medical study, just that, and the problem is not that. You know that the problem is that you still have to deal with it afterwards but you are not facing reality on what needs to be done!"

Jackie quickly took a towel, wiping the mud off her face before glaring angrily at Sabre and tossing the towel over the bastet's face. "That's not your call to make! And I know how to face reality, I've been facing it my whole life! I know what needs to be done, but it's not like I have the means to do so!" Jackie growled towards Sabre.

A small knock on the door made the both of them turn, watching as a worker poked their head inside. "Is everything alright?" She asked, looking between the two of them covered in mud.

"Y-Yeah, fine. We're just talking." Jackie said, her cheeks flushed from yelling at Sabre and in embarrassment, wondering how much the worker heard.

"Alright. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with." She smiled before leaving and shutting the door.

"You know you can ask for our help … MY help." Sabre said through the muddy towel, not removing it yet.

"Oh please, what would you be able to do that I couldn't?" Jackie huffed, sitting back deeply into the mud and pouting.

"What do you think you could be helped with? How do you think this problem could be permanently resolved?" Sabre growled. She still didn't remove the towel, but her tail began moving and making more mud be dropped of the tub. A new deep growl came from Sabre's throat. Jackie maybe was unable or unwilling to do something a bit more definite and drastic but she would be damned if she let her petter- er, nanny, get more hurt by this. That evil hooman had hurt her Jackie for too long and she was going to make sure to settle this issue for the host's sake.

Jackie stared at her in confusion before her eyes opened wide in shock. "Y-You can't be seriously suggesting to kill her?!" Jackie gasped in a scolding whisper. "The hell's wrong with you?! She's still my mother!"

Sabre finally removed the towel and submerged it in the mud before throwing it back to Jackie's face. "You think I don't know you have been offered professionally that option before? By the hoomans taking care of that sad remain of a not-mother problem you have?"

"Wha-?! How do you know about that?" Jackie hissed at her, confused. Doris had never suggested that until today … unless-! "Sabre, how do you know about that?" Jackie asked with her eyes wide open. "D-Did you follow me?!" She asked, wondering how in the hell Sabre could know that.

"I have my ways to found out the past files of the past places that woman has been. And if I had to follow you today to ensure no one would hurt you … I would still have found a way." Sabre puffed. Perhaps she had said too much if even the host had noticed. "But the problem is still the problem, and you know the solution." One way or another, Sabre was going to help her hooman.

"Sabre." Jackie said, narrowing her eyes at Sabre. "No one had ever suggested to me to kill my mother before today. There is no way you learned that through research. How do you know what Doris said to me?" Jackie asked in a serious tone, searching Sabre's eyes for truth. "Tell me the truth, Sabre."

"Errr … mew, mew, purr, purr?" Sabre said, unconvincingly looking away. "Does it matter? The important thing is that 'that' is an option."

"It matters to _me_. How did you know that Doris said that to me, Sabre." Jackie demanded. "Tell me, o-or-! Or no more of that duck stuff that you like! I'll only be getting you chicken instead!" Jackie threatened, using the only leverage she had against the feline. "I'll only be more mad if you don't tell me!"

Sabre's eyes widened. "But my duck chops!"

"That's right! No duck chops, no seasoned duck cubes, no duck liver, no duck in red wine or any of those fancy stuff. Not even boiled duck meat strips. None of it unless you tell me how you know about what Doris said!" Jackie threatened. "A-And no more cuddling, either! Or tugging on your ears! O-O-Or pushing the little pads on your toes! Or, uh, no more recordings of those crappy documentaries you keep trying to get Antain to watch! They're crappy anyway!" Jackie said, using any bit of leverage she could get.

"Hey! Don't mess with Antain, unlike yours, I'm a real mother worried for the education and wellbeing of her cubs!" Sabre roared. "And my duck chops … and you seriously can't be serious on no cuddling! You even said my ears were the fluffiest, you can't resist them."

"I'd be doing Antain a favor, he only really likes the colorful educational shows for kids, not long monologuing documentaries. He isn't old enough for those yet." Jackie huffed. "And Eztli's ears are plenty soft too, Jaska's as well. You aren't the only one with fluffy ears. And I'm being serious here." Jackie frowned, crossing her arms. "How did you know about what Doris said?" Jackie asked again in annoyance.

"Jackie … before I tell you how I'll tell you that I did it because first; I didn't think it was actually that bad, second; because we care for you and they have a right to know so we can help you. We do consider you family or more too and third," she sighed. "Because if Nikita and Longwei only went with what they dug up in your files they would have used this against you, even more. And they would have told the others but make it look far worse. They might have been able to use it as a excuse to try and cut the contracts." Sabre looked at Jackie like a sad mud covered kitty.

Jackie frowned, waiting for her answer still. Everything she brought up were good point but still, it was a private family matter!

"I bugged you." Sabre quietly admitted, staring at Jackie for her reaction.

"Y-You what?!" Jackie gasped, mortified. "How could you do that to me?!" Jackie demanded, mortified by what Sabre had done. She saw everything - from how bad her mother really was to how badly she was crying after it happened. The entire car ride home was practically one big crying fest, and she just watched and listened to her and spied on her-! "Sabre, that is horrible!" Jackie said, standing up from the mud bath with her face red from anger. "That's it, NO MORE PETTING FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK! Or until I'm not pissed at you anymore! Whichever comes first!" Jackie angrily shouted.

"What?! But I did it because I love you! I told you why!" Sabre let out a high pitched mewl. "I want my pets!"

"No! I'm pissed!" Jackie shouted at her as she got up and out of the mud bath, wiping herself off. "I can't believe you bugged me. WAIT! Does everyone know?! Nikita and Longwei included?!" Jackie gasped, mortified.

Sabre let out a roar and then jumped out the tube, splashing mud around as she tackled Jackie. The host tried to wrestle away a bit before Sabre sat on top of her. "I want my pets!"

"No!" Jackie shouted back at her, trying to push Sabre off. "I'm pissed at you! You violated my trust!" Jackie argued.

"I did not! I warned you!" Sabre hissed, trying to munch on Jackie's ear but the host kept moving or trying to headbut her.

"As if that was a warning! You were too vague! Now get off!" Jackie shouted, "like I said, no more pets for a week or until I'm not pissed!" Jackie argued with her.

"How could I not be vague with the council literally _right there_?!" Sabre argued back. "Jackie, I'm trying to protect you. You really are a good hooman." Sabre mewled, giving Jackie the big and sad kitty eyes, internally terrified of not having her calming pets anymore, especially with how stressful everything will get very quickly.

" … I'm still pissed." Jackie growled back at Sabre, stubbornly staying by her words.

"Jackie … ," Sabre pouted, her pupils somehow getting even bigger. "Don't I get points for bringing you to this nice spa so you could get some rest and pampering to vent out? I even paid the super high price with my own money."

"I'll pay you back." Jackie frowned before pausing, staring at Sabre's fur that was covered in brown mud. She blinked, snickering before she began laughing.

"Jackie, you aren't going crazy are you?!" Sabre grabbed Jackie by the shoulders and shook her somewhat. "And you don't need to pay, so don't go crazy, you hooman!"

"I feel like I am." Jackie heavily sighed. "Let's take a bath to take off the mud. You look really funny with all that mud on you. Actually, hold on." Jackie said, getting up before walking over to her phone and took a quick picture of her. "I'm sending this to everyone." Jackie said, finding a group chat with all the other charges but before she sent the picture of a muddy Sabre to them, Sabre tackled her over again.

"Jackie, I'm naked! Don't send that!" Sabre said, turning off the phone.

"I'm still keeping it." Jackie huffed. "It's a funny picture."

Sabre very carefully stood up and took a step back, looking herself in one of the full mirrors and noticing that she was indeed covered in mud, her lushy fur all dirty and horrible. "Ugghhh this will be horrible to take off." She groaned deeply, dropping her shoulders.

"Good." Jackie huffed. "But let's go soak in a bath or something so it loosens up and makes it easier to get off." Jackie suggested.

Sabre went back to her own tub that now had merely warm water, still scented and still with all those flower petals. After a moment of testing the temperature, Jackie pushed her in.

"Hurry up and get clean." Jackie huffed before stepping into the other tub and began washing herself out

"Nawwww!" Sabre puffed and began twisting, splashing the water all around before sitting up and trying to rub herself to get rid of the mud. The water ended up all browny before sabre stood up to get into the shower to try and remove the rest of the dirt.

"Sabre, don't take a shower! You'll clog up the drain like you did to my shower." Jackie huffed. "Just keep soaking in the tub until all the mud clumps are off your fur."

"The water is already too dirty to clean my fur." Sabre countered. "Ugghh … this will take awhile, I can feel the mud all over my fluffy self."

"Good. Suffer." Jackie huffed, washing herself off pretty quickly. "Once you're done we can head back. I'm in a bad mood again." Jackie sighed. But, oddly enough, not as bad as before.

"Once we get back I'm going to use your shower … and end your shampoo!" Sabre struck out her tongue. "And we are not going back until we have gone shopping and taking a coffee and having that girl's time out."

"Go ahead, I only have a few squirts left in the entire house. You'll have to use one of the other's showers made to not clog up with fur, maybe Eztli's." Jackie suggested. "Or Jaska's … are you good enough to enter Jaska's room again?" Jackie asked, curious. "Or are you still fighting?"

"Well, I can try Eztli's pool, I guess." Sabre began using whatever small shampoo bag were in a basket for them. "And no … I … I don't think I can get so close to him yet. He … I'm still a bit traumatized, ok? I am trying but I don't know how long it will take."

"Yeah, that's fair." Jackie sighed, drying herself off. This girls day out was off to a fairly sour start. Seriously, Sabre bugging her was the worst! She just hoped the other charges didn't see her cry.

Sabre finally got out of the shower and let Jackie get in while she dried herself off as best as she could. "And before that, we are still getting another massage and you are getting some pedicure and more pampering."

"Ugh, fine." Jackie heavily sighed. It was going to be a very long day.

"And you are going to enjoy it." Sabre pumped up, getting determined to get the hoot happy and regain her petting privileges.

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Enjoy 3 _**10 REVIEWS**_ for this chapter for the next one 3

Chaos-dark-lord: Finally another chap!

MissReaperDeath and everyone else, thanks for the reviews (and the idea for the drinking game).


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